ISO standard 20400 for sustainable procurement
With ISO 20400, the International Organization for Standardization has created a standard for sustainable procurement. This enables companies to establish the sustainable procurement of goods.
So far, the ISO 20400 standard has tended to be reported only in the context of environmental protection. However, when purchasing goods, it is not only what is bought that matters, but rather the buyer. The supply chain harbours a great potential for risk. In order to promote cooperation with suppliers who work sustainably according to social, ecological, but also economic aspects, the committee of ISO/PC 277 has introduced a new standard.
The aim of ISO 20400 is to describe the basic principles of sustainable procurement and to offer an effective model for implementation. The ISO 20400 standard does not include requirements for suppliers, but describes how buyers can define criteria for sustainability and integrate them into the purchasing process.
The basic principles
ISO 20400 builds on BS 8903, a 2010 British standard for sustainable procurement, and was first published in April 2017.
However, it adopts the basic principles and core terms of ISO 26000, the international standard for social responsibility (CSR). The uniform terminology thus facilitates the integration of sustainable procurement into comprehensive sustainability management in accordance with ISO 26000.
Four sections form the core of the ISO 20400 standard:
- Section 4 provides an introduction to the topic of sustainable procurement as well as an overview of the basic principles
- Section 5 explains how to integrate sustainable procurement at the strategic level
- Section 6 describes the organisational prerequisites and requirements for implementing an effective procurement system. An important focus here is the qualification of employees.
- Section 7 describes the operational processes and the integration of sustainability criteria
ISO 20400 enables organizations to systematically consider relevant sustainability criteria in procurement. Consistent application of the standard leads to the following aspects being taken into account:
- Meeting the requirement to take responsibility for the supply chain
- Identify legal, financial and ethical risks related to sustainability in the supply chain
- Monitor the sustainability performance of your suppliers and provide incentives for improvement
- Build value-added and sustainable supplier relationships
ISO 20400 is the world's first standard for sustainable procurement and aims to help companies develop and implement practices and policies for sustainable procurement. The standard describes how buyers can define criteria for sustainability and integrate them into the purchasing process.
assume responsibility
In 2010, ISO had already introduced the 26000 standard - a globally recognized guideline on corporate social responsibility. This standard is broader in scope and, in addition to supplier-related aspects, also covers internal organisational and customer-related aspects. To enable Swiss companies to implement the standard and concretise the area of social responsibility for themselves, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in collaboration with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW have developed an online platform.
öbu distributes the access to the online platform ISO 26000 as an official partner. With the free demo version, companies can get an overview of the implementation tool before purchasing:
