How ESG Topics Are Structured
ESG topics in the framework are organized hierarchically into three levels:
Pillar
The top level category. Three pillars cover Environment, Social and Governance.
Topic
A thematic area within a pillar. For example, Climate sits within Environment.
Subtopic
A specific issue within a topic. For example, GHG Emissions sits within Climate.
- Materials & Inputs
- Design
- Waste
- Soil
- Biodiversity
- Animal Welfare and Rights
- Land Use and Protection (Including Deforestation)
- Water
- GHG Emissions Data Management
- GHG Emissions Reduction
- Supply Chain Energy Transition (Scope 3)
- Renewable Energy Procurement (Scope 2)
- Child Labour
- Modern-day Slavery and Forced Labour
- Freedom of Association & Worker Voice
- Working Time
- Occupational Health and Safety, Physical Working Conditions & Protection against Hazardous Materials
- Living Wage
- Non-Discrimination
- Gender Equality
- Worker Dignity, Workplace Relations and Employee Development
- Bribery, Extortion and Conflict of Interest
- Long-term value: ethical contracts & payment practices
- Just Transition & Responsible Exit
- Data Protection & Privacy
- AI Integrity and Transparency
- SME Enablement
- Disadvantaged community sourcing
- Gender responsive procurement
The Procurement Cycle Stages and Activities
The procurement cycle in the framework consists of four key stages.
Strategy and Planning covers the internal alignment and decision making that takes place before engaging with suppliers, such as risk assessment, target setting and policy development.
Supplier Selection is the process of evaluating and choosing the right suppliers, including screening, selection criteria and contracting.
Supplier Engagement is the ongoing collaboration with selected suppliers on sustainability initiatives, such as goal setting, capacity building, data collection and audits.
Continuous Improvement is the monitoring, evaluation and iteration of the procurement programme over time, including metrics, scorecards and impact verification.
1
Strategy & Planning
Internal alignment and decision making before engaging with suppliers.
- Assessment: Review of risk and current state of supply chain practices specific to the subtopic
- Targets: Goals that the procurement team sets for sourcing related to the subtopic
- Policy: Commitments and procurement requirements
2
Supplier Selection
Evaluating and choosing suppliers.
- Screening: Questions asked during the RFP stage or criteria needed to qualify as a potential supplier
- Selection: Criteria to prioritize when considering which suppliers to select
- Contracts: Elements to include in the contract once the supplier is selected
3
Supplier engagement
Working with selected suppliers on sustainability initiatives.
- Goal Setting: Working with suppliers to set sustainability goals
- Capacity Building: Providing guidance and training suppliers
- Data: Requesting or collaboratively gathering relevant data
- Certifications: Supporting suppliers in obtaining relevant certifications
- Advisory: Providing technical support on implementation
- Financial Support: Financial incentives or co investing
- Audits: Self assessments or on site audits
- Project Partnerships & Innovation: Pilot projects or industry coalitions
4
Continuous Improvement
Monitoring, evaluation and iterating on programmes.
- Metrics: Tracking supplier engagement programme success or aggregated results
- Scorecards: Tracking supplier specific results and corrective action plans
- Impact Verification: Understanding whether the overall programme is achieving its goals and whether supplier engagement is effective
The framework is not designed to be applied linearly across the procurement cycle stages. Activities between procurement cycle stages are designed to stand independently, allowing entry into the framework at whichever stage best fits the team's current focus. There is no requirement to begin with Strategy and Planning; procurement teams already engaged with a supplier can enter the framework directly at Supplier Engagement and focus on the activities relevant to that stage.
The Three Progress Levels
Within each procurement cycle stage, the framework presents three progress levels. These levels indicate the complexity or resource intensiveness of the suggested actions. They are not intended to rate a procurement team.
Initial Action
Baseline actions that a procurement team can implement with limited resources. A starting point for organizations beginning their sustainability journey.
Intermediate Progress
More structured initiatives requiring moderate resources and cross functional coordination. For teams building on existing foundations.
Advanced Practice
Comprehensive, resource intensive actions for organizations with established sustainable procurement programmes that are ready to deepen implementation across their supply chains.
Within a procurement cycle stage, activities build on each other from Initial Action to Advanced Practice. The Initial Action level is a starting point, but reaching it can still take time, and each team's path will look different as progress in some areas develops gradually.
How to Navigate
On the Framework page, you will see the list of ESG topics and subtopics.
Click on the subtopic that is most important for your company to display the relevant sustainable procurement actions for that subtopic.
On each subtopic page, you will see actions listed across the four stages of the procurement cycle.
You can click on any stage in the left hand navigation; there is no need to start with Strategy and Planning.
Within each stage, actions are organized into three progress levels.
Reflect on whether your team has already undertaken the actions described. If the recommendations at the Initial Action level are already in place, continue to the Intermediate Progress and Advanced Practice levels for further actions to consider.
Using the Action Plan Builder
The Sustainable Procurement Implementation Framework is designed to help companies build knowledge and navigate the broad range of sustainable procurement topics and subtopics. It supports organizations in translating goals into action, driving internal alignment, engaging stakeholders and supporting continuous improvement.
To help companies turn this knowledge into practical steps, the framework also includes an Action Plan Builder. This allows organizations to select the steps most relevant to their needs, creating a tailored roadmap for implementing sustainable procurement initiatives and driving tangible progress.
1
Select actions
Navigate to The Framework, open any subtopic and check the action items relevant to the organization.
2
Review across topics
Move between subtopics as needed. Selections are retained for the duration of the session, and a badge indicates how many items have been selected per subtopic.
3
Export the action plan
Select Done when ready. The personalized action plan can be downloaded as a Word document or PDF.