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Michelle Moyo, [email protected]

TODAY, March 21, is World Sustainable Procurement Day (WSPD).

The Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) has joined the rest of the world in commemorating the day, which defines the future of procurement.

The 2024 motto is“collaborate2accelerate”, and it focuses on empowering and equipping procurement professionals in their journey towards sustainable procurement.

In a statement, PRAZ said sustainable procurement is when an organisation uses its buying power to procure goods and services based on aspects that include economic considerations- which is the best value for money including life cycle- costs, price, quality, availability, and functionality.

Additionally, environmental and social aspects have to be considered.

“Environmental aspects which are the effects on the environment that the product or service has over its whole lifecycle, from cradle to grave.

“Social aspects are the effects of purchasing decisions on issues such as poverty eradication, international equity in the distribution of resources, labour conditions, and human rights”, reads the statement.

This year, the major emphasis is on fair labour practice, supplier diversity, and social procurement, the legislation and regulation landscape that instigates global changes in the procurement profession, and emerging topics like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technological advancements.

“The WSPD has a goal of transforming the current procurement practices for the benefit of people and our planet without of course forgetting the profit. World Sustainable Procurement Day is the annual opportunity that empowers procurement professionals, globally, to accelerate collective efforts, and establish responsible sourcing practices. In the spirit of collaboration, it is essential to accelerate positive impact on our planet and future generations, by joining forces to achieve the Triple P Bottom Line.

“By adopting Sustainable Procurement as its 2024 theme, PRAZ has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability. This is the new way of procuring globally and Zimbabwe is on track to ensure that the public procurement ecosystem operates sustainably, reads the statement.

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