As one of HP’s supply chain auditors, I always look for news and best practices relating to responsible supply chain management and procurement. This summer HEC Paris and EcoVadis published an interesting study: The Sustainable Procurement Benchmark report. The study is based on a questionnaire which was sent to procurement executives in 95 of Europe’s largest corporations. Here are my personal highlights of the study.

It is good to read that around 75% of respondents take Corporate Social Responsibility issues into consideration when they go to the market. What is more relevant for me, however, is to see that nearly a third of the respondents use CSR as selection criteria. That is good news and I would think that this number will increase even more. For us at HP, sustainable and ethical practices undertaken by our suppliers are decisive factors when we consider them for inclusion in our supplier base. Our regular evaluations and audits aim to ensure that our Social and Environmental standards based on the EICC (Electronics Industry Code of Conduct) are met by our suppliers’ factories.

The final highlight of the study from HEC Paris and EcoVadis is that around three quarters of respondents apply sustainable procurements as a measure for supplier performance. This is an acceptable high percentage, isn’t it? Sustainable procurement is at the top of the agenda and the study indicates that it is there to stay.

For those companies who are interested in learning more about responsible supply chain management, they can visit the CSR Europe portal.  Whether you are a buyer or supplier, you can find a wide set of available standards and codes and a lot of other materials on best practices relevant to a sustainable supply chain.

I am always on the look out for supply chain or procurement studies. If you come across some, please let me know.

Karl Daumüller, SC SER Lead Auditor