Making the Case for Investment

in Your Company’s Sustainable

Purchasing Program
Presented by the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council
Contents
03 Executive summary
04 What does it mean to invest in a company’s
sustainable purchasing program?
05 Building your case on business value
and corporate goals
05 Walking the talk: 8 proven ways to show impact
22 Our panelists
23 Final thoughts

A thank-you to our project sponsor: EcoVadis

We thank EcoVadis for its support of this whitepaper.
Founded in 2007, EcoVadis has become a trusted partner
for procurement teams in more than 350 global industry
leaders, where its sustainability ratings and intelligence
suite help reduce risk and drive innovation in the supply chain.
Learn more at www.sustainablepurchasing.org/rsp-ecovadis.
EcoVadis is included in SPLC’s rate the raters evaluation at
www.sustainablepurchasing.org/rsp-ecovadis.
 Executive summary
Sustainable purchasing continues to gain traction as more organizations heed
the broader call—from their customers, investors, employees, and communities—
to operate in more environmentally and socially responsible ways.
Sustainable purchasing programs succeed because their leaders effectively manage goal-setting,
implementation, and collaboration with cross-functional teams and external stakeholders. Successful
program leaders continually build the capacity of their procurement organization and supplier base to
meet rising sustainability expectations. And often, they require new tools to streamline data collection
and reporting.

Gaining the budgetary resources to support sustainable purchasing coordination and embedding
of best practices can be a challenge, even within companies where the big-picture benefits of
sustainability initiatives are well understood by senior executives. We asked the sustainable purchasing
champions at eight U.S. and international companies in a range of industries and sizes to share how
they’ve made the case for investment in their company’s sustainable purchasing program. (See list of
panelists on page 22.)

While our panel of leaders identified many aspects to winning resources for a sustainable purchasing
program, one key insight emerged again and again: Talk about your program needs in the context of how
sustainable purchasing influences much bigger dollar numbers—such as revenue, market share, and
overall procurement spend—that everyone in the company understands. In other words, show people
that your investment requests are small, in dollar terms, compared with the business value they will
deliver or protect, also expressed in dollar terms.

“Any investment in a sustainable procurement organization like ours has

to be balanced with the outcome. If you start something small, and the
business can see the value and the impacts that you’re making, you will
typically get additional resources to help you scale that initiative.”
— Ben Ngobi, Accenture

In the sections that follow, we’ll examine how to tailor and apply that core insight in conversations with
key decisionmakers based on eight different business outcomes that our panelists identified as highly
valued by senior executives. Along with how-to tips and success stories from the sustainable purchasing
champions, we’ve also created several ready-made conversation guides that use examples of big-dollar
business value in a compelling story context. ists

3 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 What does it mean to invest might range from a portion of a full-time position at
a small or mid-sized company to three to 10 full-time
in a company’s sustainable positions in a larger, multinational enterprise. The
need for additional staff in larger companies reflects
purchasing program? the greater effort required to develop strategy,
coordinate implementation, train and monitor
Like any business initiative that involves compliance, track and report data, and develop
sustainability practices across supply bases and
a fundamental shift in perspectives and
supply chains with tens of thousands of partners
practices, transforming the sustainability and hundreds or thousands of buyers.
of a large and complex supply base or
Training. Effective sustainable purchasing programs
supply chain doesn’t happen by itself. often deploy several types of training at different
To do it effectively requires strategic levels of the company and supply chain. Investments
may include sustainability courses for buyers, budget
leadership, constant communication holders, and end-users of goods and services, as well
between internal and external stakeholders, as training for suppliers to develop their sustainability
capacity building within procurement management and reporting capabilities.
and with suppliers, the engagement of Consulting. Program leaders often benefit from
subject-matter experts, and tools for an outside perspective when they are seeking to
focus sustainable purchasing efforts on the most
streamlining data collection, performance strategic opportunities to impact the world and their
measurement, and reporting. company’s bottom line. Examples include bringing in
subject-matter experts to conduct risk assessments
Sustainable purchasing programs rely on four primary or impact spend analyses; inform the development
types of resources: of sourcing strategies for high-impact areas; or help
Staff Time. Sustainable purchasing champions audit, document, and report on sustainability issues.
typically need dedicated assistants who can help Leaders also can gain valuable insights through
manage sustainable purchasing strategy development memberships in pre-competitive collaboration
and implementation across the company. Staffing organizations and industry-specific coalitions.

