In 2024 and 2025, we had the opportunity to support a major player in the Belgian energy transmission and infrastructure sector in addressing its continuous transition challenges. This mission responds to a critical need: to develop a comprehensive approach to green procurement challenges and to design effective practices for greening the supply chain.

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Context and challenges - embedding sustainability in procurement

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As the industry decarbonises and continuously deploys its infrastructure, procurement functions play a major role in steering environmental performance across the value chain. Beyond ensuring cost efficiency and compliance, procurement must now integrate sustainability criteria to reduce impact, foster circularity, and stimulate innovation among suppliers.

 

These challenges are amplified by the rising complexity and interdependence of global supply chains. Indeed, the procurement practices rely on multi-tiered, international and complex supply chains. This complexity increases the difficulty of assessing supplier impacts and comparing bids on environmental performance. 

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Our approach - supporting the development of green requirements into the tender process

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There are many ways to assess supplier impacts and compare bids on environmental performance. Different requirements and methodologies can be developed to foster sustainability and innovation while ensuring that consistent sustainability requirements across tendering processes are set.

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At Slo, we support green procurement practices by:

• developing robust tools and capabilities to embed sustainability principles into procurement processes;

• leveraging our expertise in carbon accounting to integrate the CO₂e impact of infrastructure materials directly into tender evaluations;

• driving awareness and behavioral change within procurement teams through knowledge sharing and capacity building;

• engaging proactively with suppliers to understand their sustainability challenges and foster collaboration along the value chain.

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Our role was not only to bring technical insights but also to facilitate the practical implementation of greener procurement practices.

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Lessons learned and key takeaways - turning procurement into a driver for change

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Implementing green practices within procurement activities presents several key insights and lessons learned.

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• When an organisation procures a wide range of assets, works, or infrastructure, it can be challenging to standardise green procurement measures across all purchases. Dividing procurement activities into categories and tailoring green requirements to each category can help ensure relevance and effectiveness.

 

• Starting with a high-level proof of concept can help identify implementation challenges on a smaller scale.

 

• Successful implementation of green procurement requires strong change management and active support from leadership.
   

• Beyond enabling the purchase of greener products, green procurement also drives broader transformation by gradually raising supplier awareness. While suppliers may not immediately adapt their practices, the growing presence of environmental requirements in tenders encourages them to adopt more sustainable approaches over time.

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