Blue Ocean Academy has conducted a Purchasing and Supply Chain Webinar on the topic of "Green Your Business for Growth – Purchasing and Supply Chain".

The following are the important points discussed in the webinar:

Though making a profit is the prime goal of every organization, they must ensure that sustainability is incorporated into their strategies. Over the last two decades, growing concerns about the ecosystem have forced businesses to reconsider their working patterns. Purchasing professionals should also be concerned and need to rethink purchasing strategies that have traditionally neglected environmental impacts. Green procurement is a concept that can help to create a better world for a sustainable future. Usually, quality, cost and delivery are the three factors that procurement professionals consider while purchasing products. The Green purchasing requires that along with these factors they should also add another major aspect, which is the environment. Also, green purchasing gives preference to those products & services which cause the least harm to the environment, the purchase of items made with recycled materials, which are least harmful to the environment and human health. Principles of Green Purchasing 1. Consider whether a product is needed before purchasing it or not. 2. Purchase a product considering the various environmental impacts over its life cycle - from the extraction of raw materials to disposal. 3. Select suppliers who make conscious efforts to care for the environment. 4. Collect environmental information on products and suppliers.

Emerging Concepts of Green Supply Chains

Green Supply Chain (GSC) screens suppliers for environmental performance, works with them on green design initiatives and provide training & information to build suppliers' environmental management capacity. It strengthens & builds greater support with suppliers for environmental initiatives. Also, it emphasizes that the buyer is requiring a certain level of environmental responsibility in business practice.

Life Cycle of the Product

There are emissions and consumption of resources at every stage of product life. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a process used to evaluate the environmental impact at every stage of production of a product or service. The goal is to purchase products with minimal negative environmental impacts What is a "green" product? The following are the features of a Green Product: • Energy efficient • Can be recycled • Have a recycled content • Emission reducing • Re-usable • Biodegradable Buyers can use their purchasing power to create demand and this demand will in turn push suppliers to produce a green product. If the purchasing professionals and suppliers are willing to put in some extra effort, time and money for this, together they can contribute to a benevolent outcome, which is green procurement.