CSR and Procurement

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept with growing currency across the globe. It involves looking at how companies take account of social and environmental factors and how these can impact on their reputation among consumers and in the business world.
The involvement of procurement and supply management professionals in CSR policies is increasingly crucial. Sourcing from low-cost countries, for example, is an area fraught with dangers for the procurement function and the business as a whole. Senior procurement managers are ideally placed to input expert knowledge and experience in discussions of low-cost country sourcing in a way that can help reduce the risk of extremely damaging publicity or dealing with costly legal challenges.
It is therefore imperative for procurement and supply chain departments to build constructive relationships with key stakeholders while increasing business transparency and good governance. In this way they can play a pivotal role in shaping the business in a sustainable and competitive way, making sure the highest ethical standards are followed.
The mentality of "out of sight, out of mind" outsourcing is a serious mistake.