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Purchasing — big power and big opportunity

If you brought together 400 purchasing and sustainability professionals what would you expect? We were surprised by both their vision and the challenges involved in harnessing the power of procurement to create a prosperous and sustainable future.

Purchasing, such as when the federal government spends tax dollars, can be perceived as a means to an end, full of complicated rules that are driven by compliance. The opening of the 2017 annual Summit of the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) — a network of buyers, suppliers and experts that promote sustainable procurement — proved that stereotype to be wrong. The key message was that purchasing is big power and big opportunity. If done right, this multi-billion industry can be used to shape the future. Vien Truong, the opening speaker from Green For All, asked purchasers and suppliers to be ‘heros.’ Meaning that the choices we make with each contracting process can determine whether our communities and families have access to safe water or clean air.

This message resonated with us. We believe that open contracting, i.e. transparent, accountable and efficient purchasing, is the bricks and mortar of public benefit. It is where public funds get converted into roads, schools and hospitals through the contribution of the private sector. Here are some of our key takeaways for open contracting and sustainability from the Summit:

We are thrilled to be part of the sustainability purchasing community, and we are keen to continue working with SPLC and the broader business community to truly harness the big powers and opportunities of purchasing.

Businesses interested in why transparency of company ownership and government purchasing matters and how they can play a leadership role can do three things:

 

 

We look forward to hearing from you!

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