Driving Innovation through Sustainable Procurement in the Services Sector
Driving Innovation through Sustainable Procurement in the Services Sector was the theme of the June 12 Workshop for Members of the BITCI Responsible Business Network, led by Senior Consultant, Darina Eades.
Three excellent presentations were provided by Bank of Ireland, Accenture and Smurfit Kappa.
Paul Keenan, Category Manager, Infrastructure & Services with Bank of Ireland discussed the efforts of the bank to ensure their procurement process are sustainable. He focused on their achievements to date in energy, water and waste management, where significant savings have been made. He also discussed the breadth of skills needed to be a sustainable procurement professional!
Mary Keays, Accenture Ireland Procurement Lead and UKI Category Manager outlined Accenture’s approach to supplier engagement, inclusion and diversity. She discussed how a move to a policy of shipping new pcs, instead of using air transport, has led to significant reductions in Accenture’s carbon emissions, as has the move to utilising and maximising the advantages of Telepresence technology.
Daragh Wall, European Account Director with Smurfit Kappa discussed how Smurfit Kappa is utilising its expertise to bring about innovation on a continuous basis, to enable its customers to be more sustainable. Daragh showed four excellent videos on how the company has been able to reduce customer product packaging, reduce the cost of disposal and bring about significant efficiencies in transport and logistics, reducing carbon in tandem.
According to attendees of the event: “Great presentations, great dialogue, thank you for an excellent day.”
“I previously viewed sustainability from an environmental point of view only and didn’t include ethical or social aspects. I now have a much broader view.”
“I got plenty of useful examples to bring back and implement in our company. There are also lots of resources in the handout, thank you indeed.”
“The Smurfit Kappa video examples were explicit examples of sustainable procurement driving real and intelligent innovation.”
Further details on how to take action on sustainable procurement are available from Darina Eades, Senior Corporate Responsibility Consultant at deades@bitc.ie
Pictured above from left to right: Daragh Wall, European Account Director, Smurfit Kappa; Darina Eades, Senior Corporate Responsibility Consultant, Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI); Paul Keenan, Category Manager Infrastructure & Services, Bank of Ireland; Mary Keays, Accenture Ireland Procurement Lead and UKI Category Manager, pictured at the BITCI Workshop on Driving Innovation through Sustainable Procurement in the Services Sector on June 12, 2013 in Chartered Accountants Ireland.
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