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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
3.13.2007 - 09:50pm ET
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CSR News from:
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Fraser Basin Council
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News Category:
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Building Your Business Case for Sustainable Purchasing
(CSRwire) A new guide from the BC-based Sustainability Purchasing Network –
available at www.buysmartbc.com – shows
organizations why it makes sense to consider the impact of their
purchasing decisions all the way down the line. A sound supply chain,
from social, environmental and ethical perspectives, makes for a better
world. It also links nicely to the financial bottom line.
VANCOUVER, B.C. – March 13, 2007 - The Sustainability Purchasing Network
(the "Network") has released their "Guide to the Business Case and Benefits
of Sustainability Purchasing," a one-stop resource that helps business,
non-profit, and government organizations improve environmental and social
conditions through purchasing, develop better relationships with
suppliers, reduce costs, and ultimately build a more sustainable
economy.
According to Coro Strandberg, one of the study's authors and a co-founder
of the Network, there is no other source of information publicly available
that covers both social purchasing and ethical and environmental sourcing
in one place. "We took our lead in developing this guide by our own
experience researching the subject," she says. "We found different pieces
in different places, but nowhere did we find a comprehensive discussion
that spoke to why organizations should move toward sustainability
purchasing, as opposed to how to do it."
Sustainability purchasing is a management process used to give preference
to suppliers of goods and services that demonstrate positive social and
environmental impacts. It entails looking at what products are made of,
where they have come from, who has made them, and how they will be
disposed of at the end of their life—even considering whether the
purchase needs to be made at all.
This resource tool is intended for use as a guidance document for
organizations that are thinking about, or are in the process of,
developing an internal business case for sustainability purchasing. It
contains 80-plus examples and case studies to help them tailor their
sustainability purchasing programs to their unique circumstances and
priorities, and illustrates how to manage and leverage the costs.
"It is clear that the organizations featured in the business case guide
have influenced others—and been influenced by—their commitment to
sustainability purchasing," says Strandberg. "By increasing the number of
participants throughout the supply chain that are utilizing sustainability
purchasing programs, we’ll create a more sustainable economy overall."
About the Sustainability Purchasing Network
Established in 2005, the Sustainability Purchasing Network supports
business, not-for-profit, academic, labour, and government organizations
to develop and improve their sustainable purchasing practices, as well as
influence positive environmental, social, ethical, and economic impacts
for BC and beyond.
Through its website, the Sustainability Purchasing Network provides access
to information and resources on sustainable purchasing, including a
business case tool to educate senior executives and purchasing managers as
to the financial, social, and environmental benefits of sustainable
purchasing. The Network offers workshops and learning circles on different
aspects of sustainable purchasing. See www.buysmartbc.com for details.
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