When I interviewed Peter Smith and Mark Perera about their book Procurement With Purpose for the podcast, I ended the conversation by presenting each of them with a challenge.
One of their stated goals for the book is to move people to action, so I asked them each to share one thing listeners could do right now to start their own purpose-driven procurement journey.
Peter Smith suggested looking at all of the options, considering any regulatory requirements, and taking input from stakeholders before picking one thing to focus on. Like any other procurement effort, demonstrating that procurement can have a ‘quick win’ impact on diversity, waste, or emissions might be enough to spark a much larger movement within the company and supply chain.
Mark Perera deliberately chose to be more “extreme” in his recommendation (his word). He suggested going to the Science Based Targets website and looking up your company’s targets as well as the targets for your top 35 suppliers and getting a semi-permanent tattoo on the back of your hand so you don’t forget. Fortunately, he allowed a Post-It Note substitution for anyone too squeamish for tattoos.
Every journey starts with a single step, and if it is pursued with purpose, others will join in and the momentum will grow. Are you ready to take the Procurement with Purpose challenge and select a first step for your journey? Let us know what it is!
Listen to the full podcast here:
