Overview

Sustainable Procurement, the new ISO 20400 and the impact of it to the world! Organisations spend 40 to 80% of income on their supply chain. Surely, what and how a company buys, have impacts on sustainability, whether economic, environmental or social. In this sense, considering that the topic of organisations’ sustainability and social responsibility increasing importance in the policies and strategies of the organisations, sustainable procurement performs a significant and unavoidable role. Attending a market demand about incorporating sustainability into organisations’ procurement processes, ISO develops ISO 20400, whose publication has been scheduled for early 2017. ISO 20400 provides guidance for organisations to implement sustainable procurement in an effectively, pragmatic, consistent and efficient way. This standard is applicable to organisations of any size, public or private, of any industry and does not replace the legislation nor any ethical and political commitments to the procurement activities. ISO 20400 gives guidance (meaning that does not contain requirements, just recommendations) and helps to understand what sustainable procurement are. It discusses the SP in its political and strategic dimension, at the level of the Organisation and on the procurement process and provides guidance to implement Sustainable Procurement in practical terms.