4 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 Building your case on
business value and
Investing in sustainability
corporate goals
does not mean paying more!
Although your specific approach will be driven in part
Making your case for sustainable by the culture and norms of your company, we found
at least one common denominator: speaking in the
purchasing program resources same language as stakeholders. All of our panelists
isn’t about adding to the cost of said they are most effective when they frame the need
products and services you procure. for resources in terms that underscore how sustainable
purchasing advances corporate goals, such as:
It’s about putting in place the
staff, training, processes, and ··Increasing sales and profits
tools that allow your organization ··Minimizing risk
to embed sustainability into ··Satisfying customers and shareholders
procurement in ways that save ··Building competitive advantage
money, reduce risks, increase ··Reducing costs
innovation, and more. ··Strengthening supplier relationships
and performance
These touchpoints for the value of your program
are powerful precisely because they don’t portray
sustainability as doing good for goodness’ sake.
Tools. Successful program leaders increasingly
When sustainable procurement gets recognized as
rely on home-grown or third-party tools that help the
a proven driver of business success, people across
organization calculate the impact of purchases,
your organization will ultimately invest in learning
compare the results of various purchasing choices,
more about the environmental and social benefits of
map its supply chain, collect sustainability data
sustainability too.
from suppliers, and rate suppliers’ sustainability.
(See SPLC’s evaluation of Supplier Sustainability
Ratings, www.sustainablepurchasing.org/splc-insight-
guide-to-supplier-sustainability-raters, for additional Walking the talk: 8 proven
guidance.)
ways to show impact
In many cases, the programs are housed in procurement
or supply chain departments but receive substantial Our panelists’ experiences with winning investment in
funding and assistance from other areas of the their sustainable purchasing initiatives revealed eight
business, including: common storylines that succeed at translating needs
into opportunities to add value. We’ll explore each of
··Corporate social responsibility—especially for these proven approaches on the pages that follow.
materiality assessment and subject-matter experts
··Training budgets—re-allocated to address
sustainability topics
··PR, Marketing, Communications—for illuminating
your program’s purpose and showing results to
customers, suppliers, and employees
··Risk management—for assessments and
compliance audits

5 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WALKING THE TALK

1
TALK ABOUT
CUSTOMER REVENUE
Add up the number of customers and key
sales opportunities that use sustainability
attributes in supplier evaluations.

SAMPLE CONVERSATION:
“Last year, we did $ 1 billion in business with customers who asked about our purchasing
and supplier sustainability practices. That number is growing year-over-year, as is the
sophistication of the questions they are asking. We need $ 100,000 and/or 1.5 FTE
staff time to proactively satisfy this growing customer demand. Failure to do so could put
$ 1.25 billion worth of customer revenue at risk. [Include the story of an RFP lost.] Success
will help us win new business with additional customers that value and prioritize supply chain
sustainability. [Include the story of an RFP won.]”
6 Making the Case for Investment in Your Organization’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WHY it works WHAT success looks like
You’re changing the focus of this investment in resources When business leaders at Sodexo ask Judy Panayos
from what I need to what our customers want and how sustainable purchasing influences the company’s
demand. That’s a far more compelling reason for your sales and what aspects are most important, she wants
executive lead or budget committee to back you up to be ready with more than just anecdotes about
rather than push back. the value that customers see in her team’s efforts.
Panayos, who sits in the supply function, is working
“I make sure each expenditure for my program lines cross-functionally with the business development and
up with a customer requirement,” says Cindy Bush at sustainability groups to create a process for assigning
Tessy Plastics. “That has garnered me full rein to do hard numbers to sustainability’s impact.
what I need.”
“We are analyzing the client data for keywords related
to sustainability—such as supplier diversity, food waste,
HOW to do it or local sourcing—and then quantifying business won,
lost, or grown specific to the key terms,” Panayos
··Connect the dots. Compare your program costs to explains. “Using the value of those contracts, we
the total amount of revenue coming from customers will be better able to quantify how we contribute to
that put a high value on doing business with sustainable Sodexo’s growth and where we should be prioritizing
companies. Don’t just include revenue associated with new projects.”
individual RFPs; add up the gross figure for all of that
customer’s business. A $100,000 technology or That measurable evidence of her group’s business
staffing outlay that helps retain $100 million in sales? impact will help Panayos and the sustainability group
That’s a bargain. defend budgets, and will demonstrate that new projects
are aligned to specific, quantifiable client feedback.
··Track the results. Show your leadership the examples
of specific customers’ compliance requests that “In this way we won’t struggle to make business cases,”
your program helps satisfy, and how sustainable she says. “We will be able to demonstrate for our
purchasing has contributed to winning new contracts. leadership that our sustainable and responsible sourcing
··Spread the word. Work with your procurement enables us to win and retain customers.”
managers, sales representatives, and marketing leads
to weave examples of the sustainable purchasing
program’s impact into their outreach.

