EcoVadis has released its annual Sustainable Procurement Barometer. The research found that delivering on corporate sustainability goals has become a top priority, with 63% of respondents saying its very important, compared to just 25% only two years ago.
Sustainability goals within the supply chain is still a work in progress. According to the report, only 48% of supplier respondents believe that buying organizations they work with are engaged with sustainability and actively partner with them to foster sustainability practices in their commercial relationships. Meanwhile, 46% of suppliers believe that sustainability is only important to customers on paper, but is not a priority when they work together.
“At a time when the disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters have led many companies to shift their focus to building resiliency in their supply chains, this timely report provides practitioners answers to four key questions: what exactly sustainable procurement is, who should be involved, why it should be done and how it can be achieved,” advised Professor Hau Lee, Faculty Codirector, Value Chain Innovation Initiative at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Per BusinessWire:
- In order, procurement organizations are prioritizing labor and human rights issues, followed by the environment, social issues, and business ethics, in their two – three-year strategies.
- 61% of procurement leaders say social issues will be “more important” or “significantly more important” over the next two to three years.
- 63% of corporate respondents, and 71% of supplier respondents, report that their sustainable procurement initiative helped them endure the COVID-19 pandemic.
