The Importance of Sustainable Procurement

Nowadays, more than ever, the world focuses on sustainability. Consumers want to be informed about where the products they buy come from and what they are made of. On the other hand, businesses want to be seen as leaders in environmental management. Sustainable procurement is one way for companies to take the first step toward sustainable practices.
Businesses have various reasons to focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) problems. They may want to satisfy their customers who are increasingly choosing companies with strong ESG credentials even if the prices are higher or striving to stay ahead of stricter regulations.
Others may react to pressure from investors and banks, feel a need to attract and retain top talent, or want to improve employee engagement. However, most companies focus on sustainable procurement because of the combination of mentioned factors, resulting in the need to understand and handle environmental impact through every part of the supply chain and overall business.
Here, we discuss sustainable procurement, why it is essential, and how it can help you grow your business without damaging the Earth.
Sustainable procurement is the integration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) principles into your business’ procurement processes while ensuring they meet your stakeholders' demands.
Generally, sustainable procurement integrates requirements, specifications, and criteria compatible with environmental and societal protection. It also covers issues such as child labor or toxic chemical use that can negatively affect the environment and the people in it.
That said, businesses need to future-proof their sustainable procurement and investments by enforcing sustainable policies that boost their viability in the long run. Policies and strategies for sustainable procurement are based on the pressures brought upon by cost and the ability to reduce it through reductions in energy consumption and waste, the need to future-proof themselves around scarcity in supply, and the ability to handle the demand of emerging markets.
Sustainable procurement can assist businesses in protecting their reputation because it requires them to develop strong risk management. This allows them to determine problem suppliers and tackle weak spots in their supply chain that can generate bad publicity.
In addition, sustainable procurement offers possibilities for brand recognition as it stimulates companies to develop more sustainable and innovative products. That said, sustainable procurement can help companies identify and reduce the environmental effects of their supply chains by:
Besides improved supply chain sustainability, sustainable procurement has many other benefits, including:
Sustainable procurement is essential to companies of all sizes in every sector because it helps them improve their finances and future-proof the business against various challenges that can disrupt supply chains. This means more flexibility for any company striving to reduce its carbon footprint, helping fight global warming.
As we mentioned, consumers are also asking more questions about the origin of the products they buy and how they affect the Earth. Although the current trend is to use renewable and sustainable materials like hemp and bamboo, innovations will be critical to help companies meet sustainability objectives.
Fortunately, over recent years, progress has been made regarding supply chain sustainability, with many companies re-purposing products, reducing single-use plastics, and decreasing transport.
Essentially, all businesses should consider what they can do to become more environmentally friendly via procurement, not just industries typically associated with natural resources.
That said, sustainable procurement is a critical element in corporate social responsibility (CSR) because food scarcity, climate change, and the impact the population has on our planet can be attributed primarily to industry. It allows companies to reverse the damage made, showing they are aware of their impact on the environment and consider it when making buying decisions.
As businesses strive to reduce the negative social and environmental effects of their activities, they are realizing that both the greatest risks and opportunities can be found in the upstream supply chain. And that places sustainable procurement at the forefront of the shift to sustainable business models.
By choosing a logistics company that values sustainability, such as Unival Logistics, your products will travel via the best shipping routes, ensuring timely delivery and reducing the possibility of your goods getting damaged in transit. Not just that, it will also reduce fuel consumption, contributing to a greener, healthier environment.
On top of that, you will get full-value package insurance at premium rates, real-time tracking, and API integration. We will be glad to help if you have any questions, so don’t hesitate to contact us.