“I don’t have to convince anybody to spend a little bit more on my program if

the results are something that our customers will recognize: We did a better
job for them, and we’re delivering higher quality.”
— Ann Dougherty, Roppe

7 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WALKING THE TALK

2
TALK ABOUT
YOUR INVESTORS
Sustainability issues carry growing weight in
the financial market. Position your program
as a visible lever of shareholder satisfaction.

SAMPLE CONVERSATION:
“Last year, we had investors with $ 50 billion in market share ask about our supply chain
sustainability. That number is growing year-over-year, and investors are asking increasingly
sophisticated questions. We need $ 250,000 and or 3.0 FTE staff capacity to make sure we
are getting ahead of this trend. Failure to do so could put $ 60 billion in shareholder capital at
risk, as well as potentially incur added costs of fighting shareholder resolutions related to supply
chain sustainability. [Include the story of an investor consultation that avoided a shareholder
resolution or withdrawal of investment.] Success will help us attract new investment and lower
our cost of capital as more investors make supply chain sustainability a priority.”
8 Making the Case for Investment in Your Organization’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WHY it works WHAT success looks like
Socially responsible investing in the United States Microsoft shareholders are never far from Tim Hopper’s
has grown from $639 billion to nearly $12 trillion thoughts as he’s setting the priorities for Microsoft’s
in assets since 1995—a compound annual growth indirect procurement group. Hopper helps embed
rate of 13.6%.1 So if you’re managing sustainable investors’ expectations in the company’s Responsible
procurement for a publicly traded company, leadership Sourcing program to ensure Microsoft is responding
needs to see how this work contributes to attracting effectively to issues such as global climate change,
investors and moving the stock price higher. modern slavery, and diverse supplier engagement.
“Our CEO said, ‘I want us to be on the short list of the “I definitely track how our sustainable purchasing
best companies as rated by the Dow Jones Sustainability program helps address their investment criteria,” he
Index,’” says Cesare Guarini at Clariant. “That gave me says. “In some cases where the investor has a specific
the immediate opportunity to tell my CPO, ‘We need concern, we’ll meet with them multiple times to show
to develop a strategy and have dedicated resources to the steps we’re taking and make sure they’re satisfied.”
drive a program in procurement.’”
Hopper’s efforts have been instrumental in helping
Even in a privately held company, you can apply this convince shareholders to remove a pending resolution
same basic ethic toward building stronger relationships and retain—or grow—their investment in Microsoft
with key supporters in your community, industry, and stock. To help illustrate the business impact of these
regulatory spheres. engagements, Hopper calculates the number of
Microsoft shares owned by the investor multiplied by
the company’s stock price on that day.
HOW to do it “That’s part of the overall investor support metric that
··Stay in tune. Pay attention to what major investors we share with our leadership,” he says. “Being able
are saying about environmental, social or economic to measure the positive impact of our program on
sustainability issues that intersect with your supply Microsoft’s stock price has been critical for us.”
chain—and reflect those priorities in your program
strategies.
··Be the solution. Show how the resources you’re
seeking will help protect the company’s reputation in “Being able to summarize the positive
the eyes of shareholders and quell potential concerns
before they blossom into an expensive shareholder vote. impact that our program has on key
··Shine a light on your successes. Report back to stakeholders has been critical for us.”
company leaders on the shareholder concerns that
you’ve satisfactorily addressed—and the tens of millions — Tim Hopper, Microsoft
of dollars in investment capital you’ve helped protect—
through the sustainable purchasing group’s actions.

