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Purchase/SCM teams should discuss the role of sustainability during purchase planning. Conducting market research and early supplier involvement can support the Postal Service’s sustainability objectives by identifying emerging technologies; alternative approaches; and innovative, more sustainable products and solutions.
To help purchase/SCM teams incorporate sustainability considerations into purchasing decisions, the Postal Service has included the following sustainability aspects in its Commodity Sourcing Strategy Plan (CSSP) guidance templates. The following provide a framework purchase/SCM teams can use during purchase planning and CSSP analysis, formation, and implementation:
- Emphasize the purchase and use of environmentally preferable products.
- Examine relevant sustainability attributes (i.e., use of recycled content; use of bio-based content; energy efficiency; water efficiency; and certification to a Postal Service-accepted product sustainability/eco-label standard) when selecting products and services; and
- Consider a product or service’s environmental impacts and total cost of ownership throughout its life cycle, with particular attention to sourcing transportation, storage, consumption, and end-of-life (i.e., feasibility and costs associated with product reuse, repurpose, resale, recycle, or responsible disposal).
Purchase/SCM teams should consider whether different Postal Service sustainability attributes may be addressed when fulfilling requirements. When sustainability attributes are determined to meet Postal Service requirements, are cost-effective, and are reasonably available, they should be included in specifications, statements of work, and/or statements of objectives.
If a purchase/SCM team decides that a Postal Service sustainability consideration (i.e., energy efficiency) is beneficial to the success of a purchase, then it may be treated as an evaluation factor. The description of the evaluation factor should be as specific as possible.
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