When I began my journey evangelizing organization’s internal
and external ecosystem towards adapting sustainability as a focus, many asked
me if they would loose out to those who weren’t practicing sustainability. They
argued that organizations, which do not follow sustainability, will have lower
costs and hence will have an advantage on pricing. This question, for me, was
extremely thought provoking.
Trusting a business is not just about the price. It is a
combination of an organization’s intent and top management’s motivation to
positively have their sustainability policies in place. Cost and non-Cost
criteria initiatives, taken at various points towards sustainability practices,
need to be campaigned aggressively towards the entire supply chain ecosystem.
The process involves all departments (including admin,
Finance etc.) and vendors – it could be with reference to Green Buildings, Wind
& Solar energy, Organic Way, Reduction in paper use, Recycling, anti-child
labour policies etc. Most importantly the organization needs to be determined
to articulate these as policies.
The larger challenge however is with the small and medium
manufacturers and service providers. It is difficult to get them to practice and adapt these
processes because we need to first help them overcome their mind-block and
worry that these initiatives will increase cost. This requires reassurance and
training by large industries. MSMEs should take pride in talking about their
initiatives and demanding credit and acknowledgement for their sustainability
practices.
ISO standards like ISO 20400:2017 for sustainable
procurement guidance and ISO 26000 for Social Responsibility guidance will
guide the enterprise well.
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