1 The Forum for Sustainable Responsible Investment, 2018 Report on US

Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends, www.ussif.org/files/
Trends/Trends%202018%20executive%20summary%20FINAL.pdf.

9 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WALKING THE TALK

3
TALK ABOUT
THE COMPETITION
Communicate the value of your
sustainable purchasing efforts
as a key differentiator.

SAMPLE CONVERSATION:
“Our competitor[s], XYZ Corp. and Acme, have 7 FTE staff working on sustainable
procurement/supply chain efforts and are participating in groups and projects like supplier
benchmarking and ethical sourcing coalitions. We need $ 75,000 and 2.0 FTE staff
capacity to do supplier performance auditing, which will help ensure we [stay ahead of,
or don’t fall further behind] the competition.”
 WHY it works WHAT success looks like
A growing majority of customers prefer to do business Over the past six years before he left to start his own
with companies that are making a demonstrably positive operational advisory practice, Roland Simon helped
impact. And high-caliber employees, particularly evolve Avery Dennison’s sustainable purchasing
millennials, want to join organizations that are serious initiatives into a pivotal element of its overall brand
about their sustainability journey. These and other identity and industry leadership. One of the keys to
competitive advantages will resonate with your leadership. the company’s success has been reinforcing with
suppliers and customers how sustainability works to
“When I talk about keeping those C-suite-level people their advantage.
engaged in sustainable purchasing, it’s really about
showing how this can differentiate our company from “If you’re doing something that doesn’t equate to
the competition,” says Cindy Bush of Tessy Plastics. good business or differentiate you from the competition,
it’s not sustainable,” says Simon. “Companies that want
to navigate down the sustainable path have to first
HOW to do it understand where their business model is likely
to benefit.”
··Know the terrain. Study your competitors’
Avery Dennison started looking at its sources of
sustainability reports, social media feeds, and
other communications. Ask organizations like the wood fiber for the company’s paper products, which
Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council or comprises roughly $1 billion of procurement spend.
industry groups for insights on what’s cutting-edge “With the support of Rainforest Alliance, we traced the
today among your competitors. origin of our fiber to make sure none of it was being
sourced illegally or unethically,” he says. “We had a
··Create some urgency. Help senior executives
great deal of support from our suppliers because they
recognize that your customers are paying attention
recognized that the long-term competitive position of
to sustainability issues and that the competition isn’t
the industry required sustainable standards.”
sitting idle.
··Mind the gaps. Build your pitch for sustainable Simon also advocates for immersing all employees
in sustainability through training and firsthand
purchasing resources around specific examples
of where competitors are doing more—or doing it experiences. “We never allowed sustainability to be a
better—and where your company could be the first peripheral project,” he adds. “It’s all about how to do
to stake a competitive advantage. what we do more sustainably.”

“As I start to propose projects, I say, ‘This is how we’re going to be a leader. It
will cost us some money, but it’s going to help us grow by demonstrating our
expertise. Clients who want that will award us more business.’ ”
— Judy Panayos, Sodexo

11 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WALKING THE TALK

4
TALK ABOUT
RETURN ON SUPPLIER ENGAGEMENTS
Explain how your focus on suppliers—beyond compliance—
contributes to gains in efficiency, innovation, reliability,
and other business-critical results.

