Introduction
In our first instalment, we noted that the ambitious started pumping out 2025 prediction and trend articles in late November / early December, wanting to be ahead of the pack, even though there is rarely much value in these articles. First of all, and we say this with 25 years of experience in this space, the more they proclaim things will change … Secondly, the predictions all revolve around the same topics we’ve been talking about for almost two decades. In fact, if you dug up a Procurement predictions article for 2015, there’s a good chance 9 of the top 10 topic areas would be the same. (And see the links in our first article for two “future” series with about 3 dozen trends that are more or less as relevant now as they were then.)
In our last instalment, we continued our review of the 10 core predictions (and variants) that came out of our initial review of 71 “predictions” and “trends” across the first eight articles we found, in an effort to demonstrate that most of these aren’t ground-shattering, new, or, if they actually are, not going to happen because the more they proclaim things will change …
In this instalment, we’re again continuing to work our way up the list from the bottom to the top and continuing with “sustainability”.
Sustainability
There were 10 predictions across the eight articles which basically revolved around “ESG” with some sideline focus on the need for “collaboration” and “balance (against profit)”. This is yet another topic that is overhyped and needs to be addressed, but, as with our last two articles, we will start by listing all of the individual predictions:
- ESG Metrics will Increase In Importance for Procurement
- Focus on ESG Factors
- Increased Focus on Sustainability
- Increased Focus on Sustainability
- Struggle to Balance ESG Goals with Profit
- Supplier Collaboration will become Key for Achieving Sustainable Procurement
- Sustainability and ESG
- Sustainability and ESG Compliance
- Sustainability and Ethical Sourcing
- Sustainable Procurement Practices
Has there been a year where sustainability hasn’t made the list? SI remembers running a cross-blog series on sustainability 17 years ago back in 2008! And there was just as much hullaballoo then as there is now. Nothing has changed, and as long as the first world doesn’t agree on the importance of sustainability and ESG goals (with Europe taking one stance and the USA about to take another), nothing ever will.
Sustainability is as important as ever, considering that
- some critical raw materials, such as rare earths, are getting scarcer by the day
- it’s getting hotter and hotter every year, with 2024 another record year for the books
- with natural disasters increasing year-over-year, crop destruction and food shortages are becoming more common
- not being sustainable is about to be costly in Europe, which will levy massive fines to try and prop up their struggling economy
- being sustainable is about to become costly in the USA as the incoming administration abandons all sustainability regulations, while implementing tariffs that are going to drive up costs more than sustainability ever will
- the last two will be at odds, so organizations will be pursuing different, localized strategies
However, it is not new, just front-and-center as it is every year. The primary reasons may change year-to-year, but the cycle stays the same. Sustainability remains on the important items list, with the importance ultimately dictated by the regulations in place.
What Should Happen? (But Won’t!)
Organizations should stop looking at sustainability as a cost to be addressed only to the event necessary, but as a strategic business advantage. This is because:
- sustainable organizations minimize energy use …
and with energy costs rising every year, investments in energy efficiency will pay multiples in the long run - sustainable organizations maximize use of renewables …
and minimize dependence on materials in limited, dwindling, supply (which only get more expensive every year) - sustainable organizations optimize processes to minimize waste …
which maximizes the value of every dollar spent - etc.
Sustainability isn’t just keeping the carbon and GHGs down, its optimizing operations to reduce costs (and carbon) in the long run. But as long as it’s seen as a cost, organizations will never achieve value from sustainability, which only exists in the supply chain.
That’s four down. Six to go.