If your company hasn’t already joined the Great Green Wave that is sweeping across the consumer and business world, it’s possible that you are…quite frankly…a little scared. Scared that making a switch to a greener product line could backfire, either financially by driving up costs or from a PR/brand perspective if your new “green” decisions turn out to be a case of “greenwashing”. You can have great intentions to shift to a greener supply chain, but wind up publicly embarrased when your suppliers either a) misrepresent themselves or b) their green standards don’t live up to consumers’ expectations.

The way to avoid succumbing to greenwashing is to stop it as the source. If your RFx focuses on uncovering the right information, you’ll greatly decrease the chances of a surprise in the future. Each product or service you source is different, so you’ll need to adjust your RFx accordingly. But this should give you a solid start:

Green Sourcing RFx Questions for your potential suppliers:

• Do you have energy efficient production technology?
• Do you have manufacturing facilities running on renewable energy?
• What are your waste management strategies (i.e. recycling or landfill or composting)?
• Do you have an Social and Environmental Corporate Responsibility Program?
• Do you have an environmental management system (EMS)?
• Do you consider environmental issues in the design process?
• Do you provide any data on your company’s environmental impacts?
• Are any toxic materials in your manufacturing process? If so, please identify.
• Do you incorporate any recycled material, particularly from post-consumer sources, in your production?
• Are you Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified?
• Are you Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certified?
• Are you ISO 14001 certified?

Luckily, there are several guidelines and certification organizations who help you and your supply base achieve their sustainability goes. For example, the ISO 14001 certification helps organizations minimize how their operations negatively effect the environment, comply with applicable laws and regulations. And their stamp of approval ensures that these issues have been vetted:

• Design and functionality of the product
• Extraction and processing of materials
• Manufacturing processes
• Packaging and distribution
• How the product is used
• Recycling, reuse and disposal

Kimberly Davis-Gerst is a Paper and Packaging Category Manager in Ariba’s Global Sourcing Organization. Prior to joining Ariba, Kimberly was a Buyer with Colgate-Palmolive, where she sourced, negotiated, managed and procured packaging and raw materials. She is recognized by the Institute of Supply Management as a Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.).