Buyers are grappling with how to integrate social and environmental responsibility into purchasing decisions. The most efficient way is to assess a consistent set of publicly available indicators by which companies report their performance and progress. However, there are hundreds of recommended reporting indicators related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), making it difficult to know what is necessary to have confidence that the products being purchased are manufactured in a socially and environmentally responsible way. Companies also differ in what they share publicly based on CSR maturity, where they are in the supply chain, and the restrictions of supplier contracts. Collectively this can cause challenges in comparing companies’ performance, leaving less time for buyers to focus on their core responsibilities.
The RBA Practical Guide to Transparency in Procurement maps out a spectrum of maturity related to meaningful transparency that buyers can use as a resource to assess companies’ disclosures on social and environmental responsibility and meet their own sustainable purchasing goals.
View and download the official version of the Practical Guide to Transparency in Procurement here (in English). As a courtesy, this guide has also been translated into German, French, Spanish and Swedish, however, please refer to the English version for formal guidance.
