Welcome to the first edition of the Contractor Safety Management newsletter on Beehiiv.

For LinkedIn subscribers and CQNetwork customers, thank you for migrating over to Beehiiv and continuing to read.

The Contractor Safety Management newsletter is free insights, tips, and articles for managing contractors in high-risk industries. Interests and content planned for future issues:

• Contractor management best practices

• Safety technology

• Psychological safety

• Environmental and Social Governance

Socially Responsible Procurement in High-Risk Industries

High-risk industries like construction and energy production are vital components of the global economy and greatly influence the world's environment and social systems. As a result, socially responsible procurement in these industries is becoming increasingly important for clients and contractors to consider. Companies can ensure their supply chain is ethical and sustainable by implementing socially responsible procurement practices with positive environmental and social knock-on effects.

What is socially responsible procurement?

Socially responsible procurement refers to supply chain management practices a company implements to ensure that its supply chain is ethical and sustainable. This includes considering the environmental and social impact of materials, labor, and other costs associated with a project. Additionally, it is vital to consider the environmental and social effects of the location of the work site, the availability of resources, and the potential for displacement of local communities. Companies can ensure that their projects and operations benefit their local communities and the environment by utilizing socially responsible procurement practices.

The benefits of socially responsible procurement

Companies that establish socially responsible procurement practices can achieve a variety of benefits:

•  Minimize their environmental impact,

•  Support sustainable development,

• Reduce operational costs,

• Improve their brand image and reputation,

• Increase their number of potential customers.

The principles of socially responsible procurement

Socially responsible procurement principles must be well understood throughout the organization. The following are examples of these principles:

• Participation

• Access to information

• Sustainable procurement

• Environmental protection

• Labor rights

• Anti-corruption

• Fair competition

• Transparency, and

• Accountability

Environmental and social considerations

When sourcing materials, companies should consider both the environmental and social impacts of those materials. This will help companies select the materials with the least environmental and social effects, known as responsible materials.

There are several considerations when choosing responsible materials, including:

• The source of the materials

• The social, environmental, and financial impacts of the source

• The cost of the materials

• The availability of the materials

• The ease of implementing the materials into a project

Steps to implementing socially responsible procurement

Step One: Conduct a procurement risk assessment. This helps the procurement team identify areas of risk in the procurement process. The procurement risk assessment includes an evaluation of the environmental and social risks associated with the procurement process.

Step Two: Create a strategy. Consider the social and environmental aspects of sourcing decisions and align them with the goals of the organization or project.

Step Three: Select an implementation approach. The procurement team should consider how to implement the strategy and select the method with the best alignment.

Step Four: Develop a policy. Ideally, the policy includes and statement of intent or describes a philosophy regarding ethical procurement, purchasing standards, and internal protocols that guide the procurement team in sourcing decisions.

Step Five: Implement the procurement strategy and policy.

Step Six: Monitor and adapt the procurement process. This monitoring and adaptation will help the procurement team make changes to improve their procurement process.

Sourcing and supplier evaluation for socially responsible procurement

Once the procurement team has selected a procurement approach, they must choose the suppliers they intend to work with. The procurement team should evaluate suppliers based on supporting factors, including their social and environmental impact. Suppliers' evaluation criteria include:

• Financial capabilities

• Quality and safety

• Environmental sustainability

• Social sustainability, and

• Ethical trade practices

Managing and monitoring the implementation of socially responsible procurement

Once the procurement team has selected suppliers and conducted supplier evaluations, they must manage and monitor the implementation of those suppliers. To do this, the procurement team should:

• Create and maintain a supplier master list

• Create a procurement policy

• Create and maintain a supplier code of conduct

• Establish a communication plan

• Create a dispute resolution procedure, and

• Establish a management review process

Challenges with socially responsible procurement

Clients and contractors in high-risk industries must continually make sourcing decisions that account for their suppliers' and materials' environmental and social impacts. This can be very challenging, as finding "socially responsible" or "environmentally responsible" materials that are 100% sustainable is virtually impossible. Therefore, organizations must be willing to make trade-offs and select the most sustainable materials. Deciding this can be difficult, as no entirely "right" answer exists. Organizations must ensure that their procurement process is transparent and includes the right stakeholders when making these decisions. This transparency and inclusion are essential for building trust and legitimacy in the procurement process.

Examples of successful socially responsible procurement

One example of successful socially responsible procurement in construction is Hudson Yards, a significant commercial and residential real estate development in New York City. The Hudson Yards development is expected to be one of the largest development projects in history. To ensure that the project is socially responsible, the development team implemented many environmentally and socially responsible procurement practices, including:

• Working with unionized contractors

• Selecting materials that meet the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification

• Avoiding displacement of communities

• Selecting materials that have low carbon emissions

Conclusion: Socially responsible procurement is important

High-risk organizations significantly influence the world's environment and social systems. As a result, socially responsible procurement is becoming increasingly important for companies to consider. By implementing socially responsible procurement practices, companies can ensure that their construction projects have a positive environmental and social impact.

