ARCBLUE SERVICES
Social & Sustainable Procurement
Empowering procurement to make sustainable impact every day
There is widespread recognition across society that the world needs to address sustainability challenges as a priority.
As a result, businesses are broadening their focus to consider the ‘triple bottom line’ – People, Planet, Profit – as they build social & sustainable impact into the way they operate.
Organisations are increasing their focus on social and sustainable outcomes for six key reasons:
- Regulatory Requirements – There is increasing legislation and legal requirements that companies are required to ensure they adhere to.
- Customer Expectations – Consumer tastes have changed. People want to buy products and services that are socially and environmentally conscious.
- Investor Expectations – Investors are prioritising companies that have a clear sustainability strategy, impacting on access to capital.
- Talent Attraction & Retention – Employees are wanting to work for companies whose values align to their own.
- To Increase Competitiveness – Sustainable and social impact programs can support profitability and growth through focusing efforts on efficiency (e.g. use of resources and raw materials) and innovation (e.g. use of local and social suppliers).
- It’s the Right Thing To Do – Fundamentally being a more environmentally and socially responsible business is the right thing to do for the sake of current & future generations.
Social & Sustainable Procurement is the integration of sustainability principles into a company’s end-to-end procurement processes. We support clients that need help in accelerating their Social & Sustainable Procurement journey through diagnostics, strategy development & implementation, capability development, reporting & impact measurement, place-based and industry participation programs.
Our View on Social & Sustainable Procurement
We believe…
Sustainable procurement ensures that all activities in sourcing & supply chain management are undertaken with consideration of impact and reflect broader goals of resource efficiency, climate change, social responsibility and economic resilience.
We see…
- Reduced supply chain risk
- Compliance to new and emerging regulations & legislation
- Enhanced brand reputation, which is favourable for customer and employee relations
- Cost control and value realisation by adopting a life-cycle approach to procurement
- Reduced waste and improved resource efficiency
- A point of differentiation to competitors, leading to competitive advantage
- Stronger investor relations, with potentially easier and cheaper access to capital
- New market opportunities
We engage with organisations in 3 distinct ways
Social & Sustainable Procurement Solutions
Strategies, Plans & Frameworks
Identify opportunities and focus your organisation’s social and sustainable procurement roadmap
We support clients that need help in accelerating their Social or Sustainable Procurement journey though diagnostics, strategy development & implementation. We focus on the integration of sustainability principles into your end-to-end procurement processes.
Assess your organisation’s social & sustainable procurement maturity against best practice, legislative requirements & international standards and get recommendations for improving maturity over time. We support our clients to establish a formal approach for leveraging their procurement activities to achieve measurable & meaningful social and sustainable impact – including developing objectives/targets, governance & policies and processes to embed social and sustainable procurement.
We can help you to ensure Social and Sustainable Procurement risks and opportunities are considered during procurement planning and incorporated into sourcing processes. Our experienced team can assist you to mobilise and embed new practices, with hands-on change management assistance & guidance from trusted subject matter experts.
We work with private sector and public sector organisations, supporting them in delivering holistic approaches to achieving social, environmental and economic outcomes.
Place-based Programs
We design and deliver place-based collaborative programs to drive local economic development and address disadvantage through local and social procurement and inclusive employment.
Place-based programs seeks to strengthen regional, social and economic outcomes and increase job opportunities through procurement and employment.
They support buyers to embed social procurement into their processes and practices, and support suppliers to access new opportunities.
A place-based approach seeks to identify the local supply chain: buyers, suppliers and employers with whom they can embed social procurement principles and increase the visibility of local buyers, suppliers and employers.
ArcBlue is a thought leader in the space of place-based social procurement programs since and we passionately lead the development of these practices.
