ABSTRACT
Consumers, investors, and employees around the world have come to demand social and environmental responsibility from companies, which, in turn, have responded with more transparency, highlighting sustainability initiatives within their operations. However, as a company matures in managing and improving its own operations for social-environmental responsibility, a key progression is widening the lens of its responsibility to include the company’s supply chain, where an even greater impact can be made. Establishing and maintaining sustainable procurement practices takes strong commitment, collaboration, and integration of values. In this chapter, practitioners from IBM’s global procurement supply chain organization share how its programs came to be, well before it was popular or expected, and how they have evolved to influence a more responsible supply chain.
