ISO 20 400 has been in development since 2013 involving organisations from 40 countries. By implementing the standard and completing the assessment, Balfour Beatty has demonstrated that it has a sustainable procurement strategy in place.
Aaron Reid, head of sustainable procurement at Balfour Beatty, said: “We are extremely proud to be the first company in the world assessed against ISO 20400. The standard gives us a clear framework to determine ‘what good looks like’ in terms of sustainable procurement and how we compare against it.
“The assessment itself was robust, practical and coherent. It held a mirror up to us as a business, enabling us to uncover areas of existing good practice to be shared and areas for improvement to focus upon.”
Shaun McCarthy, director of Action Sustainability and chair of the Supply Chain School, said: “Societal expectations for supply chains to minimise impact on the environment and respect human rights are at a tipping point. In response, ISO 20 400 sets out a strategic framework for achieving sustainability and value for organisations competing in a global market. Procurement professionals and their stakeholders need to step up to this sustainability challenge and the standard provides a global framework for doing so.”
He said that Balfour Beatty was leading the way on the issue worldwide.