{"id":934,"date":"2021-07-20T10:00:40","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T08:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abeautifulgreen.poush-dev.be\/la-politique-dachats-responsables\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T09:08:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T08:08:51","slug":"responsible-purchasing-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abeautifulgreen.com\/en\/responsible-purchasing-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build a Responsible Purchasing Policy in Your Company"},"content":{"rendered":"

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How to Build a Responsible Purchasing Policy in Your Company<\/h1>\n
As mentioned in another of our articles about CSR, more and more companies are resolving to embrace sustainable development. And where there\u2019s CSR, there\u2019s a responsible purchasing policy. Purchasing is an integral part of an organisation and represents a large part of its revenue. Sustainable purchasing\u00a0is gaining momentum; organisations are taking into account the views and needs of all their\u00a0stakeholders\u00a0ever more each day. A responsible purchasing policy is therefore a key element of the\u00a0sustainable development strategy\u00a0within a company. In this article, we help you understand what sustainable purchasing is, why it\u2019s important and how to integrate it into your company.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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What is responsible purchasing?<\/h2>\n

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When a company makes the decision to integrate\u00a0CSR<\/b>\u00a0into its global strategy, a responsible purchasing policy is one of the key steps in transitioning towards sustainable behaviour.<\/p>\n

But how do you define such a policy? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Responsible purchasing is about buying goods and services whose life cycle<\/strong> has a positive environmental, social and economic impact, more respectful to people and the planet. Whether it\u2019s recycling, low-impact products, local sourcing<\/strong> or the circular economy<\/strong>, there is a multitude of wide-ranging criteria for responsible purchasing. The environmental impact of the products and services you buy should be analysed over their entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to manufacturing and end of life. The question of\u00a0overall<\/b>\u00a0cost is important.<\/p>\n

When we talk about purchasing within a company, we mean every single purchase made by that organisation. Whether it\u2019s the raw material to manufacture products, the manufacturing tools themselves, the printers in offices or the coffee available in the company cafeteria. A sustainable purchasing policy includes a 360-degree view of a company\u2019s procurement decisions<\/strong>, whether upstream with its supply chain or downstream at the end of the product cycle.<\/p>\n

What do we mean when we talk about a company\u2019s supply chain? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Supply chain<\/strong> exists in all types of companies so it\u2019s particularly important when setting up a purchasing policy. The environmental impact of a manufacturing company\u2019s supply chain accounts for 40-60% of its total environmental impact. For non-manufacturing companies, the figure reaches 80%.<\/p>\n

With globalisation<\/strong>, companies are expanding their markets to emerging countries. Their supply chains are consequently becoming more dispersed, globalised and complex, which tends to increase their impact.<\/p>\n

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What is supply chain sustainability?<\/h2>\n

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According to the UN Global Compact, supply chain sustainability is the management of the environmental, social and economic impacts of a company\u2019s supply chain. It also involves encouraging\u00a0good governance<\/b>\u00a0practices throughout product and service life cycles. It is this sustainable supply chain that works hand in hand with a responsible purchasing policy.<\/p>\n

For others,\u00a0supply chain sustainability<\/b>\u00a0can also be viewed as managing environmental and social impacts in and through\u00a0networks<\/i>\u00a0of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers, in line with\u00a0sustainable development goals<\/b>. This includes all phases of the supply chain, from raw material extraction to product use and end of life.<\/p>\n

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Why is responsible purchasing important?<\/h2>\n

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In recent years, there has been increasing pressure on companies to incorporate sustainable behaviour into their overall strategy. These pressures come from different stakeholders, each with their own role in the market.<\/p>\n

A company\u2019s purchases have a bearing on impact measurement. It\u2019s important to include purchasing when measuring a company\u2019s environmental and social impacts because within purchasing there are supply chains that create a positive or negative impact in their own right. This adds to the company\u2019s impact and will have consequences for the company.<\/p>\n

Regulations…<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The term \u201cdue diligence<\/b>\u201d surely means something to you. It refers to the\u00a0duty to verify one\u2019s impact<\/b>. Various laws aimed at introducing impact measurement requirements for companies are currently being considered at both national and European levels. It\u2019s only a matter of time before the legal injunctions become a reality.<\/p>\n

Customers…<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Beyond regulations, customers are increasingly\u00a0informed and aware<\/b>. Consumer demands are converging towards more responsible consumption and therefore more responsible production. If companies want to keep up with the market, they will have to adapt and tune in to what consumers want.<\/p>\n

Responsible investors…<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Investors are also making a shift.\u00a0 We can see a rise in interest in responsible companies.\u00a0Responsible investment<\/b>\u00a0is gaining ground and sectors considered environmentally and socially harmful are being sidelined.<\/p>\n

Moreover, there are the demands and expectations of different stakeholders outside of the company. Adopting a responsible purchasing policy has many benefits.<\/p>\n

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Benefits of a responsible purchasing policy<\/b><\/h3>\n