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2.9. You are what you buy

Scrutinising and thoroughly understanding your purchasing and supply chain is a major part of sustainability. That's why we have created this guide to responsible purchasing.

Key Takeaways 2.8

In a nutshell

  • Take the most relevant bits of the supply chain questionnaire and devise a plan to send it to your main suppliers.

  • Review the results and work together with suppliers to improve.

Supply chain code of conduct

No business is perfect, but by working together, we can introduce best practices throughout the supply chain. A good place to start is by creating a code of conduct to share with all suppliers.

Your code of conduct should explain your company values and approach to sustainability and regenerative tourism and outline the principles you expect from them as suppliers. 

Working with partners who share your commitments to environmental and social stewardship helps raise quality and positive action throughout the industry.  It also helps reduce those hard to tackle scope 3 emissions that we talked about in section 2.4..

You can also send out a survey or audit to your top suppliers (for example those who make up 80% of your total cost of sales) asking them a series of questions relating to their approach to sustainability.

Sample supply chain questionnaire

Here are some example questions (these are similar to your own self-audit questions).

  • 1. Does the supplier measure its carbon emissions?⬜
    2. Has the supplier committed to a specific carbon reduction programme?⬜
    3. Does the supplier use a green energy supplier?⬜
    4. Does the supplier have emissions data relating to Scopes 1+2?⬜
    5. Does the supplier have any emissions data relating to Scope 3?⬜
    6. Does the supplier have written energy efficiency policies and/or an energy management system (EMS)?⬜
    7. Does the supplier have a written water efficiency policy?⬜
    8. Does the supplier have clear waste reduction policies in place?⬜
    9. If applicable, are individual product related sustainability details (including eco-labels) available for all products?⬜
    10. If applicable, does the supplier have data on the carbon footprint of individual products?⬜
    11. If applicable, are responsible disposal recommendations available for all products produced?⬜
    12. Does the supplier have a formal supplier code of conduct that specifically holds the company’s suppliers accountable for social and environmental impact?⬜
    13. Does the supplier have initiatives in place to support nature and biodiversity projects?⬜

  • Employees

    1. Have employees been surveyed to establish their views and concerns regarding environmental and social issues?⬜
    2. Does the supplier have a clear written policy in place covering diversity, equality and inclusion?⬜
    3. Does the supplier pay above the minimum living wage (as discussed in section 2.14.)?⬜
    4. Does the supplier have an employee health and wellbeing programme?⬜

    Customers

    1. Have customers been surveyed to establish their views and concerns regarding environmental and social issues?⬜
    2. Are the supplier’s environmental and social commitments clearly and transparently communicated to customers?⬜

    Community

    1. Does the supplier have a set charity giving policy?⬜
    2. Does the supplier give away any products or services for free (to those who cannot afford them)?⬜
    3. Does the supplier support local events?⬜
    4. Does the supplier support employee community service/volunteering?⬜
    5. Does the company offer local apprenticeship programmes or paid internships?⬜

  • 1. Does sustainability play a central role in the supplier’s mission (vision, values, purpose)?⬜
    2. Is sustainability a fixed item at all senior leadership meetings?⬜
    3. Are environmental and social responsibility criteria built into performance reviews, KPIs and bonuses?⬜
    4. Does the supplier have written policies covering corporate governance?⬜
    5. Have all staff received sustainability training including both environmental and social responsibility?⬜
    6. Has the supplier achieved any kind of sustainability certification?⬜

Ranking responses

Once you have received the information back from your suppliers, you can rank them in order of their scores – attributing a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) scoring system.

High scoring companies fall into the Green zone - good suppliers to work with.

Companies with middling scores fall into the Amber zone – okay, but should be kept an eye on (and encouraged to improve if possible),

Low scoring companies fall into the Red zone – not great and should be actively encouraged to improve or alternative suppliers should be sourced.

Here’s a sample scoring sheet you can use to rank suppliers and sort them into rankings: Red (20-30 points), Amber (11-20 points) and Green (1-10 points).

[supplier name]

 
Environment⬜ / out of 13
Social - employees⬜ / out of 4
Social - customers⬜ /out of 2
Social - community⬜ /out of 5
Business integrity⬜ / out of 6

TOTAL

⬜ / out of 30

Day-to-day decision making

Another way to radically improve your company purchasing is to embed a new way of thinking throughout the business and get everyone questioning their day-to-day purchasing through a sustainability lens.

Responsible purchasing checklist

Ask yourself…And the answer is…
Do we really need this? 
Who made it? 
What is it made of? 
What is it wrapped in? 
Where does it come from? 
How will it be transported and delivered? 
Is it built to last? 
How will it be disposed of? Will it end up in landfill? 
Is there a greener, more responsible option? 

If everyone in the organisation instinctively challenges their purchasing on behalf of the company, significant change can occur. (see the Stop. Think. Challenge. in section 2.10.