Smart Procurement Assessment Tool
This assessment tool is intended to help potential suppliers provide relevant information to purchasers to help assess sustainability performance
above and beyond their financial credentials. It is meant as a positive discussion point for both purchasers and suppliers, and can identify ways in
which they can work together. The author of this assessment tool, the Sustainable Business Network, can answer questions on the general
sustainability requirements of this tool and how to meet those in your own business.
How to complete this assessment tool:
Please read each question and respond in the second column (‘Supplier response’). Please attach any supporting documents, such as policies,
awards and certifications, to this assessment when you send it back, identifying which document is relevant under each category. The
purchaser will score your response based on the scoring guide in column three. You don’t need to do put anything in column three or four.
The criteria are broken up into four key focus areas, each of which is weighted as follows:
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Overall Sustainability Strategy and Governance (maximum of 9 points available)
Environmental Practice (34 points )
Social Practices (19 points)
Supply Chain Management (10 points)
Additional support and advice:
A sustainable business is essentially one that understands its social, environmental and financial impact, and puts equal weight to each. These
criteria are a great starting point to go through your business’ sustainability strategy. If you would like support in filling this questionnaire out
please contact Sustainable Business Network to discuss membership and accessing support services.
This assessment focuses on generic topics, so when taking into consideration the sustainability impacts of specific product categories you may
need to add some additional questions. To see a guide of which certifications or accreditations you might want to look for in specific product
categories see the Sustainable Business Network’s Guide to Sustainability Certifications.
Criteria
Supplier response
Scoring guide
Score
(purchaser
completes)
Overall Sustainability and Governance: For sustainable benefits to be achieved organisations need a policy Total points
mandated by senior management, employees who understand the role they play, processes and systems that
deliver and measure sustainability, and targets that are separate to the achievement of only financial profit.
1. Does your
organisation have a
sustainability policy?
2. How is this policy
embedded within
your organisation?
Guidelines to meet this criteria:
Your sustainability policy must:
1. Be signed off by either the CEO, Board or relevant senior management
team of your organisation
2. Explain the key material areas for your business, which means the
areas of sustainability where your company has the biggest impact,
and is of greatest concern to your stakeholders. For guidance on how
to work through the material issues for your business see this guide.
Depending on what your business does, your key material areas could
include: supply and value chain management, environmental
management (energy, waste, travel), operating in local communities,
and fair employment practices.
To create a sustainability strategy see the Sustainable Business Network’s
guide here.
Please answer the question here:
Evidence of this could be:
- Sustainability performance is included within all job descriptions
and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Provide an example of
what is put in the job description or KPI
- There is an active multi-departmental sustainability group.
Provide evidence of who is a member of the group, job titles and
when the committee was formed
- There are sustainability champions across your organisation.
available: 9
Organisation has a
sustainability policy but it
doesn’t pre-date the request
for proposals – 1
Policy meets requirements
and includes two of the key
material areas for the
business as described in
point 3 in the explanation
box – 2
/4
As above but includes three
or more of the key material
areas but doesn’t explain
why those are material for
the business - 3
As above and describes why
the business is focusing on
these areas in its
sustainability policy - 4
Each form of evidence
provided receives a point, up
to a maximum of 3 points
Please provide evidence of who they are
- CEO speaks to audiences externally about your organisation’s
sustainability journey. Please provide evidence of past
engagement, to whom and the topic
- Sustainability is recognised as being the responsibility of all
employees, and not just one department
- Your organisation actively practises demand management with a
sustainability focus such as ‘reduce – re-use – recycle’ prior to
making new purchases
Please answer the question here:
3. Is your organisation’s
overall purpose to
have a positive social
or environmental
impact?
Evidence required would be your purpose or mission statement which
articulates which at-risk community you are serving. If this has already
been provided as part of the overall sustainability policy please reference
that here.
Please answer the question here:
/3
The mission statement states
that the organisation is
operating for a purpose
beyond profit
/2
Environmental Practices: Environmental management is an ongoing process. In this section we are looking for
evidence that you measure, manage, report and ideally verify your critical outputs with an aim to actively reduce
the negative environmental impacts caused by your business activity. If you’re a service organisation, this is likely
to be focused around your travel and office environment. If you’re a product manufacturer, then your key
environmental impacts are most likely to be created through the manufacturing of your products.
4. Managing your
environmental
impacts:
Do you have a system
in place that identifies
and measures your
key impact areas as
identified in your
sustainability policy
above?
Please provide evidence of your management system and explanation of
how you selected your organisation’s key impacts. This could be an online
tool with screen shots which show the organisation name and the areas
that you are reporting on (or a link to the system if the information is
publically available), or in soft copy form (Excel or Word) with an
explanation of how and when the information is inputted.