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.105 per ton-mile. Reducing truck transport and opting for the optimal rail transload facility can help increase expense savings through rail.</p> <h2>Rail Freight and Intermodal Strategy</h2> <p>Intermodal is the use of two or more freight transporting modes. When combining rail and road, trains are utilized for the long-haul chunk of the transport. Trucks are used to ship loads from the origin to the terminal and then from the terminal to the recipient, known as drayage.</p> <p><strong>Using rail freight as part of an intermodal strategy has many benefits</strong>, which you can discover below.</p> <h2>Rail Freight Is Eco-Friendly</h2> <p>Given the current state of our environment, caring for it is imperative. From an ecological point of view, rail freight is a great transport alternative compared to air, sea, and road freight. <strong>The biggest advantage of rail freight is the reduction of CO2 emissions</strong>. Compared to other transport modes, rail freight leaves the smallest carbon footprint.</p> <p>For example, air freight consumes 138 tons of CO2, and the combination of air and sea consumes approximately 76 tons of CO2. However, rail freight consumes only 5 tons of CO2 over the same distance. That’s why, now more than ever, rail freight deserves more attention.</p> <h2>Rail Transportation Is Safe and Efficient</h2> <p>Railway safety has notably improved over the past couple of decades. Now, <strong>rail transportation is one of the safest shipping options</strong>. With steady investments in railway infrastructure, routings, tracks, terminals, and border crossing stations, there’s a significant enhancement in the performance of rail freight.</p> <p>Moreover, GPS tracking in trains prevents theft and losses, protecting the goods in transit. Since carriers can locate their customers’ shipments and follow up on milestones, they can deliver information on container position and detect if something unexpected happens during the transportation.</p> <h2>Rail Freight Is Fast and Reliable</h2> <p><strong>Rail freight is a fast and reliable shipping mode</strong> with shorter lead times when compared to sea freight. Although not always possible, there are many situations when rail freight is a more optimal choice than other transport modes.</p> <p>For instance, one of the biggest challenges for companies with production in China is the long lead times to northern Europe when shipping by sea. Sea shipping from China to that part of Europe typically takes around seven weeks.</p> <p>With rail freight, the shipping times can be cut in half, significantly reducing the lead time. Shorter lead times can make it easier to predict business operations and costs, positively impacting capital binding.</p> <p>In addition, rail freight transport is a <strong>punctual mode of transport</strong>. Compared to sea and road freight which can be subjected to bad weather and congestion, not much can hinder the rail path, reducing the risk of unexpected delays.</p> <h2>Are There any Drawbacks of Rail Transportation?</h2> <p>Intermodal containers experience a lot of movement during transit that can damage their contents. There’s a risk of a denied claim if cargo isn't appropriately blocked and braced by rail standards.</p> <h2>Rail Freight Shipping Can Be Your Optimal Choice</h2> <p>Rail shipping has many benefits and very few drawbacks. Apart from being extremely reliable, rail freight is also cost-effective. On top of that, it leaves the smallest carbon footprint compared to other shipping modes.</p> <p>With rising challenges in sustaining our environment, it’s vital to do everything we can to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce the impact of global warming. For those reasons, using rail freight as a part of intermodal strategy can be an optimal choice for many companies that wish to see improvement in our environment.</p> <p><a href="https://unival-logistics.com/">Unival Logistics</a> provides end-to-end logistic solutions and we always choose optimal routes, so that your packages arrive on time and cause the least amount of pollution. You can also take out <a href="https://unival-logistics.com/package-insurance">full-value insurance for high-value goods</a>, track your packages in real-time, and integrate your business with Unival’s API.</p> <p>If you need a logistics partner that combines traditionally effective methods of transport with modern solutions, contact Unival Logistics.</p> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://unival-logistics.com/rail-freight" }, "headline": "What You Need to Know About Rail Freight", "description": "Rail freight is reliable, fast, and green and can be an excellent choice for various businesses. Learn more about it on this page.", "image": "https://dev.unival-logistics.com/img/train-on-tracks.jpg", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Unival Logistics", "url": "https://unival-logistics.com/" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Unival Logistics", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://unival-logistics.com/theme/Unival1/images/unival-logo-new.svg" } }, "datePublished": "2022-07-01", "dateModified": "2022-12-01" } </script>
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