ESG leadership

If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that embracing change is the only way forward.

The pandemic has changed every aspect of our daily lives, including the pace of enterprise digital transformations. Organizations are reevaluating their entire operations, from both a cost management and efficiency perspective – and that includes the procurement lifecycle. From the management of supply chain logistics to new supplier relationships to meeting customers’ heightened service expectations, we’ve all learned to redefine innovation, speed, agility, and flexibility.

While the recent disruptions have created several challenges for procurement professionals, they have also uncovered significant opportunities for business growth and changing the way business is done, especially within the ESG (environment, social and governance) space. The pandemic heightened concerns about sustainability and ESG issues, placing companies under greater pressure from investors, shareholders, and regulators to act responsibly.

It's not enough to just do business well, the focus is now also on doing “good” business, giving equal consideration to impact on the planet or contributions to local communities as well as to the bottom line.

Cost containment, risk management and supplier on-boarding are no longer the primary objectives, as materials, resources and methods continually move higher on the procurement priority lists. It’s to the point where procurement must have a ‘seat at the table’ to contribute to ESG strategies as they are being developed.

Learn more about the critical link between procurement, ESG and long-term digital and sustainability transformation in this paper, “ESG leadership: How to be a facilitator of sustainability transformation.”