How eCommerce supplier sourcing impacts sustainability

Sourcing sustainable suppliers will directly impact your eCommerce carbon footprint. Here are the keys to making a successful decision

Impact of supplier sourcing on the environment

Supplier selection can have a knock-on impact on the environment, including resource use, waste generation and emissions. It is therefore important to make a good decision about which suppliers we want to work with, as the carbon footprint of our eCommerce business encompasses the entire value chain.

For example, the manufacturers or suppliers we work with may use renewable energy sources or work with fossil fuels, which contribute to carbon emissions and the depletion of natural resources. On the other hand, logistics suppliers may operate inefficient, fossil fuel-powered transportation methods that contribute to air pollution, and gas emissions or engage in practices that contribute to environmental damage, such as deforestation.

By selecting sustainable suppliers, eCommerce companies can reduce their environmental impact on the supply chain.

In addition, the growth of the eCommerce sector in recent years has led to an increase in packaging waste as products are shipped individually to customers. There are packaging suppliers that offer environmentally friendly solutions.

By selecting suppliers that prioritise sustainability, you will significantly reduce the environmental impact of your eCommerce. By choosing to work with suppliers that use renewable energy, reduce waste and prioritise sustainable materials, you will be contributing to reducing your carbon footprint and protecting the environment.

Here are the criteria you should consider when evaluating and choosing the suppliers you want to work with.

Criteria for selecting sustainable suppliers

Until a few years ago, the evaluation for choosing suppliers in the world of e-commerce and traditional commerce was based exclusively on criteria of quality, service and price. However, the evolution of the environment towards more sustainable business models has forced us to consider new criteria in which social responsibility must be considered with the same weight as the rest of the variables.

Here are some of the criteria you can use to select sustainable suppliers:

Environmental criteria: seek to work with suppliers that have implemented environmentally friendly practices, such as waste reduction, energy conservation and the use of renewable resources. Here it is important to look for suppliers that have adopted environmental management systems, such as ISO 14001, a set of standards that provide a framework for managing environmental risks and reducing environmental impact.
Labour practices: Prioritise suppliers that maintain fair labour practices and ensure worker safety. This includes suppliers that offer fair wages, and fair working conditions and respect the human rights of their workers.
Transparency in the supply chain: Choose suppliers that offer transparency in their supply chain, including information on raw materials, sourcing practices and manufacturing processes. This will allow you to identify whether suppliers are complying with ethical standards.
Sustainable materials: Choose to work with suppliers that use sustainable materials in their products, packaging and containers. This may include using recycled or biodegradable materials and avoiding the use of environmentally harmful materials.
Social responsibility: Prioritise suppliers who demonstrate that they are working towards social responsibility and giving back to the community. For example, suppliers that support local communities, promote diversity and inclusion and participate in charitable activities.

Environmental Audits

With environmental audits, we can gather the information we need to know if our supplier is aligned with us on an environmental level. That is to say, what criteria he is currently following but also what his plans for the future are. If and how they plan to rectify certain actions. The keys to carrying out this audit as objectively as possible can be found in ISO 14001, where we will check whether the minimum requirements considered sustainable under the law are being fulfilled at a legal level.

But we must not stop there. We must be aware that we are in a field that is constantly evolving and where the demands are ever greater.

Anticipating them will be the key to success in our strategy of selecting suppliers according to environmental and social criteria. And it will help us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors if we communicate this effectively.

Environmental risks of poor supplier selection

If we do not make a good selection of suppliers and, above all, one that fits in with our CSR plans, we may find ourselves facing the following potential risks:

Legal. We are seeing more and more regulations and laws promoting carbon footprint reduction. Bearing in mind that the relationship with our suppliers is a long-term relationship, we must anticipate and select suppliers that move in the same direction as the environment, our business and, in this particular case, legislation.
Image: as we mentioned in the article "How eCommerce companies can reduce their carbon footprint", society is very aware of environmental issues. So much so that it has become a key criterion in the purchasing decision. That is why the image we convey on an environmental level must be credible and consistent. If our suppliers do not meet the same criteria as we do, we run the risk that our message will not be conveyed in the right way and our sales will be reduced.
Environmental: reducing our carbon footprint should be our main objective. That is why if our suppliers do not meet the right criteria we will be contributing to increasing it. Worse still, the efforts we may make in other parts of our value chain may be considered in vain.
Waste management: when we talk about carbon footprint, we are not just talking about direct pollution of the environment. We are talking about the management of the waste we produce in both production and after-sales. If our suppliers do not have the plan to help improve waste management, we are contributing to the continued threat to our environment.

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