Environmental Management Systems in procurement processes: IS0 14001

In this step, you will be introduced to Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and the ISO 14001 standard.

Management has to be where the action is.

^{(Dieter Zetsche, former chairman of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz)}

Environmental Management Systems – sustainable procurement

…a set of processes and practices that enable an organization to reduce its environmental impacts and increase its operating efficiency.

_{(Sroufe 2003)}

ISO 14001

…an internationally agreed standard that sets out the criteria for an environmental management system. It maps out a framework that a business can follow to improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste.

_{(ISO 2015)}

According to an Airbus report published by the European Commission (ACADEMY n.d.), the following steps must be undertaken to include environmental aspects in the procurement process:

Step 1: Call for tender and supplier selection

• Define environmental criteria for the selection of the supplier
• Include those criteria in the selection report

Step 2: Supplier contracting

• Define and implement a series of contractual requirements in line with the business’ environmental policy and objectives
• Introduce environmental requirements in the purchasing contracts (eg as a contract annexe)

Step 3: Supplier monitoring

• Assess the supplier’s ability to control potential environmental impacts
• Assess the supplier according to the environmental requirements defined
• Establish a continuous improvement indicator to measure the supplier’s environmental performance

ISO 14001: Integrating environmental criteria into the supplier selection process

Humphreys, Wong and Chan (2003) identified a range of environmental criteria that can be considered during a supplier’s selection process. They classified them under two categories: quantitative and qualitative.

References

_{ACADEMY (n.d.) ‘Environmental Requirements for Suppliers and Management of the Supply Chain’. Airbus Corporate Answer to Disseminate Environmental Management System (ACADEMY). Eco-Efficiency and Sustainability. G7, (1)}

_{Humphreys, P. K., Wong, Y. K., and Chan, F. T. S. (2003) ‘Integrating Environmental Criteria into the Supplier Selection Process’. Journal of Materials Processing Technology 138 (1-3), 349-356}

_{ISO (2015) ISO 14001. Key Benefits. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) [online]. available from https://www.iso.org/publication/PUB100372.html [9 July 2019]}

_{NHS (2018) Sustainable Procurement Procedure (SH NCP 70). Southern Health, National Health System (NHS) Foundation Trust}

_{Sroufe, R. (2003) ‘Effects of Environmental Management Systems on Environmental Management Practices and Operations’. Production and Operations Management 12 (3), 416-431}