Driving Strategic Impact through a Global Sustainable Procurement Action Plan

Summary:

SourcingHaus supported the development of a global Sustainable Procurement Action Plan for one of the largest international development organizations. The initiative delivered a structured roadmap to embed environmental and social sustainability across global procurement activities, with a focus on implementation, category prioritization, and alignment with international sustainability frameworks. With procurement accounting for a significant portion of the organization’s programme delivery, the action plan was designed to strengthen impact, transparency, and operational readiness across regions.

The Challenge:

In recent years, the organization has made strong commitments to sustainability and climate action. However, translating these commitments into operational procurement practice required a clearer implementation roadmap. There was a need to identify high-impact categories, establish measurable performance indicators, and define entry points for sustainability across procurement functions, from policy to market engagement.

What We Did:

SourcingHaus worked in close coordination with the organization’s central procurement team to deliver a forward-looking Sustainable Procurement Action Plan. Key activities included:

• Portfolio Sustainability Analysis - Mapped procurement spend against sustainability risk and emissions intensity using a tailored methodology based on Scope 3.1 and international best practices.
• Category Prioritization - Identified high-impact and high-spend procurement categories (e.g., construction, vehicles, health, IT) for targeted sustainability interventions.
  Strategy and Action Plan Design - Developed a multi-dimensional action plan structured around:
• Policy and Governance
• Leadership and Organizational Buy-In
• Capacity Building and Training
• Market Engagement and Supplier Readiness
• Monitoring and Reporting
• Performance Framework - Proposed KPIs and a reporting framework to track implementation progress across offices and procurement teams.
• Standards Alignment - Ensured compatibility with international sustainability and climate frameworks, including ISO 20400 and the GHG Protocol.

The Impact:

• Equipped the organization with its first comprehensive and operationally focused sustainable procurement action plan
• Clarified strategic priorities and practical actions for mainstreaming sustainability across procurement categories
• Strengthened institutional alignment and internal ownership across departments and country offices
• Set the foundation for integrating sustainability criteria into policies, training, and supplier engagement tools