Case Studies

 Reprinted, with acknowledgment, from Glassdoor

The Lego Group

The Lego Group is known by kids and adults the world over for its simple building blocks that lead to limitless imaginative possibilities. Tiny plastic pieces fit together to create buildings, fantasy creatures, towers, and whatever the player can dream up. Lego believes in the power of play for children, and its corporate citizenship examples focus on helping children in a wide variety of circumstances.

RE:CODE is an initiative that gives children LEGO bricks to think about STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) subjects. They imagine and create robotics and modeling to help solve real-world sustainability problems.

Play Days bring colleagues and their children from around the world together to play together and get to experience cultures and languages other than their own.

Where children are victims of war and natural disasters, LEGO's Emergency Relief Response Policy provides relief and support in partnership with the LEGO Foundation.

LEGO's environmental sustainability practices include a form of recycling where LEGO bricks are passed from one consumer family to another. The company also has stated packaging and manufacturing goals. By 2030, they intend to make reimagined LEGO products from renewable or recycled resources with sustainable chemistry practices. By 2025, the company hopes to make all their packaging from renewable or recycled materials and make it easier for consumers to recycle the packaging themselves.

Working with the World Wide Fund for Nature, LEGO is developing practices to reduce its carbon footprint in all manufacturing and logistics.

Patagonia, Inc.

Patagonia sells outdoor clothing and gear in retail stores and through their website. The company's vested interest in the earth's natural spaces means its corporate citizenship is focused on environmental impact and preservation. Since 1985, it pledged 1% of profits towards the preservation and restoration of natural spaces. It's identified as a "self-imposed Earth tax." The company has donated $89 million to environmental organizations that invest in their local communities. Yvon Chouinard, the company's founder, created a nonprofit to encourage other companies to join the same cause and commit to grassroots efforts on behalf of the planet's health.

To get individual customers involved in the movement, Patagonia's website identifies opportunities for activism via Patagonia Action Works, and hosts a blog to identify critical environmental concerns. Additionally, Patagonia chooses athletes like surfers and rock climbers as part of its Global Sports Activists program, supporting athletes who use their platform to amplify environmental causes.

Avocado Green Mattress

In order to stand out in the sea of home delivery mattress purveyors, Avocado Green Mattress sells a product that meets many sustainable criteria. The mattresses are designed in New Jersey and manufactured in California, of 100% organic certified natural materials grown on the company's farms.

In 2019's sustainability report, Avocado commits to further efforts to practice corporate social responsibility by creating a fair and equitable workplace where employees are supported to do good in their own spheres of influence. Through an initiative called 1% For the Planet, Avocado helps fund environmentally focused nonprofits and works towards carbon neutrality and clean power usage by offsetting carbon emissions 100%.

Employees receive living wages, health benefits (including mental health services), and paid volunteer days for serving in their communities.

Ben & Jerry's

Since 1978, Ben & Jerry's has been making quality ice cream in a huge variety of flavors. It's sold nationwide in grocery and convenience stores and at Ben & Jerry's storefront shops. In 1985, the company established The Ben & Jerry's Foundation to engage employees in community causes. Ben & Jerry's has been known for both its few-ingredient ice cream and its corporate social responsibility focus since.

The company operates according to a three-part mission: to make a quality product, to operate the company to allow for sustainable growth, and to affect social change on a variety of fronts. The social mission includes clearly stated issues of focus: GMO food labeling, racial justice, climate justice, LGBT equality, refugee assistance, and others.

In partnership with non-profits and influential organizations representing each of these causes, Ben & Jerry's actively invites customers and employees to join with them to fight for social justice and environmental sustainability. The website hosts dozens of articles to help consumers educate themselves on the issues the company cares about.

TOM's

From its founding day, TOMs shoes set out its social responsibility goals: For each pair of shoes sold, TOMs would donate a pair to someone in need. Since then the company's giving philosophy has evolved to a one-third donation to its "Grassroots Good" program. The program focuses on giving to identified community needs. The company believes the greatest needs can be met by supporting organizations that know and understand each community best.

For the broader mission, TOMs supports three main social justice reforms: promoting mental health, ending gun violence, and increasing access to opportunity. More than just grants, TOMs sets up partnerships for a longer-term investment in the organizations they support.

On the manufacturing front, TOMs environmental goals include a commitment to source 100% sustainable cotton by 2025, expand its earthwise initiative to use more products from earth-friendly materials and manufacturing processes, source 100% of its packaging from sustainable forests and ensure it's made with 80% recycled content, and continue to reduce its carbon footprint with frequent accountability audits.

With passionate people at the helm, companies often create ethical initiatives that work towards environmentally sustainable practices, philanthropy, and community involvement. If you feel inspired by this work, join the movement with a career in corporate social responsibility.