San Francisco-based BSR and Hilton Worldwide recently released a new report highlighting year-one findings from the Center for Sustainable Procurement (CSP), an initiative launched in May 2012 to help global business procurement managers integrate sustainability into their purchasing decisions.
By Patrick Burnson
Published: September, 2013
San Francisco-based BSR and Hilton Worldwide recently released a new report highlighting year-one findings from the Center for Sustainable Procurement (CSP), an initiative launched in May 2012 to help global business procurement managers integrate sustainability into their purchasing decisions.
The research is the first published work of the CSP and draws lessons from three yearlong pilot projects with AT&T, Best Buy and Dell, as well as from Hilton Worldwide’s work integrating sustainability criteria for product procurement into its proprietary LightStay performance-management system.
"Procurement directors are über-consumers—charged with buying thousands of the same product types for their companies—and they must weigh many factors in these decisions, from price to quality to delivery timing," said Eric Olson, a senior vice president at BSR. "While sustainability should be a critical factor, there is a dearth of information on how to integrate it into these decisions."
The CSP’s research and analysis included interviews with seven global companies that are currently leading on responsible supply chain efforts, three multi-stakeholder efforts focused on product-level sustainability, and extensive desk-based research on the current landscape of sustainable procurement initiatives. In the first year, experts from the CSP analyzed three products with BSR member companies to examine how product sustainability information could be included in procurement decisions.
Commenting on the report, William Kornegay, a senior vice president at Hilton Worldwide, said, "Procurement managers have long struggled to access the resources or the guidance they need to make strategic and sustainable purchasing decisions. The CSP addresses that gap and aims to equip those managers with the tools they need to purchase more sustainable products."
The report outlines four key lessons from these case studies:
Align the strategy with the nature of the category and supplier relationships: For simple products, the preferred business and sustainability specifications can be written by the company and then sent to suppliers for a competitive bid. But as products increase in complexity, companies must work strategically with suppliers to enhance the product’s sustainability characteristics over time.
Involve the right players: Include the broad range of internal stakeholders that influence the design, specification, and use of purchased products and services.
Establish a clear business case: Given the range of attributes procurement directors have for purchasing decisions, it’s important to emphasize how sustainability attributes support those needs—for instance, through reduced costs or savings over the life of the product.
Start with what is measurable: Achieving the ultimate goal of lifecycle sustainability will take significant time and effort, making it important for companies to start simple and build momentum through early wins.
California Expots Flat in June
California’s exporters essentially treaded water in June, according to Beacon Economics’ analysis of foreign trade data released by the U.S. Commerce Department. Nominally, California exports this June ($15.23 billion) were higher than last June ($15.18 billion), however, that apparent 0.3% gain was negated by inflation.
"June was another of those ‘apparently up but actually down’ months," said Jock O’Connell of Beacon Economics. California’s exports of manufactured items rose nominally from $9.71 billion last June to $9.81 billion this June. Meanwhile, the state’s exports of non-manufactured goods (chiefly agricultural produce and raw materials) also edged up, from $1.59 billion to $1.64 billion.
However, re-exports declined from $3.89 billion to $3.79 billion. Through the first half of the year, California’s overall $80.92 billion export trade is running slightly behind the $81.97 billion recorded in the same period last year. This slowness reflects trends seen at the national level, where exports are roughly the same as last year through June.
But this is not fundamental to the U.S. or California economy, according to Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics. "With the U.S. dollar 20 percent weaker (in real terms) today than it was a decade ago, products produced here are more competitive than they have been in a long time," said Thornberg. "The issue is that global trade has more or less stopped growing with Europe in a recession and China seeing slower expansion."
