ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Standard

ISO 20400 applies to public or private organizations, regardless of size, industry and location. The standard is intended to be understood by all stakeholders involved in or affected by companies´ procurement decisions and processes. The implementation of ISO 20400 may involve different procedures depending on the scope, size and general characteristics of the companies. In other words, the way each organization benefits from the standard may be different. The implementation of ISO 20400, especially by large organizations with large supply networks, also encourages various opportunities for small and medium-sized organizations in supply chains.

ISO 20400 provides an overview of sustainable procurement. It explains the principles and key issues of sustainable procurement and examines why organizations should adopt sustainable procurement. It helps manage risks and opportunities in procurement processes and purchasing habits, addressing negative sustainability impacts through due diligence. The standard also places emphasis on setting priorities for the organization in the context of sustainable procurement, implementing positive impacts, and avoiding negative impacts.

ISO 20400 provides guidance on how and to what extent sustainability considerations are integrated into procurement processes to ensure that the organization´s purpose and key sustainability priorities are met. The standard aims to assist the top management of corporations in determining sustainable purchasing policies and creating strategies.

ISO 20400 describes the organizational conditions and management techniques needed to successfully implement and continually improve sustainable procurement. In this way, organizations help individuals and/or units responsible for purchasing goods or services to apply sustainability considerations to the purchasing process. Thus, the necessary conditions for a sustainable supply chain are created within the organization.

The ISO 20400 Sustainable Supply Chain Standard addresses all aspects of the procurement process and ensures that concrete information is conveyed to those responsible for actual procurement within their own organization. It is also of interest to people in relevant functions as it explains how sustainability considerations are integrated into existing purchasing processes.
 
Why is the ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Standard Important?

The importance of sustainable approaches in the business world is increasing day by day. Institutions have to adhere to the principles of sustainability in supply chain management as well as in all their processes. In this regard, both legal regulations, stakeholder expectations and public pressure are decisive in the purchasing decisions of companies. In this context, the “20400 Sustainable Supply - Guidance” standard issued in 2017 guides organizations from all levels and sectors. Thanks to ISO 20400, companies can build more environmentally, socially and economically more sustainable supply chains, meet the expectations of their stakeholders and gain a competitive advantage in the market.

Having deep expertise in corporate sustainability and social responsibility consultancy, Aşan Consulting provides ISO 20400 consultancy and certification services to companies. You can contact Aşan Danışmanlık on all issues related to ISO 20400 and get detailed information.

We can summarize the information contained in the ISO 20400 sustainable supply standard as follows:

* Explaining the concept of sustainable supply / purchasing; explanation of principles, responsibilities and key issues
* Integration of the sustainability approach into supply chain management processes; sustainable purchasing commitments, adapting the supply chain to corporate goals, determining responsibilities
* Reorganization of supply chain processes according to sustainability principles; stakeholder mapping, people´s participation, determining priorities, measuring the performance of sustainable purchasing processes, creating a complaint system
* Selecting suppliers in accordance with sustainability principles, supplier contracts, building new purchasing policies on existing policies and targets
* Explaining the relationship of ISO 20400 with ISO 26000, the international corporate social responsibility standard

Aşan Danışmanlık organizes trainings on ISO 20400 at different levels and helps organizations create sustainable supply chains. You can better understand the scope of the standard with Consultancy, and create and implement your sustainable purchasing policies in the most accurate way as a part of corporate sustainability.