The environmental impact areas that businesses are likely to have include,
but are not limited to:
- Energy (electricity and gas)
- Litres of fuel consumed as a result of operating your business
- Waste and recycling
Total points
available: 34
Evidence provided of how
the information is managed –
2
As above plus evidence
provided of a management
system across all key impact
areas with description of why
those key areas have been
selected – 4
/4
- Water use
Please answer the question here:
5. Moving to low carbon
business:
Are you measuring
your carbon emissions
(scope 1 and scope
2)?
We require you to measure your direct emissions to get points for this
question. Please describe, or provide a copy of, your carbon calculations.
This could be an online management system, or an Excel document. If you
have already supplied this please let us know which part refers to carbon
emissions.
For guidance and further information how to measure your carbon
emissions please see here. To download a free carbon calculator go here.
You can also use the following resources for more in-depth guidance:
ISO:14064, the Greenhouse Gas protocol and the Ministry for Environment
“Guidance for Voluntary Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting.
Please answer the question here:
6. Reducing:
i. Do you have targets and
KPIs to reduce the key
environmental impacts
and carbon emissions
identified above in both
Q.4 and 5
ii. Do those targets go
beyond incremental
change?
Evidence required here is of targets across the different areas identified
above and who is responsible for these targets. This documentation could
be in the form of a policy or KPIs for individuals if responsibility is assigned
to individuals. See here for examples of these policies.
Please answer the question here:
Please describe why you chose your targets and how you are changing
business processes to meet those targets.
Please answer the question here:
Data available but for less
than six months – 1
Data available for more than
six months and up to the past
two years – 2
Annual data available for
more than two years - 4
/4
Evidence of targets with
either environmental
management or carbon
emissions provided – 2
Evidence of targets with both
environmental management
or carbon emissions provided
(even if there is cross-over) –
3
As above and responsibility
for targets are spread across
relevant areas of the
organisation – 4
Targets require a change in
business process to achieve
them more than just
reduction (i.e. turning off
light switches, monitoring
/4
water use) – 2
7. Reporting:
Do you report (externally
and internally) on how
you’re tracking against
your environmental
management or carbon
emissions targets?
Internal evidence: please provide the most up-to-date report that shows
the performance towards targets, associated practices that are enabling
you to meet these targets, or, in the case that you are not currently
meeting them, what you are doing to change that (whether that be staff
education and training, changing suppliers or processes). Every business is
different but many face similar challenges when trying to create a
transformative organisation. For case studies of businesses that are
successfully changing the way that they work see here.
External evidence: Link to webpage where the performance for the past 12
months (or the most recent reporting period, which must have finished
within the last 12 months) is shared, and/or a PDF of the report and the
exact page which shows the performance.
Please answer the question here:
8. Verification:
i.
Do you have any
third party
verification of your
environmental
management system
reporting?
If yes, please supply evidence of a valid and current accreditation. We will
accept reports that have been audited to International Certifications:
Ecowarranty, ISO14:001, Enviro-mark Silver, Gold, Platinum or Diamond,
GRI.
Please answer the question here:
ii.
Please supply a copy of the latest auditor’s report from within the last 12
months which shows your organisation was audited to the standards
above. This might include the certifications: ISO14064-1, International
Do you have third
party verification of
your carbon
Targets are to create zero
impact - 3
Performance is measured
and shared internally – 2
/3
As above but also shared
externally – 3
Performance is measured
and shared (either internally
or externally) but
organisation hasn’t met the
targets identified, however
has described what it is doing
to achieve these targets - 5
/10
Performance is measured
and shared internally, and
organisation is meeting
targets displayed above – 8
As above plus organisation is
externally reporting on
targets identified above – 10
Your organisation is
accredited to Eco warranty,
Enviro-Mark Silver, Gold,
Platinum – 2
Your organisation is fully
accredited to ISO:14001 or
GRI - 4
Auditor’s report provided but
more than 12 months old – 1
Auditor’s report provided – 3
/4
footprinting?
9. Have you had any
environmental
compliance issues or
prosecutions in the
past three years?
Certifications Carbon Warranty (carbon measured, managed or neutral),
CEMARS or carboNZero.
Please answer the question here:
Please cite the case(s) relating to any prosecution(s) you’ve been involved
with.
Please answer the question here:
Auditor’s report provided
and scope 3 emissions are
included in the reporting- 4
Organisation hasn’t been
prosecuted in the past 3
years.
Social Practices: All organisations have a responsibility to be a positive influence on the communities they’re
operating in. How they do this can take many forms, and we would expect high-performing sustainable
companies to be actively considering their staff community, as well as their external communities.
Internal Workplace Practices:
10. Do you have policies
Acceptable policies are those that go above and beyond health and safety
and procedures in
standards such as:
place to support a
- A policy that focuses on pay equality (this may be between the
positive and engaged
highest and lowest paid employees, living wage, gender, etc.)
internal work force?
- Policies that support work/life balance such as TOIL (time off in
lieu)
- Subsidies in place for sustainable lifestyle choices like public
transport, active transport, gyms, health insurance etc.
- Extended parental leave above and beyond legislative compliance
Please answer the question here:
11. Do you have activities
and actions to support
a healthy workplace?