SAMPLE CONVERSATION:
“Last year, our sustainable purchasing program touched suppliers doing $ 10 billion in business
with us. Much of our interaction with them involved data collection and auditing. We need
$ 125,000 and/or 2.5 FTE staff capacity to deepen our supplier engagement into partnerships
that highlight the valuable sustainability innovations and insights of our suppliers—not just their
compliance data—and that help our suppliers engage in similar ways with their suppliers.”
12 Making the Case for Investment in Your Organization’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WHY it works WHAT success looks like
Your company’s purchasing operations thrive or falter One of the ways that Ben Ngobi and his procurement
on the performance of dozens, hundreds, sometimes colleagues at Accenture continue to build support
thousands of individual suppliers. Supplier training for their Supplier Diversity & Inclusion Program is by
and self-assessment can be resource-intensive and, showing how such efforts may fuel innovation. That
without significant follow-up, might fail to adequately message helps elevate sustainable purchasing—and
reflect supplier performance. For this reason, it may be investments in diverse supplier development—to a key
worthwhile to invest in a third-party supplier evaluation driver of business success, Ngobi says.
service (for more details, see SPLC’s Insight Guide
to Supplier Sustainability Ratings). Such tools offer “We highlight how we’re engaging a wider pool of
scalability and verification of measurable results that suppliers that bring different types of innovation to
you can leverage in presentations to internal leaders as Accenture,” he explains. “For us, the ROI comes from
well as external stakeholders. Budget decision makers finding diverse suppliers who maybe think differently
may readily embrace a $100,000 annual expense for and showing how their ideas can help us build even
supplier education and data collection if you show it better solutions for our clients.”
protects or enhances anywhere from $10 million to more
Through its Diverse Supplier Development Program
than $1 billion worth of business for your organization.
(DSDP), Accenture matches senior executives with
“My role, first and foremost, is to generate more value diverse supplier proteges for between 12 and 18
from our supply base,” says Clariant’s Cesare Guarini. months to help grow their businesses. The company
“Therefore, I make sure that the people who own those has set a goal to have at least 170 DSDP graduates
business relationships with our suppliers understand among its suppliers by 2020, “and as of last fiscal year
why sustainability is an integral part—above and beyond we are at 144 businesses that have been supported,”
cost, quality, service, innovation—of the business says Ngobi.
relationship.”
Supplier diversity at Accenture has also evolved from
a solely internal program to become an offering that

HOW to do it
helps improve client supplier diversity programs. “We
now advise clients on how to implement a supplier

··Find common ground. Target the supply-chain

diversity program, and it’s a small, dedicated team that
has moved the needle,” Ngobi says. “As a result, our
performance areas within your supplier base that
efforts are more supported because we are evolving
link directly to the company’s larger sustainability
our business as we help our clients.”
goals—whether they be carbon neutrality or third-party
recognition as a diversity champion—to create natural
synergies in the eyes of your executives.
··Set a target. Define your resource requests in the “For us, the ROI is very much related
context of a measurable outcome, such as dedicating
at least $100 million in procurement spend with to how we bring on innovative
suppliers that have a third-party certification of
sustainability performance by 2025.
suppliers who may think differently
··Show your progress. Track how much spend you and can bring a broader range of
have with suppliers that are participating in your ideas to help us build great solutions
team’s sustainability trainings, data reporting, audits,
and scorecarding. for our clients.”
— Ben Ngobi, Accenture

13 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WALKING THE TALK

5
TALK ABOUT
RISK AND REPUTATION
Make clear how your program helps uncover
and address unknown or unresolved supply
chain issues that could tarnish your brand.

SAMPLE CONVERSATION:
“Last year, we did $15 billion of business in markets that require compliance or reporting on
human trafficking, modern slavery, and chemicals disclosure and spent
$ 50 million in categories that have a risk of human-rights abuses within their supply chains. For
example, [include a story of another company that encountered this type of issue]. We need
$ 500,000/ 5.0 FTE staff to make sure we can identify and minimize potential risks to our legal
compliance and brand, and to help our suppliers embed sustainability in their own operations.”
14 Making the Case for Investment in Your Organization’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WHY it works WHAT success looks like
While risk can be hard to quantify in dollar terms, Clariant doesn’t wait for trouble spots to flare up in its
everyone understands the danger of bad press over $1 billion annual procurement spend before coming
a human-rights complaint or the disruption inherent up with a remedy. Cesare Guarini and his team use the
in having key suppliers sidelined by an unforeseen intelligence gathered from annual assessments and
regulatory change. When you position sustainable audits to identify medium- and high-risk suppliers in
purchasing as a proactive, front-line defender of your every country where Clariant does business.
organization’s good name—or even better, as a brand-
building engine—executive decisionmakers become “Our procurement managers sit down with these
your champions. suppliers to explain the issues and agree on a
corrective action plan,” Guarini says. “When we come
“Every year at Avery Dennison, we tried to do back, they need to show us that they’ve improved their
something to make what’s going on in sustainable score and are no longer a risk to our supply chain.”
procurement a reality for our leadership,” says Roland
Simon. “We took a group of employees to Iceland Weeding out environmental, ethical, and safety risks
to study the effects of global warming. Last year, our from its supplier base has contributed to Clariant being
leadership team was in Hong Kong and we took a boat rated among the top chemical companies on the global
trip to witness all the plastic in the harbor. Dow Jones Sustainability Index, he adds.

