Green Procurement Playbook 2025

Building block 2 Organizational structure and governance Even the strongest green procurement strategies falter without supportive internal structure and governance systems. One message from CPOs came through clearly: progress requires structure and resources. Every company interviewed for this report has at least one dedicated employee, often a small team, on sustainable procurement. These teams usually cover broad topics, from environmental impact to human rights, and serve as both subject-matter experts and PMO coordinators, while also developing internal guidelines, managing stakeholder engagement, facilitating training and tracking KPIs. Building the right structure is far from straightforward. Green procurement often falls between functions and is either left to corporate sustainability teams with little influence over sourcing or added informally to overstretched category managers. In many companies, the absence of a clear owner confuses teams about priorities and decision rights. These gaps are compounded by weak cross- functional alignment. Procurement, finance, operations and product teams often operate with competing incentives, making it difficult to embed sustainability into decisions. Add to those shortcomings limited sustainability expertise within procurement and it is no surprise execution lags behind ambition. To advance, companies must build the structure and governance to turn intent into action. Embed collaboration across the organization Cross-functional collaboration is not a nice-to-have. No matter how strong the procurement team, it cannot deliver on sustainability goals alone. CPOs leading in this space are moving beyond alignment workshops into structural integration, ensuring that sustainability becomes part of how decisions get made across the business. Start by building coalitions CPOs should identify the two or three functions most critical to green procurement outcomes, typically sustainability, finance and product or R&D, and formalize collaboration through structures such as cross-functional sustainability committees with clear decision rights, or task forces focused on specific goals (e.g. reducing packaging emissions or increasing supplier compliance). One CPO, for example, created a carbon value committee with procurement, operations and finance to align on internal carbon pricing and investment priorities. Embed procurement into product and planning Leading CPOs ensure their teams have a seat at the table early, during product design, budgeting and demand planning. Procurement can thereby influence specifications, flag sustainability trade- offs and shape sourcing strategies before these are locked in. Embedding category managers into product development teams, even on a rotating basis, has proven effective. At one manufacturer, procurement and engineering functions co-own decarbonization targets for key materials, tracked through a joint dashboard reviewed monthly. Make sustainability metrics visible and shared Too often, procurement tracks supplier sustainability data in isolation. CPOs are now working with finance and operations to develop shared metrics reviewed together, whether in quarterly business reviews or joint supplier evaluations. For instance, one pharma company interviewed for this playbook has reviewed procurement alongside sustainability progress in executive-level committees, to make decisions with a view of both cost and impact. Bring procurement close to the market As sustainability becomes a differentiator in competitive bids, especially in B2B sectors, CPOs are embedding procurement teams in sales to understand what clients value, from low-carbon materials to supply chain transparency and traceability. This collaboration helps translate customer expectations into sourcing criteria and supports the business case for investment. In some organizations, procurement helps prepare tender responses, aligning supplier capabilities with bid requirements to strengthen the company’s commercial offer. Green Procurement Playbook: The CPO’s Guide to Delivering Value for Business and Planet 22