When organizations embed sustainability into purchasing decisions, they change how suppliers operate and the goods and services they provide.
But sustainable purchasing has been slow to spread.
In Canada, a multi-sector collaboration is trying accelerate action. It’s focused on changing procurement by government and other organizations — and leveraging that action to transform the market. The collaboration focuses on sustainable procurement and the emerging practice of circular procurement.
In a recent podcast by the Network for Business Sustainability, Ivey Professor Jury Gualandris talks with two champions of this effort. The guests are Frances Edmonds, head of sustainable impact at HP Canada, and Monica Da Ponte, head of consultancy Shift and Build.
Dr. Gualandris own research focuses on the institutional, operational, and economic challenges associated with the development of circular supply chains. Gualandris also leads the circular economy research priority identified by the Centre for Building Sustainable Value. This research aims to accelerate system transformation towards a circular economy by providing insights into how circular supply chains could function and how current supply chains could be altered accordingly. To propel this vision, Gualandris is working closely with industry partners to understand circular economy challenges and opportunities in agri-food supply chains.
This text was originally published by the Network for Business Sustainability (NBS), a non-profit that brings researchers and managers together to advance business sustainability. NBS is run and operated out of the Centre for Building Sustainable Value at Ivey Business School.