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Sustainable Purchasing Archive

Published 2011

Global Scan of Sustainable Purchasing Practices

Summary of global scan of leading sustainable purchasing practices.

Published 2011

Sustainable Purchasing Metrics and Targets

An overview of sustainable purchasing metrics and targets in use by eleven organizations around the world, surveyed by Coro Strandberg. This tool can help organizations in the development of metrics and targets to guide and monitor their sustainable purchasing programs

Download (65 kb PDF)

Published 2011

Responsible Purchasing Guide for Credit Unions

Coro created this guide as a tool to help credit unions understand and master this new business process as a component of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) or sustainability mission. It was written for credit unions and relevant for most organizations.

Download (830 kb PDF)

Published 2011

Critical Success Factors For Sustainable Purchasing

Coro has pulled together a list of critical success factors for a sustainable purchasing program.

Download (1.2 MB PDF)

Published 2010

The Co-operators Sustainable Purchasing Policy and Program

Coro helped The Co-operators develop their sustainable purchasing policy and program.

Download The Co-operators Sustainable Purchasing Policy and Program (460 KB PDF)

Published 2010

2010 Olympic Winter Games Sustainable Purchasing Case Study

Coro was the lead author of VANOC’s Sustainable Purchasing Case Study, as well as a lead consultant in developing and implementing the 2010 Olympic’s ground breaking "Buy Smart" program.

Download the 2010 Olympic Winter Games Sustainable Purchasing Case Study (532 kb PDF)

Published 2010

Two Reports: Sustainable Purchasing Trends and Drivers; and A Guide to the Business Case and Benefits of Sustainable Purchasing

UN Global Compact Sustainable Supply Chains website features two reports co-authored by Strandberg on Sustainable Purchasing Trends and Drivers; and A Guide to the Business Case and Benefits of Sustainable Purchasing.

View at the UN Global Compact Sustainable Supply Chains website

Published 2008

Reducing Supply Chain Carbon – DRAFT

The following backgrounder was compiled by the Sustainability Purchasing Network (www.buysmartbc.com) and is to be used to provide a context for why and how an organization would consider responsibly managing the carbon in its supply chain. It provides a definition and a business case and includes 8 case studies (3 UK, 1 US, 1 Denmark and 3 Canadian) providing examples of how firms and governments are reducing their supply chain carbon.

Download Reducing Supply Chain Carbon – DRAFT (100 kb PDF)

Published 2008

Catalyst Paper Sustainable Supply Chains Case Study

As a significant purchaser of BC forest fibre, Catalyst focuses most of their sustainability purchasing efforts on fibre sourcing, to ensure that their suppliers meet the company’s environmental standards.

Download Catalyst Paper Sustainable Supply Chains Case Study (91 kb PDF)

Published 2008

10 Ways to Start or Enhance your Sustainability Purchasing Strategy

Sustainability Purchasing can be as simple as choosing office products with recognized green certifications, buying from local suppliers or leasing equipment for temporary needs instead of buying it.

10 Ways to Start or Enhance your Sustainability Purchasing Strategy (169 kb PDF)

Published 2008

Top 10 Shopping List for Sustainable Purchasing

A simple checklist outlining how to integrate social and environmental considerations into top 10 product and service areas.

Download the Top 10 Shopping List for Sustainable Purchasing (1.5 MB PDF)

Published 2007

Guide to the Business Case for Sustainable Purchasing

By Coro Strandberg and Amy Robinson.

Get the At A Glance Guide to the Business Case for Sustainable Purchasing from the BuySmart Network website

Get the Guide to the Business Case for Sustainable Purchasing from the BuySmart Network website

Published 2007

Sustainability Purchasing Trends and Drivers

By Coro Strandberg and Amy Robinson.

This paper documents the trends and drivers for sustainability purchasing, including green, ethical and social purchasing, globally and in Canada, and considers multi-lateral and regulatory developments that are advancing sustainability in the marketplace. Two case studies of firms integrating ethical and environmental performance standards in their procurement programs are provided as examples of sustainable purchasing in practice.
Published 2007. Revised 2008.

Download Sustainability Purchasing Trends and Drivers (755 kb PDF)

Published 2007

HBC Ethical Sourcing Case Study

By Coro Strandberg and Amy Robinson
HBC established the foundation for their ethical sourcing program in 1998, when they established a Code of Vendor Conduct (CVC). Their program has evolved since then into a broader Social Compliance Program (SCP), which was formalized in 2001, containing the CVC and a monitoring and remediation process, the overall goals of which are to improve factory conditions, educate buyers and share industry knowledge.

Download HBC Ethical Sourcing Case Study (178 kb PDF)