Wherever possible, sustainable procurement considerations should be integrated into the procurement process at the very outset – i.e. at the early procurement planning stage. This should certainly be the case with high value procurements and the development of a procurement plan. It is important that sustainability be considered early in the procurement process, as later in the cycle there is progressively less scope to add value through improved sustainability outcomes.
During demand analysis key stakeholders should be identified and sustainability issues introduced into discussions regarding the proposed procurement and its objectives. This will facilitate a better understanding of what sustainability considerations might be incorporated into the requirement specifications. End users, business analysts and technical officers are important stakeholders in this process, as they may be responsible for or have a major influence over developing the specifications.
