Sustainable Procurement, often called Responsible Sourcing, is an essential part of the shift to a sustainable economy: by integrating sustainability criteria into the procurement process, organizations are using their influence to make the entire supply chain more sustainable. The new standard ISO 20400 - Sustainable Procurement now offers organizations guidance on setting up a sustainable procurement strategy.
The aim of ISO 20400 is to describe the basic principles of sustainable procurement and to provide an effective model for implementation. The standard does not include requirements for suppliers, but describes how buyers can define criteria for sustainability and integrate them into the purchasing process.
First published in April 2017, ISO 20400 builds on BS 8903, a 2010 British standard for sustainable procurement, but adopts the basic principles and core terminology of ISO 26000, the international standard for social responsibility. The uniform terminology thus facilitates the integration of sustainable procurement (ISO 20400) into comprehensive sustainability management (ISO 26000).
Four sections form the core of the standard:
The following model results from the standard:
ISO 20400 enables organizations to systematically consider relevant sustainability criteria in procurement. Consistent application of the standard leads to the following aspects being taken into account:
Dr. Thijs Willaert is Global Director Sustainability Services. In this role, he is responsible for the entire ESG service portfolio of DQS. His areas of interest include sustainable procurement, human rights due diligence and ESG audits.
