Explore Market

Undertake preliminary market research

Explore the market using desk-based research to familiarise yourself with the relevant sectoral sustainability innovations, practices, certifications, and standards. Look for information in industry journals and news; trade association initiatives; independent sources (consider public filings or databases such as CDP); and company websites and reports. Industry benchmarks are another way to assess how the market regards sustainability. Look also at government procurement portals and databases, as they often transparently list suppliers with sustainability accreditations.

EXAMPLE: Australian Government leverages database to find potential sustainable suppliers

The Australian Government uses the Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) Product Database to help identify sustainable goods and services that have an Ecolabel, Claims Authentication or Life Cycle Analysis & Environmental Product Declaration.

Communicate your intentions

Develop a communication strategy for the upcoming procurement cycle to share the procurement aims and approach with a wide range of potential suppliers. Sharing your procurement plan, prospectus, or pre-tender briefing gives suppliers time to mobilise to meet your sustainability needs before the procurement launch.

EXAMPLE: Transport for London communicates early intentions

When Transport for London (TfL) upgraded its Underground lighting to lower energy alternatives, it produced a Market Sounding Prospectus to signal its intentions. In addition, TfL presented at Europe-wide lighting conferences, used online submission tools and market surveys, and hosted a 'Suppliers Morning' event. The work helped TfL acquire information on almost 300 different innovative lighting technologies and informed a whole life-cycle costing method for the procurement.

Actively engage with the market

Engage the market to explore potential solutions and gather additional insights on sustainability trends and offerings. Engagement strategies include, sharing questionnaires or surveys, arranging face-to-face meetings with suppliers, and arranging "meet the buyer" conferences, workshops or webinars. Annual reviews or RFx can also be a good opportunity for open dialogue and asking major suppliers to introduce alternative solutions they are developing.

For all market engagement activities, consider including: an introduction to the sustainability topic, a discussion on your specific needs or products, opportunities for suppliers to pitch their solution or product, and networking opportunities. Market engagement is also a chance to understand what type of sustainability related data your suppliers gather. This will help inform how you award and manage the contract.

EXAMPLE: Bridgestone Asia-Paficic Supplier Conference

Bridgestone launched its E8 Commitments towards becoming a sustainable services company and wanted to communicate the vital role Asia-Pacific suppliers and stakeholders would play in realising the goal. The Bridgestone Supplier Conference 2022 was a virtual event covering various topics, including Procurement Strategy and Product Life-cycle Assessments. Post event, 96% of attendees reported being able to identify more opportunities for working with Bridgestone and felt they could align their plans with Bridgestone's long-term strategy and vision.

EXAMPLE: HP Inc. prepares suppliers for future pre-qualification criterion

HP Inc. wanted to source from suppliers with 1.5 degrees aligned Science Based Target (SBT) before a sufficient number of suppliers could meet such a requirement. The company pushed forward by signalling that SBTs would become a pre-qualification criterion in the future, allowing suppliers time to prepare for the new requirement.¹

Test the market's capacity to deliver sustainable solutions

Use an Expression of Interest (EOI) or Request for Information (RFI) to gauge interest in the opportunity, find potential partners, and get input on how partners will meet the procurement sustainability aims. EOI and RFI are especially useful when exploring the sustainability potential of new suppliers or materials. You may also need to update your knowledge of qualified suppliers from current or previous contracts and their capacity to deliver on sustainability.

As appropriate, use this stage to pre-qualify and shortlist bidders with sustainable credentials, that you will invite to bid in a formal tender process later.

EXAMPLE: City releases nationwide Request for Information (RFI) to Increase Sustainable Purchasing

The City of Madison, Wisconsin, aimed to create a more diverse supplier pool to achieve its goals of making its purchasing more sustainable, equitable, and local. To do this, it released a nationwide RFI designed to increase its awareness of local, women or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour)-owned businesses, as well as suppliers able to help the City reduce carbon emissions.²

Understand diverse supplier needs and support their participation

The planning stage is also a chance to engage and support a broader range of potential suppliers. For instance, SMEs, local businesses, social enterprises, and BIPOC- and women-owned business. You can support these kinds of diverse suppliers during your market engagement by clarifying key concepts, providing training on the procurement process, and providing a platform to answer their questions.

You can also increase opportunities for diverse suppliers to participate by, dividing up large contracts, creating offtake agreements, or allocating a portion of your procurement spend specifically to diverse suppliers.

You will also need to consider the power dynamics and relative priorities between you and your suppliers. If the burden of meeting sustainability requirements, accreditations, or data requests is too onerous, you may need to rethink how your procurement has been designed to better accommodate diverse suppliers.

EXAMPLE: Global brewer focuses on local sourcing

AB InBev has committed to sourcing goods and services locally wherever possible, allocating 60% of its spending to local businesses in its Africa Zone.³