Sustainability Considerations for Procurement Tools and Capabilities Summary of a Workshop (2012) / Chapter Skim
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3 Sourcing and Materials
3 Sourcing and Materials
Pages 13-20
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From page 13... ...
Nancy Gillis from GSA's Federal Supply Chain Emissions Program Management Office explained that many steps in the procurement process occur prior to the actual purchasing phase, but typically it is only at the point of purchasing where the conversation about sustainability begins. As Jonathan Rifkin from the District of Columbia's Office of Contracting and procurement noted, procurement professionals ensure that hundreds of legal, regulatory, and policy requirements are implemented in an open and public way.
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From page 14... ...
If procurement professionals incorporate this consideration, they may decide to purchase a product that is costlier up front, but which may ultimately result in savings over the entire life cycle. Some participants discussed the possibility of financing upfront costs and then using cost savings to pay that amount back -- an example of a revolving funding scenario that could help address high initial costs.
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From page 15... ...
However, some modern LCA tools and approaches offer better visibility into the entire supply chain. A challenge is bridging the gap between the academic black box and general use so that information from a product's anticipated life cycle is used in LCA tools in a way that helps decision makers make more informed choices about a product, Dr.
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From page 16... ...
Patrick Mallet from ISEAL Alliance noted that a big challenge is integrating data and ensuring consistency, both in how data are understood and also in the language used to convey meaning. One tool that has been developed to address such challenges is the Nike Considered Index.
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From page 17... ...
Certifications could be especially useful in areas where "green-washing 1" take place. Alicia Culver from the Responsible Purchasing Network emphasized that purchasers who are not trained in sustainability could easily fall for what looks like a sustainable product based on claims from a label.
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From page 18... ...
Ms. Kinn Bennet from Environmentally Preferable Purchasing at EPA described ecolabels or standards as residing at the tip of a triangle, which would be all the information some people, such as procurement professionals, may need (see Figure 2-1)
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From page 19... ...
SOURCE: yalmaz Siddiqui presentation, December 8, 2011. yalmaz Siddiqui from Office Depot discussed an example of a framework for sustainable products he has worked on with the Green Products Roundtable, a voluntary stakeholder group working to reduce confusions over the "green" marketplace and improve the production and buying decisions of manufacturers, institutional purchasers, and consumers.
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From page 20... ...
The framework itself is a tool of sorts, he added, but it could also serve as a reference for developing standards. In addition, it could function as a foundation for a procurement tool to help clarify which attributes, ecolabels, or behaviors reduce impacts in meaningful ways.
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