What is Sustainable Procurement?
Are you getting questions about what’s the natural starting point for developing a sustainable procurement program? Have you wondered what it would take to get more impact out of your existing efforts? You’ve got a Policy; how come you’re not getting more results?
Catastrophic climatic events over the last few years have proven that we need to take immediate action to address our climate crisis for benefit of our plant, economy, and population. Sustainable Procurement, Sustainable Development Goal #12, is a powerful tool to address ongoing ethical, environmental, social, and Indigenous issues in our supply chains. Organizations can have a meaningful impact on minimizing sustainability risks and creating opportunities, but sustainable procurement must be approached as a fulsome program rather than just another policy. Throughout this year, Reeve will be releasing blogs as part of our Best Practice Framework Blog Series. Next month, we will be diving into one of the first essential program elements, Strategy and Action Plan. Check back to learn more about how this element can provide a common vision amongst staff and stakeholders.
Earlier this year, Reeve Consulting launched a 
An effective Sustainable Procurement Policy directs staff to meaningfully consider sustainability during procurement practices, alongside the traditional criteria like price, quality, and service. The Policy is often a base for Sustainable Procurement Programs. One of the most common mistakes that organizations face when developing their Programs is allocating too much time and resources into developing their Policy. This cannibalizes valuable time and effort from other important elements like the Strategy and 
Even with all the ingredients, it is difficult to make a cake without a recipe. If 
Sustainable procurement is strategic initiative with the potential to power the most important organizational priorities. But to improve the sustainability of our supply chains, we can’t expect procurement professionals to implement Sustainable Procurement out of the goodness of their hearts: big impacts can only come with adequate support and resourcing. In this Best Practice Framework Series blog, we will discuss the effect resourcing can have on making Sustainable Procurement programs impactful.
When building and implementing your sustainable procurement program, it is easy to get caught in a perpetual planning phase. Creating a 
A Sustainable Procurement Program is only as impactful as its executors allow. Best Practice Framework elements like 
If an entire Sustainable Procurement Program is a 100-mile journey, 50 out of the 100 miles is allocated to Training and Communications. Typically, Training and Communications is the most undervalued element of Reeve’s 10-element Best Practice Framework. Organizations put effort into developing high quality Policies, Procedures, and Tools to build out solid infrastructure for their sustainable procurement program, however, they often neglect to effectively train staff and communicate to internal stakeholders. Without an understanding of sustainable procurement, staff and internal stakeholders cannot execute sustainable procurement effectively.
Think about the first supplier that agreed to do business with you and consider how that relationship laid the groundwork for your procurement practices. In the world of procurement, where sustainability has become a central focus, engaging with your existing suppliers is not just a good practice; it’s imperative. Supplier engagement can drive sustainability by promoting transparency and shared responsibility throughout the supply chain.