THE

PROCUREMEN
T GAME PLAN
Chapter – 4

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN
PROCUREMENT
GREEN PROCUREMENT
 Green Procurement means purchasing products and services that
cause minimal adverse environmental impacts.

 It incorporates human health and environmental concerns into the search

for high quality products and services at competitive prices.
GREEN PROCUREMENT
 Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) or Green
Purchasing refers to the procurement of products and services
that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the
environment when compared with competing products or services
that serve the same purpose.
GREEN PROCUREMENT
 Specific environment goals are described in the UNFPA Green
Procurement Strategy. It outlines –

 (a) the environmental focus areas for which UNFPA would like to set up
requirements, and

 (b) the process through which suppliers are expected to demonstrate that they
meet these requirements.
GREEN PROCUREMENT
 Perhaps the most publicized component of social responsibility is
the green initiative that many organizations promote publicly

 Companies are evaluating their impact on the environment by

measuring their carbon footprint—a metric representing the amount
of greenhouse gas emissions generated by the activities of a
company.
GREEN PROCUREMENT
 Why is green procurement arguably the most critical initiative for
companies that want to reduce their carbon footprints?

 “Our data indicates that upwards of 60 to 70 percent of a

company’s carbon footprint is found along their supply chain,” says
Margaret Berger-Price, President of greensupplychain.org. “We
think [improving supply chain performance] holds the greatest
potential to make a real difference.”
GREEN PROCUREMENT
 So what are the first steps of green procurement?

 It recommends- starting to go green by finding at least one

environmentally- friendly alternative each time you procure a
product or service.
GREEN PROCUREMENT
 To identify green alternatives, suggests the inclusion of these types of
queries in your tender process:

 Does the supplier publish an annual sustainability report?

 How do they evaluate their suppliers on environmental performance criteria?

 Does the supplier maintain a chemical exclusion list to ensure that their
processes are free from environmentally harmful chemicals?

 Ask suppliers to explain their reverse logistics program, so that you can
understand their product’s end-of-life reclamation strategy.
GREEN PROCUREMENT
 Supplier site visits can also help you evaluate the greenness
of a supplier.

 “First, ask if they have a formalized environmental

management system, and makes reviewing that part of your
visit,” says Berger-Price.
GREEN PROCUREMENT
 A successful site visit means

 observing a formalized green program,

 ongoing improvement and management indicators,
 a reporting accountability involving top management, and
 the ability of the procurement and shop-floor staff to describe the green
program in their own words.