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Eco-friendly procurement as a social corporate responsibility strategy

Opinion & Analysis
Eco-friendly procurement, environmentally preferable purchasing and green procurement are terms that are used to describe the integration of environmental factors into procurement policies.

Eco-friendly procurement, environmentally preferable purchasing and green procurement are terms that are used to describe the integration of environmental factors into procurement policies.

Purchasing and Supply with Nyasha Chizu

Many organisations are voluntarily getting ISO 14000 certification, a series of environmental management standards developed and published by the International Organisation for Standards.

ISO 14000 standards provide a guideline or framework for organisations with a desire to systematise and improve environmental management efforts.

What motivates eco-friendly strategies in business? The drivers could be internal and external. External drivers for eco-friendly supply chains could be emanating from the desire to comply with the laws and regulations of a country. Customers on the other hand can demand eco-friendly supply chains as well.

The business internally may be motivated by the desire to manage life cycle cost and achieve long term growth, thereby adapting eco-friendly supply chains as a strategy. The concept of life cycle cost involves the assessment of the acquisition, operation, and disposal costs when evaluating various alternatives forms of material and processes when making procurement decisions.

Long term growth is thereby achieved by investment in supply chain strategies that increase investor value over a longer period.

Eco-friendly supply chains require proactive management of the inbound logistics by engaging eco-friendly procurement and logistics management systems. The midstream activities of production must ensure that eco-friendly conversion methods employed through eco-friendly quality control systems. The downstream logistics should ensure that eco-friendly recycling and reverse logistics is well managed in the post production period.

The effective environmentally friendly procurement activities require that policies and regulations for procurement include the development of waste prevention and recycling plans. Appropriate environmental considerations would need to be factored appropriately in the procurement plans such that request for proposals, awarding of tenders and contracts, are aligned to promoting green procurement.

Design engineers would be expected to revise current specifications, materials descriptions and standards to favour environmentally friendly material and process. This will involve both goods and services. Government procurement will require that their contractors follow green procurement guidelines.

Suppliers and contractors would be encouraged to eliminate or reduce hazardous waste generation and promotion of special handling, treatment and disposal of hazardous substances.

Activities such as mining, electricity generation and manufacturing inevitably require toxic substances. The challenge is how the disposal of the waste is managed. Many worry when water is contaminated by toxic waste from such processes. Very few care to establish the source of the toxic waste.

Proactive approaches to environmental management would ensure that buyers of such substances put in place safe disposal plans before they are allowed to import them.

The use of mercury in processing minerals, in the light bulbs and other processes is increasing. Such substances are imported together with other toxic substances on a daily basis. No one bothers to ask the buyers on the safe disposal of these substances at the peril of the environment and the health of citizens in Zimbabwe.

Given the fact that external factors for environmental management have an impact of aligning businesses to comply with eco-friendly procurement, it’s about time authorities’ act against the deterioration of the environment.

Nyasha Chizu is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply writing in his personal capacity. Feedback: [email protected]