Sustainable Procurement Barometer 2021: Video Overview

This video provides an overview of the key findings derived from the Sustainable Procurement Barometer 2021. Developed jointly by EcoVadis and the Value Chain Innovation Initiative at Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Barometer documents the continued growth of sustainable procurement across regions and industries and demonstrates that the disruption to global supply chains affected by COVID-19 has served only to consolidate corporate sustainability goals atop the executive agenda.

Key findings from the Barometer that are discussed in the video include:

Labor and human rights issues shape procurement strategy. In order, procurement organizations are prioritizing labor and human rights issues, followed by the environment, social issues, and business ethics, in their two – three-year strategies.

Procurement is now paying attention to diversity, racism, nondiscrimination, and equity., 61% of procurement leaders say social issues will be “more important” or “significantly more important” over the next two to three years.

Sustainable procurement proves key to supply chain resilience. 63% of corporate respondents, and 71% of supplier respondents, report that their sustainable procurement initiative helped them endure the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sustainability performance is critical for revenue and growth. 69% of respondents are taking sustainability performance into consideration when selecting new suppliers and renewing contracts – up from 51% in 2019.

Mid-sized companies (from $100M to $1Bn in revenue) are embracing sustainability. 48% believe sustainability will have a net positive financial impact on their business, while 47% expect a sustainable approach to lead to improved operational efficiency and lower costs.