“You see these things and it helps you better understand Recently, the purchasing group’s rigorous attention
not just what the risks are, but how you as a company to sustainability hot-button issues also helped resolve
can do something favorable about them,” he adds. a concern from Clariant’s second-largest investor
about colorants in some Clariant products that contain
mica—a mineral that has been tied to child labor in India.

HOW to do it Guarini was able to quickly verify that Clariant does not
source mica from suppliers at risk of employing child labor.
··Identify blind spots. How far beyond Tier 1 of the
“Examples like these,” he says, “can help you get a
supplier base does your visibility extend? Build a
different level of commitment from your organization.”
case for launching or expanding assessment tools
that enable you to sniff out and remedy weak links in
the chain before they trigger a crisis.
··Follow the headlines. Pay attention to emerging “Even just putting together small
hot-button issues in your industry or market, such training modules and initiatives to
as exposure to modern slavery or child labor, and
highlight the value of ensuring those skeletons don’t raise awareness of risk areas within
lurk in your supply chain closet.
the supply chain, that alone generates
··Tout the value of prevention. Compare the modest
measurable value for your company.”
resources you’re seeking to invest in risk avoidance
with the expensive, long-term brand damage and lost
revenue from just one significant reputational hit. — Ben Ngobi, Accenture

15 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WALKING THE TALK

6
TALK ABOUT
CORPORATE STRATEGY
Highlighting sustainable purchasing’s contribution
to existing organizational goals enables your
message to be heard all the way to the C-suite.

16 Making the Case for Investment in Your Organization’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WHY it works WHAT success looks like
Many C-suite executives today are making sustainability Progress is a key word running through Citi’s Mission
a priority. You can use that mandate to open new doors and Value Proposition, its commitment to the United
and tap vital resources. But even without such an explicit Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and its
rallying point, you can map sustainable purchasing’s Supply Chain Sustainability Program objectives. Javette
value to another corporate goal such as sales growth Hines cultivates that unified purpose alignment in her
or brand reputation. group’s outreach to Citi employees and Citi’s global
supply chain.
“In every business case that I do for embedding
sustainability in procurement, I go back to the message In 2010, Hines helped develop a 26-point Corporate
that our leadership is saying this is important,” Microsoft’s Responsibility Questionnaire (CRQ) that Citi uses to
Tim Hopper says. “This is how we’re going to succeed evaluate how suppliers manage a wide range of social
as an organization and grow our clients and impact the and environmental issues. The CRQ gives Citi and its
world positively.” supplier base common goals and criteria for measuring
progress.

HOW to do it “The critical piece from the very start was creating
awareness and accountability around our expectations
··Start with the end in mind. Apply the litmus test of suppliers,” she says.
of whether your desired resource investment will
help advance a specific corporate objective. If the “With all that we do in our supplier organization around
impact is clear, so will your path to a more favorable diversity or sustainability, it really comes back to what
response from the C-suite. everyone across Citi is asking themselves: Does our
work enable growth and lead to economic progress?”
··Harmonize. Building upon specific statements on Hines adds. “Do we help drive significant change
sustainability by executive leaders can help sharpen across the firm? Are we being the best for our clients,
your focus and win you buy-in at the same time. and will our efforts support the communities in which
For example, if your CEO has signed on to climate- we do business?
change goals, then focus your program investment
requests on measuring and ultimately reducing “Those are the questions that I’m asked when I go to
emissions across the supply chain. the board of directors,” she says. “And those are the

··Hone your elevator pitch. People outside the

things that, if I can answer ‘yes,’ show our return on
investment.”
procurement sphere might have a hard time relating
to the number of supplier audits you performed last
year or the corrective actions you took. Speak in
terms they value; for example, how your program
supports billions of dollars in customer demand, or
how it’s improving the satisfaction of investors with
millions of dollars in market share, local economic
development impact, or business with diverse suppliers.

