Here are some interesting findings from a recent KPMG study which surveyed almost 600 global procurement and C-level executives.
One-third (33 percent) of respondents have begun or are starting the process to reduce the environmental impact of products they are producing, and almost another third (31 percent) are considering doing so. Similarly, 43 percent of companies surveyed have begun using or are starting to consider human rights issues in procurement decisions, with another 28 percent considering doing so.
Yet only 30 percent of those surveyed said the supplier’s environmental record was very important or important when selecting a supplier, and 32 percent said a supplier’s reputation for corporate social responsibility (CSR)/human rights is very important or important.In contrast, the two most important criteria for selecting suppliers were quality and price, among 93 percent and 88 percent, respectively, of respondents.
I think the fact that the environmental and human rights records of suppliers have moved onto the radar screen of purchasing organizations will drive the demand for strong supplier management systems in order to capture and monitor these dimensions much more in the future.
Hopefully organizations will also be more open to share this kind of supplier information with other organizations. Quality and price information has and will always be regarded as a sacred good but maybe social responsibility will open up for some more collaboration in this arena.
