Spend Matters Perspective - Free Research Download

Redefining Sustainability: Saving Money, Reducing Risk and Going Green

There has been much play given to the challenges and benefits of green sourcing and sustainable supply management practices of late. But nearly all the talk is situated on two areas: meeting regulatory requirements in the EU (and China) and better serving the emerging expectations of customers (e.g., Wal-Mart) and end-consumers in the US. But there's more to green and sustainable procurement practices than just doing well by the environment and society. There's also a strong financial case for green as well. In some cases, sustainable sourcing practices can help drive material cost savings in a range of categories and functions such as packaging, transportation / logistics, and even metals. In other cases, leading procurement and supply chain organizations are beginning to measure sustainable results based on soft factors such as maintaining access to resources and risk avoidance.

After downloading thisSpend Matters Perspective, readers will learn more about the direct intersection of sustainability and sourcing as well as case examples of situations where organizations have benefited from expanding their definition of sustainability to include cost savings and other benefits. We'll also share our learnings on what leaders are doing differently - and how their lack of attention-getting headlines is a result of a concerted strategy to keep their competitors from learning about what they're up to. Last, we will conclude this Perspective by providing recommendations for organizations to make green and sustainability a bottom-line issue in their company.