Industry Participation
Facilitating local industry participation in major projects and initiatives
ArcBlue has significant experience in facilitating local business and stakeholder engagement and participation in major projects and government funded initiatives to maximise economic and social benefits within regions. ArcBlue Industry Participation programs ensure that local industries are involved, considered, and given opportunities in major projects and government-funded initiatives.
Our expertise is further enriched by an in-depth understanding of key stakeholders and the intricacies of supply chains, in particular within the renewable energy and construction sectors, comprehending supply chain requirements and addressing challenges to enhance local supplier capabilities.
The ArcBlue team brings a profound grasp of the evolving regulatory landscape and the strengths and challenges inherent in national and international supply chains. Our experience spans various levels, from policy development to supporting major infrastructure projects and driving localised supplier engagement programs. We pride ourselves on delivering practical results that not only meet requirements but also create tangible impact on the ground.
Reporting & Impact Measurement
Record, track and measure social & sustainable outcomes and fulfil your reporting obligations
ArcBlue supports clients to create a fit-for-purpose data and reporting framework to monitor and measure outcomes, compliance requirements, risks and opportunities for ongoing continuous improvement.
We utilise your spend data to create interactive dashboards that provide insights into key sustainability and resiliency topics. We have developed a range of sustainable procurement analytics dashboards for clients that can be customised, and our dashboards can be further customised with additional granularity added based on your needs.
ArcBlue has many years’ experience collecting and reporting on workforce diversity and social procurement analytics. Our solution simplifies the capture and reporting of key social measures against targets to enable organisations clarity around social commitments through it’s supply chain.
Decarbonisation Pathways
Scope 3 carbon management solution to enable decarbonisation strategies, track progress, and enhance environmental performance
ArcBlue uses it’s procurement and supply chain expertise to support organisations to develop pathways towards reducing emissions. We analyse emissions factors based on your products, logistics and transportation and supply chain, and apply procurement levers to recommend alternative options to reduce carbon impact. We provide expert advice and recommendations on carbon reduction strategies, best practices, and regulatory compliance.
Decarbonisation pathways can be delivered by category or to encompass your entire procurement process. We can outline industry-specific solutions on how to achieve future net zero.
We can offer two options – a ‘light touch’ review using the ArcBlue Spend Cube, or partnering with emissions expert partners for a deeper dive.
The process begins with a spend data analysis, to take your spend data and transform it into a clean and clear taxonomy before flowing the data through to the carbon management platform To ensure spend-based calculations are as accurate as possible for Scope 3.
The output is a detailed report highlighting Scope 3 carbon footprint & emission sources along with future options and opportunities. We can work with our partners to implement a Carbon accounting platform and ensure implementation and training is rolled out to your team.
Modern Slavery Compliance
Ensure your team understands their obligations, can identify supply chain risks, and monitor compliance
With approximately 40 million modern slavery victims worldwide, it’s crucial that procurement and supply chain professionals understand their obligations around Modern Slavery. A large proportion of the modern slavery victims are hidden within global supply chains and many businesses, investors and customers are unknowingly supporting the continuation of these practices.
Thankfully, the modern slavery legislation landscape is rapidly changing worldwide, governments and organisations are taking actions to eradicate modern slavery.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the prevalence of modern slavery by increasing vulnerability factors such as unemployment, lost livelihoods and growing business pressures.
It is vital that businesses understand these risks and take appropriate action to assess and address this within their supply chains.
ArcBlue’s procurement and supply chain experts support organisations to understand their obligations, identify risks, monitor compliance and arm them with the knowledge to handle any potential Modern Slavery concerns.
Need to embed social and sustainable outcomes into your procurement practices?
Our team of experts have broad expertise in delivering sustainable procurement outcomes, and we have extensive experience working across the social procurement ecosystem to deliver real and sustainable impact.
Our Specialist Team
OUR EXPERIENCE
Place-based Social Procurement Progam
Modern Slavery Risk Assessment Methodology
Gap Analysis Study against ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Standard
Due Diligence Framework and Review
INSIGHTS
RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS
