694: Removing the Internal Tension Between Cost and Sustainability

Art of Procurement

“Only when we stop accepting the fact that procurement is being made to make decisions that are not the best for the future but the best for business today will we really start to take action.” - Alex Jennings, Former CPO DS Smith, Independent Consultant at APSL Consulting Ltd

Alex Jennings is a procurement powerhouse with decades of leadership experience working for well-known brands like GE and Toyota and occupying multiple senior roles before his retirement from corporate life in 2023. But, Alex is still leading procurement into the future, even after retiring as CPO of DS Smith. Most recently, he has launched The Alchemie Network, a new platform for collaborative learning around ESG and sustainability for procurement.

In this episode, Alex talks with host Philip Ideson about how The Alchemie Network can help procurement make better strides towards a more sustainable supply chain and how they can turn their organization’s vision for sustainability into tangible outcomes for the business.

They’ll discuss:

• How procurement can take an active role in impacting sustainability goals
• Ways procurement can balance short-term cost-savings needs with long-term thinking around sustainability
• Why education is the key to procurement’s success and how they can feel more empowered to lead the business toward a more sustainable future

Links:

• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Alex Jennings on LinkedIn