“Most companies today, if they want to navigate down the sustainable path,
they have to be in a position to first of all understand how their business model
paints itself from a sustainability perspective in the first place.”
— Roland Simon, formerly at Avery Dennison

17 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WALKING THE TALK

7
TALK ABOUT
COST SAVINGS
Help company leaders understand how
sustainable purchasing efforts can enhance
your company’s bottom line.

18 Making the Case for Investment in Your Organization’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WHY it works WHAT success looks like
Although most companies have a higher purpose Hired in 2015 to launch a comprehensive sustainability
in mind for their sustainable purchasing initiatives initiative at Roppe Holding Co., Ann Dougherty wanted
than cutting costs, there’s undeniable appeal in to show business value right out of the gate.
showing that your program not only runs lean but also
contributes to savings elsewhere in the company. “The first thing I did was look ahead to the second
or third year of our program, when we’d be writing
Tessy Plastics, for example, sells more than $300,000 progress reports, and ask myself, ‘Where can we get
worth of scrap materials annually to recyclers. “There some solid achievements right now?’” Dougherty says.
really hasn’t been an expense for my program that “Second, I looked at what resources outside of our
hasn’t been offset by the results,” says Cindy Bush. “I’m company could be my allies in the process.”
able to say, ‘We’re putting money back in your pocket.’’’
She spotted a ripe cost-saving opportunity in the
company’s manufacturing plants. Through the Industrial

HOW to do it Energy Assessments Program (IEAP), created by the

U.S. Department of Energy to help small businesses,
··Take credit where it’s due. Document the monetary Dougherty worked with teams of university students
on three one-day analyses of Roppe facilities in
value of your actions—such as reducing waste in
the supply chain, encouraging greater recycling and 2015-2017.
reuse, and using locally sourced materials or services
“They measured the energy use and pricing at four of
that require less fuel to deliver.
our plants, did a comparison with other manufacturing
··Be patient. Set realistic expectations for achieving units of our same size, and modeled our potential cost
cost-oriented returns on the investment in your program; savings from converting to more renewable energy,” she
they will come as your efforts gather momentum and says. “We got really good information that helped one
your successes become more repeatable. of our plants save nearly $200,000 the next year. It was
··Be a smart shopper. Many of the resources you may a serious win.”
seek, from training courses to supplier assessment
frameworks, can be outsourced or contracted for a
fraction of what they would cost to develop or staff
in-house.

“The fact that the CEO says we need to be doing something isn’t always enough
to persuade my procurement colleagues, because their top priority is delivering
bottom-line savings. If you don’t show the financial results, nothing else counts.”
— Cesare Guarini, Clariant

19 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WALKING THE TALK

8
TALK ABOUT
SMALL STEPS
Focus on audacious goals, but pitch a manageable
subset of actions; use incremental wins to build
momentum for next steps.

20 Making the Case for Investment in Your Organization’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 WHY it works WHAT success looks like
Regardless of how deep your company’s pledge of The first chapter of Tessy Plastics’ sustainability
support for sustainable purchasing may go, spreading success story begins with a conversation in which one
your efforts too broadly can yield underwhelming of the company’s largest customers advised Cindy
results. If you focus on changing course in one or two Bush to start small.
key areas over a longer stretch of time, the journey
feels less jarring—and therefore easier to support—for “Shortly after I came here in 2010, this customer
suppliers and other stakeholders in your organization. launched a brand-new sustainability initiative and
wanted to partner with us on setting some goals for
Tessy,” Bush recalls. “I told this person, ‘It seems like

HOW to do it too much—I don’t know where to begin.’”

