Trends in sustainable procurement

"What sustainable procurement related topics, strategies and activities are becoming more prominent in your organization?"

In its 2017 report Global Review of Sustainable Public Procurement, the UN Environmental Programme asked survey participants: "What sustainable procurement related topics, strategies and activities are becoming more prominent in your organization?" It turns out that ‘ecolabels, standards and certifications’ was top of the list, especially amongst national government representatives. As the UNEP points out, this makes sense given that governments want “credible and meaningful sustainability standards for their buyers and internal clients” to use in tenders and bid specifications.

The report also found a “growing awareness of the links between environmental, social and economic aspects within procurement, suggesting that themes such as the sharing economy or sustainable services … will become more important over time”.

Life-cycle costing continues to rise in prominence, according to the survey, and may increase in the near future as more legal frameworks adopt LCC methods that enable purchasers to “better determine the full costs inherent to their acquisitions” - although there is debate about how to harmonize and validate methodologies.

And while we at Oakdene Hollins believe that ‘circular economy / circular procurement’ will feature even more highly in the coming years, we are proud - given that we operate EU Ecolabel Delivery in the UK - to be delivering the current top choice for sustainable procurement.

Graph extracted from Figure 33 of the UNEP report.