A new report offering insights into the current state of sustainable procurement adoption and maturity across various industries in the UK has been released by Action Sustainability.

In recent years, substantial progress has been made in the field of supply chain sustainability, with sustainable procurement garnering global awareness. However, although numerous organisations are taking action to become more sustainable themselves, they often fall short in extending this to their supply chains, claims the sustainability consultancy.

In response to this, Action Sustainability has published a ‘Sustainable Procurement Progress Report 2023’, drawing from its evaluations of various organisations against the ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Standard.

Findings in the report indicate that, while organisations that invest in sustainable procurement have some level of sustainability embedded in their procurement activities, more progress needs to be made for this to be perceived as business-as-usual and to fully realise all benefits. The report provides valuable insights to organisations aiming to start embedding sustainability into procurement practices, as well as those seeking to further develop their existing approaches.

Central to the report’s vision is the need to embed sustainable procurement across each spending area and continually seek improvement. It advocates for a collaborative approach, emphasising communication, knowledge-sharing and partnership throughout the value chain as key to shaping a more sustainable future.

The report includes in-depth analysis of the current sustainable procurement landscape across industries, with a specific focus on construction, train operating companies and utilities, along with real-world case studies from various organisations sharing their sustainable procurement journeys, including the challenges they have faced and the opportunities they have seized.

Shaun McCarthy OBE, Director of Action Sustainability, said: “This report provides useful case studies and advice from some of the numerous people we have worked with over the years. We have not taken a scattergun approach to this work, reporting on sectors based on flimsy research, we have focused on those sectors where we have comprehensive, hands-on experience and insight. It is not a complete overview of sustainable procurement; it is our attempt to share what we really know.”

To access the free report click here.