Commonwealth Secretariat – Procurement
Client name: Commonwealth Secretariat
Sector: Intergovernmental Organisation
Project: Supply Chain Emissions Profile and Sustainable Procurement Package
When: Autumn 2010
Summary
The Commonwealth Secretariat is an intergovernmental organisation that works as a trusted partner for all Commonwealth people, as a force for peace, democracy, equality, and good governance and a source of assistance for sustainable development and poverty eradication. In recognition of the impact of its operations on the environment and to honour its own commitment to integrating environmental best practice into all its business operation, the Secretariat commissioned Carbon Smart to assess the environmental impacts of its supply chain and to introduce sustainability into the organisation’s procurement processes.
Client’s objectives
- Map out the emissions profile of the organisation’s supply chain
- Introduce the concept of sustainable procurement to the procurement and finance teams
- Obtain a set of tools aimed at assessing the sustainability performance of key suppliers
Process
The Commonwealth Secretariat provided Carbon Smart with a breakdown of procurement spend according to relevant categories. Our supply chain emissions expert mapped out the category spend data to a specialist model based on multi industry/sector averages. The study identified high impact categories and suppliers which with the aim of providing focus for the procurement’s team sustainability efforts. As part of our initiative to introduce sustainability into the organisation’s processes, our team engaged relevant staff on sustainable procurement practices through an interactive workshop. We used this opportunity to coach the staff on how to effectively use a set of procurement tools designed to reduce the environmental, social and economic impacts of purchasing.
Success
The Commonwealth Secretariat is aiming for the Carbon Smart Blue Certification and is committed to incorporating sustainability into the procurement process, as part of the overall environmental strategy. The organisation has made significant progress in engaging with staff and securing support for these initiatives from senior management.