ISO 20400

ISO 20400 INTEGRATE SUSTAINABILITY WITHIN PROCUREMENT

As the first International Standard on Sustainable procurement, ISO 20400 contains guidance on sustainable procurement, describes the Sustainable Procurement principles, examines why an organization should undertake this, guides on how to integrate this at the strategic level, it also states the management techniques needed for implementing. Every organisation has environmental, social and economic impacts. Procurement is a powerful instrument for organizations wishing to act responsibly  and contribute to sustainable development and the achievement of the UN SDGs. By integrating sustainability in procurement policies and practices, including supply chains, organizations can manage risks (including opportunities) for sustainable environmental, social and economic development.

An organisation and its procurement function should be taking into consideration ISO 26000, with all seven core subjects and 37 sustainability issues, and their interdependence, when developing its sustainable procurement policy.

The seven core subjects are as follows:

1. Organizational governance

2. Human rights

3. Labour practices

4. Environment

5. Fair operating practices

6. Consumer Issues

7. Community Involvement and development

WHY IS ISO 20400 IMPORTANT?

ISO 20400 provides an internationally recognized and standardized way to measure your organization’s sustainable procurement.

ISO 20400 provides you with:

• A way to integrate Sustainability within the procurement process, at the strategic level, policies & practices and processes of your organization.
•  Manage financial, environmental and reputational risk
• Promote Innovation
• Sustainability benefits, including savings over the life cycle cost
• Contribution to local Economy
• Encourage Small & Medium enterprise suppliers
• Ensure the respect of Human Rights within your supply chain
• Reducing resource wastages & emission

TÜV SÜD IS A GLOBAL EXPERT IN SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS

Increased importance of Sustainable Procurement demands demonstrated performance by organizations against global frameworks like ISO 20400. The guideline is designed to be international, flexible and applicable to any organization, anywhere. Consequently, the overall recommendations need to be translated as per your organization’s specific context and activities.

TÜV SÜD has wide ranging experience in the assessment of organizations against sustainability frameworks. Our experts work closely with you to see how ISO 20400 applies to your organization. Based on the suggested action points for your company, you can build a Sustainable Procurement Process to fulfil stakeholders' expectations.

TÜV SÜD'S ISO 20400 SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT SERVICES

 TÜV SÜD provides validation services against the ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Guidance. When we work with you, you can expect:

• Support from a team of qualified Sustainability experts.
• We conduct workshops to understand your organization, customers, activities and value chain.
• We work with you to design validation project according to the needs of your organization.
• We can support you with ongoing ISO 20400 validation and annual validation.

YOUR BENEFITS AT A GLANCE

• Minimize risks – arising from the supply chain
• Save money and time – with a single point of validation that identifies organization's status quo of sustainable procurement up to the integration process and identifies potential threats & improvement opportunities
• Gain a competitive edge – by focusing sustainability & innovation on supply chain
• Benefit from independent validation – with our independent and impartial assessment results, Organization can use the Report for gaining stakeholder confidence

For more information about ISO 20400, or to find out more about our services, contact us today.