Sourcing Excellence » Sustainability

Ethical Corporation: Wal-Mart’s ethical sourcing – Green does not mean ethical

admin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:31:40 +0000

Wal-Mart’s ethical sourcing – Green does not mean ethical. Despite what Wal-Mart says are some marked improvements at its supplier factories, the retailer’s recent ethical sourcing report is being met with scepticism

read more | digg story

Department for Work and Pensions talks about plans for Green Procurment of IT

admin — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:05:42 +0000

As the world’s Green IT frenzy continues, e-procurement specialist Peter Robbins talks to key members of the Department for Work and Pensions’ EDT, Delivery and Transformation Group Chris Haynes Director and Damien Kennedy, head of business partnerships.
- Where do you see green IT at the moment?
- What do you see as the future of green IT?
- Where do you see procurement sitting within the future green IT agenda?

read more | digg story

Primark case get procurement in the headlines

admin — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:16:03 +0000

The retailer’s cancelling of contracts, after allegations of exploitation, highlights monitoring issues, writes Roland Gribben of the Telegraph

“Supply chain issues have moved higher up the boardroom agenda as the credit crisis bites deeper amid fears that the economic slowdown will accelerate into a full-blown recession. The conventional safety kit in the shape of belt-tightening and cost-cutting is being rolled out but the uncertainties about the depth and length of economic turbulence leaves most businesses facing a considerable dilemma.

The procurement function has a higher priority and suppliers are under intense pressure to cut costs and accept tougher contract terms at a time when supply chain strategy is assuming new dimensions and the Primark case - contracts were cancelled with an Indian supplier after allegations of labour exploitation - highlights the ethical and monitoring issues and dangers tied to outsourcing in low-cost countries. “I can hear other companies saying ‘there but for the grace of God go I’,” said an industry executive.”

Please take time to read the article in full on the Telegraph website - Primark case flags up supply chain dilemma for firms (11/07/2008)

What is green procurement?

admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:19:42 +0000

The Mayor of London’s defines Green Procurement as part of the Green Procurement Code.

“Green procurement is environmentally responsible purchasing; it’s about using your purchasing power to promote productive use of resources and materials. This involves integrating environmental considerations into all stages of the purchasing process. . . . . .”

read more | digg story

On the Right Track with EnoTemp Technology

markperera — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:28:14 +0000

An interesting post from 2Sustain on energy-efficient data centres -

‘Green data centers are in the news, again. Last month, the New York Times ran an article on the growing importance of energy-efficient data centers.Now, there’s word that TelecityGroup, Europe’s leading data center provider, will be using EnoTemp, an innovative climate management device, in all of its Amsterdam data centers.’

Orginal press release can be found here

read more | digg story

Green Purchasing Power

markperera — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:10:18 +0000

China Daily spotted a very interesting white paper published by Arthur D Little on Cost Reduction and Revenue Generation through Sustainable Procurement. The white paper looks at how leading businesses are benefiting from a sustainable approach to procurement through reduced costs, lowered risk levels, increased stakeholder value and increased scope for innovative products and pricing.

“.. in this paper we explore the drivers behind a sustainable approach to procurement, its influence on CEO’s overall accountability, and how such an approach can be placed in the context of the wider strategic choices facing a company. We outline the profile of a “sustainable” supplier and present a view of the spectrum of
procurement strategies taken by today’s companies.”

The full white paper ‘Green Purchasing Power’ can be downloaded from Arthur D Little

This increased focus on sustainable procurement policy is driving more organisations to partner with the likes of The Achilles Group and Avaro to manage their supplier management information.

The Achilles Group (www.achilles.com) - Achilles works to identify, qualify, evaluate, and monitor suppliers on behalf of major organisations worldwide. We build and support buyer-supplier communities in many industry sectors, creating unique and powerful global networks. Our services for sustainable procurement help create opportunities for business and reduce risk in the supply chain.

Aravo (www.aravo.com) - Aravo’s mission is to solve complex, expensive problems for our clients without introducing unnecessary complexity and expense in doing so. Aravo’s flagship Supplier Information Management (SIM) platform was built from the ground up to solve today’s toughest supplier management challenges while delivering the flexibility to meet tomorrow’s needs as they emerge. From supply management to sustainability to risk management and compliance, Aravo SIM offers proven features and functionality to meet all of your supplier information management needs.

Arthur D Little (www.adl.com) - We are a global management consultancy specializing in strategy and operations management, serving major corporations and organizations worldwide. We are recognized as leaders in linking strategy, innovation and technology to solve our clients’ most complex business issues, delivering sustainable solutions. We are distinguished from others by our deep industry insight and technology expertise. We are proud of our creative people with their commitment to our clients.

Enter the dawn of Sourcing Excellence

markperera — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:46:23 +0000

So it’s been six months since I stepped down as editor of Procurement Leaders and I have finally succumbed to my need to share my thoughts with the world on the topics which interest my business and personal life.

So what are those topics that interest me?

Procurement - funny enough after spending the last four years facilitating one of the most influential buying communities in the Europe, the focus of Sourcing Excellence will around the procurement and sourcing. My day job continues to be strategically drive the Procurement Leaders Network forward, by extending the reach of the membership in Europe and into new regions.

Technology - as a self confessed techy geek, technology is going to another key area that I will be regularly writing about. I am a sucker for all the new shiny technology, whether it is new web app that promises going to save me time managing my email or new type of phone to read my email.

Collaboration - this is a really exciting area for me. Over the last few years technology has provided an endless array of ways for individuals and groups to work together and moving forward it is only going to get more engrained into out day to day lives. Whether it is open sourced software like Wordpress (which this blog is running on) or the Wikipedia it astounds me what the collective group can achieve. With this in mind I am going to use the crowd at much a possible to drive sourcing excellence forward.

Sustainability - whether it’s the fact that I am new father, or my back ground in biology or the growing awareness of society as a whole about what we are doing to our planet, sustainability in all its guises is another area that I am passionate about. My day job obviously gives a lot of insight into corporate buying decisions, so sustainable procurement topic area that I will cover regularly.