Procurement and supply chain
Step three - Expert
Once you’ve measured your supply chain and established the goals, values and benchmarking that you’d like to work to, you should set a goal to keep your business accountable.
Key Actions
- Set clear goals – this could be making sure that 50% of suppliers meet your requirements within 12 months.
- Communicate with your suppliers – clearly outline your intentions and collaborate on improvement strategies, e.g. asking if they could source alternative materials to avoid excess waste.
- Monitor your approach – the goal should be to work with your supply chain to support improvement, drive innovation and work together.
Do you have an example of an excellent sustainable supply chain partner offering logistics, packaging, office supplies, and more? We’d love to hear from you – email circularglasgow@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
Integrating Circular Economy Principles
A circular approach focuses on eliminating waste and keeping materials in use for longer. To achieve this with your supply chain partners and procurement processes, look for partners who offer closed loop solutions, such as:
- Take back schemes – can they take back any excess packaging and materials?
- Remanufacturing services – extend product lifecycles by seeking suppliers who can service or repair items, or reuse them to develop new products
- Reusable packaging – can you utilise the excess packaging that comes with your deliveries elsewhere in your business?
Sharing your progress
Seeking to improve upon your procurement processes and review your supply chain partners can have a huge impact on your wider business. From improving your carbon footprint, to reducing your costs or waste levels, to being more resilient with understanding your supply chain capabilities, it’s all something that you should share.
- Report externally – develop case studies, social media posts and include it in any sustainability reports that you create.
- Engage your stakeholders – show your customers how your supply chain is evolving to meet your net zero and circular economy goals.
- Celebrate your achievements – recognise positive supplier partnerships and share best practices.
If you’d like to find out more about the Circular Economy – sign up to our Circular Glasgow Network. LINK