FEATURE
GREENING
reening the supply chain –
G
social experiment, radical
change in policy or a con
trick? One thing is clear
policies aimed at reducing
organisations’ carbon footprint are
doomed unless these are underwritten
with real corporate weight and
involvement from partner businesses.
How many contracts now have some
form of environmental policy requirement
attached to them? We are seeing forward
thinking organisations making this
commitment part of their supplier
recruitment process (Table 1). Increasing
numbers of public organisations and
major companies claim they are doing
their bit to reduce their damaging
emissions. Many are making great strides
internally, but where is the positive
evidence down through the supply chain?
Increasingly small and medium sized
suppliers will feel the pinch of their larger
customers’ pincher movement to reduce
CO
2
emissions and lower overall costs.
Whereas it is generally accepted that there
are three pillars to sustainable
procurement: economic, social and
environmental, both sides of any contract
need to gain from the deal otherwise it is
simply business extortion.
Initiatives such as the Mayor of
London’s ‘Green500’ should surely
concern itself with the development of its
members’ policies towards the
environmental goals that Boris Johnson
has established for London. However,
many well meaning and high profile
green initiatives are restrictive in their
entrance policy and criteria. On
investigation there appears no apparent
reason for this, simply a lack of planning
from the organisation to assist small and
medium enterprises (SME) to become part
of a truly integrated programme for the
reduction in CO
2
emissions. Through this
oversight schemes like these are in danger
of becoming corporate window dressing
for organisations large enough to join the
club, rather than positive role modelling
for UK companies.
Surely the goal of all these
environmental road maps is to engage
with and involve SMEs at more than just a
cursory level. The majority of the supply
chain in the UK is made up of small and
medium sized enterprises, and there is a
Citrica clients include SME’s and multinationals
massive requirement for guidance and
assistance in acquiring the knowledge and
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SUSTAINABLE FM | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009
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