Slides from Formerly Director Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing, Hilton, presented at the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council's 2018 Summit in Minneapolis, MN.

1. SPLC Model Policy Template and Handbook
Dr. Anastasia O’Rourke & Angela Vitulli
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May 15, 2018

2. • Guide action
• Galvanize disparate actors
• Create a shared vision and goal for the
program
>> We want policies to guide the right
kind of action!
Policies can …
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3. Why did SPLC create Model Policy Template and Handbook?
• Member demand
• Give organizations a head start in creating or updating a SP policy
• Encourage adoption of best practices aligned with SPLC’s Principles, Guidance, and
BENCHMARK Maturity Model, and ISO 20400
• Promote greater convergence across organizations’ sustainable purchasing policies
and activities.
• Increase the chance of successful SP implementation
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4. How did we create the model policy and Handbook?
Reviewed
- Policies – Public and Private
- Guidance and Standards
- Interviews
Technical
Advisory
Committee (TAC)
Refine & Finish Launch today
Reference Guides Reviewed
• European Commission: Buying Green!
Handbook
• ICLEI Procura+ Manual
• ISO 20400: 2017 Standard
• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Guidance on SP Policies
• NASPO Green Purchasing Guide
• SPLC Principles
• SPLC GUIDANCE v2.0
• SPLC BENCHMARK
• USDN, RPN Sustainable Procurement
Playbook for Cities
• UNEP Sustainable Public Procurement
Implementation Guidelines
Example Policies and Executive
Orders Reviewed
• City of DC
• City of Sacramento
• City of San Francisco
• City of Seattle
• Commonwealth of
• King County, Washington
• Multonmah County, Oregon
• State of California
• State of Colorado
• State of
• State of Minnesota
• State of New York
• US Federal Government
• University of California
• Five corporate policies were also reviewed
(confidential).
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5. What is special about this policy template?
• Focus on a robust program
• Future-proof sustainable purchasing
• Reflects best practices identified by SPLC
members in Guidance, Chapter 2
• Designed to help secure executive support for
an approach consistent with SPLC’s member-
developed Principles for Leadership
In Sustainable Purchasing
• “Actions” described in the policy
secure executive sponsorship for
cross-functional participation in
each of the steps in the Strategy
Cycle
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6. Purpose of the template policy
• With this template policy, a program leader should:
– Have the authority they need to convene internal and external stakeholders
around high priority opportunities to make the organization’s purchasing more
sustainable
– Engage those stakeholders in analyzing spending and associated impacts
– Plan purchasing and related operational actions to address those impacts
– Implement those plans
– Track, report, and share the results
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7. Model Policy Template - Preamble
It is the policy of {organization} to be a leader in sustainability.
With this policy, we are establishing a sustainable purchasing program at {organization}. This
will strengthen our commitment to {reference relevant sustainability/corporate social
responsibility policies or goals for the organization, such as commitment to the UN
Sustainable Development Goals, other corporate social responsibility (CSR) and/or
environmental goals}.
Our sustainable purchasing program will address the environmental, social, and economic
impacts associated with the {organization’s} purchase of an estimated annual {insert $
dollar amount} in goods and services.
Sustainable purchasing means making sure that our suppliers – and the products and
services they supply – deliver value for money and generate benefits not only for
{organization}, but also for the environment, society, and the economy.
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8. Model Policy Template – Commitments (1)
Allocate Resources
Appoint Program Leader
Engage Stakeholders
Analyze Spending
Planning:
Prioritize categories of spending for sustainable purchasing
Establish quantitative goals for each category
Identify implementation strategies to achieve goals
Assign coordination, communication, measurement, and reporting tasks
Implementation:
Undertake needs analysis
Conduct market assessments and engage suppliers
Develop specifications and contract language (following SPLC)
Seek disclosure, data, communicating preferences for innovation
Engage and rewarding suppliers
Calculate the total cost of ownership
Conduct training
Incorporate SP into performance metrics – staff and suppliers
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9. (continued)
Track
Design monitoring and reporting system to track progress
Measure and report on performance outcomes
Report
Quarterly reporting to senior leaders in organization
Annual reporting to stakeholders about activities and outcomes
Continuous Improvement
Annual review of progress to inform continuous improvement of Program
Review and update the Action Plan
Share
Contribute lessons learned to broader community
Signature and Date
Model Policy Template – Commitments (2)
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10. The SPLC Program Policy is the Foundation for Other Institutional SP Policies
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PROGRAM
POLICY
Supplier Code of
Conduct
ENERGY STAR
Policy
Fleet Policy
Packaging Policy
Paper & Wood Policy
Fair Trade Policy
A process-based policy
establishes a Sustainable
Purchasing Program, which
then provides coordination for
the development and
implementation of more
specific policies, as needed.

11. Key Steps Covered in the Handbook
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Research &
Preparation1• Understand your
organization’s policy
development process and
sign off procedures
• Identify the organization’s
relevant legal responsibilities,
and policy goals and
commitments
• Identify stakeholders and
senior leaders to engage in
policy development
• Decide on the form of policy,
if applicable
• Locate existing policy
template used by the
organization
Writing & Stakeholder
Engagement2• Draft an initial policy based on
the SPLC model policy
template, adapting it for your
organization
• Get input on the policy from
stakeholders
• Refine and finalize the policy
Policy Approval &
Promotion3 • Get formal policy
approval and all
appropriate signatures
• Promote the release of
the policy with a signing
event, communications to
all affected stakeholders,
social media post, and/or
press release, et cetera
• Post the policy to your
website and distribute as
appropriate

12. How does SPLC expect the policy and handbook to be used?
 Adapt to your organizations’ policy process and format
 Connect to existing policies and guidance documents
 Compare to others policies and programs (via BENCHMARK and other SPLC
resources)
 Find the Policy at:
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http://www.sustainablepurchasing.org/request-policy