The Book Of Sustainability

23 July 2014

The importance of procuring materials and services responsibly has come under the microscope in a new publication, 'Delivering Sustainable Procurement', which is posted on Costain's website.

Details of the sustainable procurement policy are laid out in a special booklet produced by the Company, drawn up by General Manager, Procurement & Supply Chain Management, Martin Orrells; Corporate Responsibility Director, Catherine Warbrick and Environmental Manager, Geraint Rowland.

Put simply, sustainable procurement is the procurement of products and services in an environmentally and socially responsible way, while ensuring value for money that benefits the Company, its customers and the supply chain.

"This is a guidance document that we are issuing both internally and externally," said Martin. It sets out the ideals and controls that allow both Costain and its suppliers to deliver the sustainable procurement policy.

"It's guidance in best practice to ensure that we procure in a sustainable manner," he said.

Procurement is guided by, and focused on, delivering Costain's Engineering Tomorrow strategy and Costain Cares ethos. The supply chain is vital to Costain achieving its sustainable procurement ambitions. It is focused on ensuring that it has a sustainable supply chain whereby its partners support it in delivering efficient, innovative and sustainable solutions.

Both Costain and its suppliers have to consider the economic, environmental and social impacts of applied products and services. To help deliver its sustainable procurement plans, it is looking at four areas: sustainable practices; ethical management; local enterprise; and inclusion and environmental sustainability.

To ensure that these standards are maintained, Costain checks the performance of its 'Top 100' suppliers every three months, monitoring them and comparing them against their peers.

If a supplier turns in a performance that is below acceptable standards, improvement plans are agreed between it and Costain and then implemented to improve and track the former's performance.

Depending on level of risk to which a supplier exposes the Company, the supplier is plotted on a risk matrix to determine the degree of observation that is required to meet Costain's risk management governance.

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