··Pick the low-hanging fruit. As you’re pursuing the

Pressed by the customer representative to name
something Tessy Plastics could start doing quickly
kinds of transformative changes that fuel your passion
and well, Bush mentioned its new waste reduction and
for sustainability, don’t overlook the more modest
recycling initiative. “He told me, ‘Set a target for that
yet valuable opportunities to fine-tune your current
and start working toward it,’” she says.
operations and supplier practices. What improvements
are most fully within your control? That’s usually the Since then, Tessy Plastics has continued adding
straightest path to a business benefit. progressively more ambitious goals in nine categories as
··Play to your strengths. Look around the organization part of its TP3—People, Planet, Product—sustainability
and corporate social responsibility strategy. The company
for examples of where you’re already on a sustainable
path, such as recycling or local sourcing, and build has earned an overall score of A- from CDP in each of
a strategy to take those efforts to the next level. Ask the last four years, and Bush delivered a presentation on
your customers, suppliers, and colleagues what Tessy’s achievements at the United Nations in 2017.
sustainability support they want most from your
“All it took to set this in motion was someone asking us
procurement organization.
to do something different tomorrow than we did today,”
··Establish a track record. Each tangible milestone she says. “I realized, as we were building our program,
that you reach will help your program attract greater that it was okay to do this incrementally.”
support among key decisionmakers—giving you the
mandate to reach higher and move faster.

“Start small. Stand on a solid foundation, and then you can reach for more.”
— Cindy Bush, Tessy Plastics

21 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 Our panelists
The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC) is grateful
for the insights provided by these experienced professionals:

Cindy Bush Ann Dougherty Cesare Guarini I. Javette Hines

Director of Environmental General Manager of Sustainability Head of Procurement Director of Supply Chain Development,
Health and Safety at Roppe Holding Co. Strategy Initiatives Inclusion and Sustainability
at Tessy Plastics at Clariant at Citi

Tim Hopper Ben Ngobi Judy Panayos Roland Simon

Responsible Sourcing Manager Global Procurement Senior Director of Sustainability self-employed operations advisor,
at Microsoft Sustainability Lead and Supply Management former VP of Global Procurement
at Accenture at Sodexo and Corporate Sustainability
at Avery Dennison

22 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
 Final thoughts
In many respects, our panelists’ most successful As you make your case for additional resources, be
case-building practices overlap and complement sure to leverage data and analysis from any tools and
one another. The collective takeaway from their services that company leaders have already approved.
experiences is this: Make sure you express the value Quantifying progress and improvement in supplier
of your sustainable procurement activities in terms of sustainability (and showing the utility of the tools you
major business imperatives wherever possible. invested in to track and measure that progress) will
help you make the case for the next investment you
By stating the ways in which your activities support need in order to expand your program.
external commitments, retain and build customer
relationships, demonstrate responsible business With these lessons in mind, don’t be afraid to ask for
practices to investors, and reduce risk of supply chain enough budget to build a robust program, even though
disruption or failures—to name a few examples—you the funding may be delivered in phases and you might
help ensure company leaders will easily recognize the have to adjust along the way. Setting out a big-picture
value of your program. And when you can contrast the vision of the contributions your program can make to
modest investments you need with the immense value realizing the company’s highest objectives can raise
your sustainable purchasing activities can protect your profile with leadership, and enable you to expand
or attract, your argument will resonate even more your capacity to do even more.
strongly with business leaders.

“Focus on what your company leaders are saying is most important. That’s your
guiding star to build the awareness, education, policies, and support network
that you need.”
— Javette Hines, Citi

23 Making the Case for Investment in Your Company’s Sustainable Purchasing Program
Additional resources
Explore additional resources to support your sustainable purchasing
efforts at www.sustainablepurchasing.org/making-the-case.

About the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council

Founded in 2013, the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council
(SPLC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support and
recognize purchasing leadership that accelerates the transition to a
prosperous and sustainable future. SPLC convenes buyers, suppliers,
and public interest advocates to develop programs that simplify and
standardize sustainable purchasing efforts by large organizations.
For SPLC, sustainability includes social, economic, and environmental
stewardship. Learn more at www.sustainablepurchasing.org.