What is the definition of responsible purchasing?
Responsible purchasing refers to the purchase of goods or services from a supplier or service provider selected to minimize environmental and societal impacts and promote good practices in terms of ethics and human rights.
These best practices are outlined in the international ISO 20400 standard. The term “eco-friendly procurement” is sometimes used to describe situations where the buyer prioritizes goods and services with a lower environmental impact: short supply chains, eco-designed products, and goods and services that consume less energy, water, and transportation resources…
The adjective “responsible” refers to corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this sense, responsible procurement has an ethical dimension. A responsible procurement policy may also lead to giving preference to suppliers and service providers from the social and solidarity economy (SSE).
How to shop ethically?
Ethical purchasing requires asking the right questions in order to minimize the human, environmental, and societal impacts associated with the purchase of a good or service. But this approach is not the sole responsibility of the end consumer. Within a company, too, the procurement department must adopt this mindset, especially if it is committed to a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy. The buyer must make an effort to select suppliers based on a set of relevant criteria. Three main criteria can be identified:
- Human rights: compliance with labor laws and the prohibition of child labor.
- Environmental aspect: minimizing environmental impacts throughout the product or service’s life cycle (eco-design, raw materials from organic farming, reduced water and pesticide use, etc.)
- Social aspect: taking into account the dimensions of solidarity and local community, as well as wage equity and regional economic development.
To assist you in this process, various guidelines are available. For example, the voluntary ISO 20400 standard on responsible procurement addresses the risks of failing to make ethical purchasing decisions, using indicators related to greenhouse gas emissions, workers’ quality of life, and energy consumption. ISO 26000, which provides guidelines for implementing a sound CSR policy, proposes seven dimensions: governance; human rights; labor practices and working conditions; environment; fair operating practices; consumer issues; and communities and local development.
