Written by Marijn Overvest | Reviewed by Sjoed Goedhart | Fact Checked by Ruud Emonds | Our editorial policy

Identifying and Engaging With Suppliers

Working with suppliers on sustainable procurement takes a lot of effort when formulating strategy and planning to achieve the best results!

Finding suppliers who share your brand values and can assist you in achieving your environmental goals is crucial. You and your company must engage with suppliers to solve sustainability challenges that you may face

Engaging suppliers is intended to create a shared understanding of sustainability challenges, increase supplier ownership of their sustainability vision, strategy, and performance, and foster closer working relationships with suppliers that have the same interests. 

Some companies developed an expanding range of procedures and tools for collaborating with their suppliers to achieve sustainability, and they have started to see the results of their efforts. 

Because of their purchasing power,  retailers have a great amount of influence over the commercial decisions made by their suppliers. Many organizations, also the ones that are not as powerful as large retailers, have adopted advanced and successful strategies for altering the behavior of their suppliers in recent years. 

They go beyond spreading standards of behavior. What you can learn from them, is that they assist suppliers in creating sustainability programs that directly serve the goals of the businesses themselves. 

We’ll see how you can also do this in your company step-by-step. The first step is making a list of suppliers in 6 simple ways:

1. Research and identify local suppliers who offer sustainable products or services.
2. Ask other businesses you know for recommendations on sustainable suppliers.
3. Use the internet to look for sustainable suppliers.
4. See if your current suppliers can offer any sustainable alternatives or products.
5. Look for suppliers that commit to ethical and responsible practices.
6. Look for suppliers that value transparency and have a reputation for quality.

The next step is to communicate your sustainability expectations to the suppliers. This means your current and your possible new or alternative suppliers.  To do this, you can schedule a meeting with all your suppliers to explain to them the targets you wish to achieve through the sustainable procurement strategy.

Next, you must create a list of information that you want from the suppliers, to assess whether they can provide you with products that help you achieve your sustainability targets. You can also prepare a pre-qualification questionnaire. In this questionnaire, you can ask your suppliers about policies, processes, and performance.

These questionnaires can also be used to assess the economic, social, and environmental performance of existing suppliers. Prequalification helps to achieve the goal of knowing relevant information about the proficiency of suppliers. 

Benefits of Engaging With Sustainable Suppliers

Engaging with sustainable suppliers is a must, especially if you want to achieve sustainability in your procurement process. Here are some of the benefits you can gain when engaging with sustainable suppliers:

1. Reduced environmental impacts

Sustainable suppliers are committed to reducing their environmental impact. Thus, they can help lower your carbon emissions and reduce waste. 

2. Build a resilient supply chain

By engaging with sustainable suppliers, companies can build a more resilient and stable supply chain. This can lead to reduced risk, improved efficiency, and cost savings in the long run.

3. Brand image

Consumers are increasingly concerned about sustainability and environmental issues nowadays. By working with sustainable suppliers, businesses can improve their reputation and brand image which can lead to increased customer satisfaction and sales.

4. Social benefits

Sustainable suppliers prioritize fair labor practices, worker safety, and community engagement. Thus, they can help create positive social impacts in the communities where they operate.

Do you want to learn more about engaging with suppliers effectively? Then our course is the right fit for you. Our Sustainable Procurement Course will teach you techniques and strategies that will help you to engage with suppliers effectively. Enroll now!

Conclusion

The process of identifying and engaging with sustainable suppliers is a cornerstone in achieving long-term business sustainability.

The careful selection of suppliers aligning with environmental and social standards is vital for reducing the ecological footprint and ensuring ethical practices throughout the supply chain.

By actively involving suppliers in sustainability initiatives, businesses not only mitigate environmental impacts but also fortify their supply chains, leading to increased efficiency and cost savings.

Moreover, engagement with sustainable suppliers enhances brand image, meeting the growing consumer demand for eco-conscious products and contributing to heightened customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

In a global landscape increasingly valuing responsible business conduct, proactive engagement with sustainable suppliers emerges not only as a strategic imperative but as a pathway to enduring success and positive contributions to the broader community and environment.