New ISO standard for sustainable procurement to be published
ISO Standard 20400 is the first international standard for sustainable procurement. It is scheduled for publication in 2017.
In the private sector, many people already look at sustainability when purchasing. The new ISO standard now also wants to help organizations and companies to procure goods, energy and raw materials sustainably.
ISO Standard 20400, Sustainable Procurement - Guidance is intended to provide organizations with a guideline to integrate sustainability into their purchasing behavior. This includes social, environmental and economic criteria.
The standard is intended to serve as a supplement to ISO Standard 26000, Social Responsibility. The aim is to minimize environmental impact, respect human rights and make a positive contribution to society and the economy.
Latest feedbacks
As ISO now reports, the standard is now in the second Draft International Standard phase. Interested parties can provide feedback on the draft for the last time before the standard is published in 2017.
The new standard is designed to give companies an advantage, says Jacques Schramm, who helped develop it while chairing the responsible committee, ISO/PC 277: "ISO 20400 will help organizations achieve their sustainability goals, improve the management of their supplier relationships, enhance the sustainability efforts of their supply chains and, last but not least, give them a competitive edge."
