Publication

Sustainable Procurement – The Art of Buying Green

In recent years there has been much discussion around the ideology of sustainability.

Sustainability addresses three key areas – environmental, economic and social. A sustainable society is one that exists with minimal negative impact on each of these three areas and no one area can suffer at the expense of another. Therefore, the wellbeing of future generations is dependent upon understanding, accepting and practicing sustainable behaviour in every aspect of our lives, including our professional lives.

Business can be categorised as either private or public sector. Within the private sector goods and services are made available for purchase to buying organisations (which could be public or private sector). Buying organisations will typically have a list of suppliers that are contracted to provide specific goods and services at an agreed price for an agreed amount of time. This process is defined as procurement.