Announced in 2016, and under development since 2013 with a committee involving 40 countries, it was published in April of that year by International Standards Organization to ISO 20400:2017 Sustainable procurement – Guidance, which replaces BS 8903:2010 (Principles and framework for searching sustainably. Guide). The objective is to guide companies in the integration of the sustainable dimension with the activities of procurement. The new standard includes the requirements of ISO 26000 (Social Responsibility), published in 2010, and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In May 2017, the first company assessed to the standards of the standard was announced, Balfour Beatty, a leading contractor in the UK. Figure 1 summarizes the structure and content of the standard.
Figure 1 – Summary of ISO 20400 content.
Source: International Standards Organisation, adapted by ILOS
ISO 20400 is applicable to any organization, public or private, and of all sizes. A British Standards Institution (BSI) believes that the industries that stand to benefit the most are construction, facilities management, hospital, food, general manufacturing, lumber, paper, and packaging. The standard helps companies make better purchasing decisions in their supply chains, and it does so by establishing guidelines for organizations to assess their suppliers on sustainable dimensions.
It is not enough for companies to guarantee the ethics of their processes, they also have responsibility for who they hire, and for the chain as a whole. Transparency is needed in the supply chain leaders. How many times do we come across news about scandals in procurement? Slave labor at suppliers, low-quality raw materials that can endanger consumer health, and so on. Perhaps a weak point is the fact that ISO 20400 does not provide certification, being a guideline standard, which may not attract companies as much. Despite this, it is certainly a significant step in the developments for more sustainability in the supply chain leaders.
References:
Edie.Net – Balfour Beatty 'leading the way' on ISO 20400 sustainable procurement standardhttps://www.edie.net/news/7/Balfour-Beatty–leading-the-way–on-ISO-20400-sustainable-procurement-standard/>
Green Biz – First global standard for sustainable procurement hits the markethttps://www.greenbiz.com/article/first-global-standard-sustainable-procurement-hits-market?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=newsletter-type-greenbuzz-daily&utm_content=2017-04-30&utm_campaign=newsletter-type-greenbuzz-daily-107725&mkt_>
ISO – ISO 20400:2017https://www.iso.org/obp/ui#iso:std:iso:20400:ed-1:v1:en>
Thatiana Nomi
5 years of experience in consulting projects in Logistics and Supply Chain. Worked on logistics network optimization projects, service cost, logistics master plan, inventory policy definition, sales forecast, S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) and transportation planning and management.
