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Green Business: “Do as I say, not as I do”

August 6th, 2008 · by Latane Conant · 2 Comments · best practices, enviro/social sustainability, sourcing, supply management

The funny thing about Green is…everyone is all for it until it requires time, money, or inconvenience. Take all the celebrities speaking out for Green issues, yet flying around in Private Jets and parking their fleets of cars in front of monster houses.  Green has become the ultimate “do as I say not as I do.”

Corporate America is no different, especially Sourcing and Procurement executives with increasing savings targets from the CEO.  In fact in a recent survey of the retail and CPG industry we found that 90% of respondents had Green as a priority, but 70% said it was not anyone’s job and that sustainability was not incorporated into the sourcing process.

In a similar survey by Supply Chain Management Review, half of respondents said their organizations have a corporate sustainability plan and 60% claim to be actively measuring ROI on their efforts. Great news, until you read that 2/3 of respondents also cited recycling and waste disposal as their top Green priorities.

Not to diminish those great intentions or the impact that recycling and waste disposal can have on the planet, but if those are their ‘top priorities’ it’s no wonder many companies struggle to get buy in for Green initiatives. While recycling is important, it fails to provide the ROI that management is looking for in these economic times. And there in lies the opportunity for smart thinking procurement organizations that are willing to look beyond Green and think “Sustainable.”

A Sustainable Sourcing program can provide the green products, services and operations that management and consumers demand. But, it can also extend it’s value to the bottom line by driving sustainable savings. The key for ’selling’ the program to everyone - consumers to management - is the focus on the 3 aspects of sustainability. Sustainable Sourcing meaning sustainable supply chain, sustainable environment, and sustainable savings.

The key to getting to a truly Sustainable Sourcing program off the ground is a structured, objective, fact-based assessment that…

  • Identifies specific areas of opportunity to reduce costs while improving Greeness
  • Prioritizes opportunities with initial estimates of savings
  • Recommends ways to make Spend Management processes more sustainable
  • Provides an initial roadmap for launching a Sustainable Sourcing program

I’ll be digging further into each of these points over the next couple of weeks on the blog. In the mean time, please drop a note in the Comment section if you have a green vs sustainability story you’d like to share.

Latane Conant is a Senior Manager in Ariba’s Spend Management Services group specializing in strategic sourcing projects for major retailers.

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2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Not a fan // Aug 6, 2008 at 6:02 pm

    It never disappoints - fans believe that the people who make a career out of not being themselves will somehow provide them legitimate guidance.

  • 2 Supply Excellence — Marketing sees “Green”, Procurement sees “Cost Savings” // Oct 23, 2008 at 5:58 am

    [...] my colleague Latane Conant said recently, corporate sustainability efforts will have to deliver sustainable supply chains, a sustainable [...]

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