12. Do you have a
diversity and inclusion
policy?
Evidence would be any programmes or activities that have taken place in
the past 12 months that demonstrate positive activities such as: team
building challenges, learning and development programmes for all
employees, training in sustainability or other life issues (e.g. financial
literacy), wellbeing programmes.
Please answer the question here:
Please provide your diversity policy which is signed off by the CEO, senior
management team or Board. For examples of how to write a Diversity
Policy see here.
Please answer the question here:
/4
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Total points
available: 19
Your organisation has a
policy in one of these areas–
1
/4
As above and predates this
request for proposals - 2
Policies supplied in two or
more of these areas – 3
As above and predates this
request for proposals - 4
Organisation demonstrates
action in at least one of these
areas – 2
Organisation demonstrates
action in two or more of
these areas – 4
Organisation has a policy that
is signed off by the CEO or
senior management – 1
/4
As above plus policy includes
targets – 2 points
13. Do you actively
promote diversity and
inclusion in workplace
activities?
14. Outside of providing
employment, what
issues are facing the
community you
operate in and what
are you doing to
support these issues?
Evidence suggested to achieve this point could be:
- Ongoing monitoring of employees’ demographic profile across
functions and levels
- Providing specific equipment or working areas for those that need
it to assist their ability to work.
- Educating employees, e.g. on bullying and harassment in the
workplace, unconscious bias training
- A diversity council/committee/team is in place and is active
- Networks to support diverse groups of employees (ethnic,
sexuality, gender etc.) are in place and are active
- Initiatives are in place to build the pipeline of diverse talent
through to senior management positions
- Awards from third party organisations in New Zealand for your
diversity work with your employees, e.g. the Diversity Awards, the
White Camellia Awards or the Pay Equity Awards
Please answer the question here:
Please provide a policy or description of the issues facing the local
community you operate in that are relevant to your business and how you
are addressing these issues (this might be site location, key markets that
you serve or your supply chain, wherever the need is greatest).
Examples could be:
- Staff volunteering doing unskilled work (i.e. beach clean-ups)
- Skilled volunteering (pro bono) to relevant community groups
- Strategic partnerships with community organisations
- Providing resources (e.g. office space, products) to community groups
- Awards that have been won for community investment initiatives
- Donations to not for profit groups
- Specific products or preferential pricing schemes that make your
products and services accessible to at risk communities
To see examples of what other companies are doing see here.
Please answer the question here:
/2
Evidence provided of actions
or activities that have
contributed to good diversity
outcomes – 1 point per
evidence provided to a
maximum of 2 points
Organisation has won an
award for diversity in New
Zealand in the past two years
– 1 point available
/3
Organisation has identified a
socio-economic issue for its
business and has
demonstrated at least one
thing it is doing to support
this- 2
Additional points are
available for where the
business can demonstrate
the different activities it is
involved with, with a
maximum of 4 additional
points available.
/6
Supply Chain Management: What do you do to incentivise sustainability within your own value chain?
Total points
available: 10
15. Do you have a policy
(either stand alone or
included in a broader
sustainability policy)
which outlines your
approach to
sustainability in your
value chain?
16. Do you have a system
to assess your
suppliers based on
their sustainability
performance?
17. Is this policy or tool
included in all
tenders?
To meet these criteria your sustainable supply chain management policy
must predate the date of request for proposals and be signed off by either
the CEO, Board or senior manager of the organisation.
Note: If you have previously provided this you don’t need to provide it
again.
Please answer the question here:
Organisation has a policy – 1
Please supply evidence of a system or tool. You can use this assessment
tool if you don’t already have a system or tool in place.
Please answer the question here:
Organisation has an
assessment system – 4
Please supply evidence of this, which could be a tender or supplier contract
that predates this request for proposal.
Please answer the question here:
Evidence supplied that this
has been used in more than
one tender
18. Do you reward your
suppliers for
sustainable
innovation?
Please supply evidence of the process or mechanism and/or achievement
data that shows how innovation was rewarded for the supplier.
Please answer the question here:
Evidence supplied
The policy predates this
request for proposals and
complies with all other
requirements - 2
/2
/4
Contributors:
This guide has been created by the Sustainable Business Network with the support of some of its members. The Sustainable Business Network
would like to thank specifically Michael Field (Waitemata District Health Board), David Nellist (IAG), Michaela Bennett (NZ Post) and Andrew
Walters (Auckland Council) for their in-depth help in developing this guide.
Other contributing organisations include:
Auckland Council, AUT University, Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), Chorus NZ Ltd, EEO Trust, Fuji-Xerox, Fulton Hogan, Hutt City Council, NZ Post,
NZI, Opus International, Resene Paints Ltd, Ricoh New Zealand Limited, Staples, Tourism Holdings Ltd, Toyota , Unitec, Vector Limited, Victoria
University of Wellington, Waitemata DHB, Wellington City Council, Wellington Zoo Trust, Westpac, Z Energy
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