GEMI prepares green' guide for use by purchasing groups
By Staff -- Purchasing, 5/4/2000 2:00:00 AM
The Global Environmental Management Institute (gemi) has a task group preparing a set of tools for purchasing managers to use in partnering with suppliers to improve environmental performance. The project, according to task group chairman John Harris of Ashland Inc., aims to provide purchasing departments with information and tools that tell "what to look for in different contractual arrangements on the supply side." It will embrace both guidance and best practices, Harris says, and eventually be available on gemi's Web page.
gemi, which embraces companies with strong environmental, health and safety (EHS) programs, is devoted to developing and sharing tools and information to help businesses achieve EHS excellence. Harris, Ashland's EHS manager, explains that the task group has identified four levels of purchasing involvement with suppliers: spot purchasing, competitive incumbent, preferred supplier, and strategic alliance.
While concepts of supplier involvement in environmental performance can be generalized, he says, applications vary greatly according to the supplier relationship and nature of the business. "They also vary in how they do different processes and their relationships with purchasing activities," Harris says.
Purchasing managers from gemi companies are on the task force, Harris says, because "we realized early on that in order to bring value to the project we needed to bring them in." The group's initial product, a report due in the fall, "is more for [purchasing managers] and their function than it is for the environment people in an organization," he adds.
One tool being developed is an environmental questionnaire to incorporate in supplier qualifying and rating systems. gemi members and other companies have been asking suppliers for several years whether they have an EHS policy. More substantive types of questions to ask, according to Harris, are: "Now that you have [a program], what are you doing with it? And how does [the program] relate to the products and services you're providing?" This kind of expanded questionnaire might be used to prequalify suppliers, prequalify bidders, and evaluate ongoing performance of suppliers selected, Harris explains. Harris says the group also recognizes that in order to achieve full value from the supply chain, purchasing requires involvement of other "key players" in the organization, including senior management.
Jim Dray, VP for resource planning and process management at ThremoRetec Corp., acting as coordinator of the task group, says that the group's aim is to integrate the guide into existing practices of purchasing departments. The idea is "not to force on them measures that will increase the price of their goods." The group is looking for case studies, Dray says, and is taking into account how the role of e-commerce is changing procurement. For more information, contact gemi at 202-296-7449 or visit the organization's Web page at www.gemi.org.
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