Sustainable Procurement

ERA Group's guide presents sustainable procurement as a practical route to ESG targets that also reduces cost. The premise is that most of a company's environmental impact sits outside its own operations: in most cases over 80% of the carbon footprint is scope 3, with more than 40% inside the supply chain.

The guide lists the common barriers: growing ESG regulatory requirements and client requests for product and company data, difficulty finding the right sustainable suppliers and partners, balancing sustainability goals against cost-saving targets, and limited in-house expertise to manage sustainable procurement and supply chain risk.

Four workstreams are described: ESG risk assessment of the supply chain, a practical pathway to Net Zero where emissions are measured and reduced before the remainder is offset, smarter supplier selection, and uncovering procurement savings that fund sustainability work without expanding the team. Implementation follows four steps — consultation, ESG and risk analysis, supplier optimisation, and ongoing support with KPIs for cost, sustainability and service delivery.

One case in the guide is UK greetings card chain Clintons, where new carrier bags were 100% recyclable and made from 50% recycled material, at a 39.1% financial saving. The content is ERA Group's own; JMF Europe summarises it briefly and the original English document remains the complete source.