Green Procurement Playbook 2025

If sustainability is treated as an add-on, it is much harder to make progress. We integrated it into procurement and product design from the start. Microsoft Build a dedicated team with governance Establishing an ongoing green procurement team is often the north star, and for good reason. All of the leading companies interviewed for this report have built some form of dedicated capability and consistently highlighted it as an enabler of progress. These teams serve as internal experts, coordinators and change agents, ensuring sustainability is not an afterthought, but a core part of procurement decisions.That said, many companies are not ready to establish a full team from day one. In the early stages of maturity, with limited resources or evolving leadership buy-in, other models deliver better results. As shown in the figure below, there are three common approaches. Where the expertise is housed – whether in procurement, corporate sustainability or distributed across category teams – matters less than how accessible and embedded it is in everyday decisions. Organizational models for embedding sustainability in procurement FIGURE 4 * Corporate sustainability sets direction but has limited influence on procurement execution. Source: Kearney, 2025. Green Procurement Playbook: The CPO’s Guide to Delivering Value for Business and Planet 23shows reporting line shows collaboration or influence shows sustainable pr ocur ement focus Category managers lead sustainability integration with limited coor dination, supported by ad hoc cross-functional teams, exter nal experts or inter nal upskilling. Embeds accountability in day-to-day decisions, enabling faster adoption across categories. Lean set-up avoids added layers and reduces overheads. Success depends on individual capabilities. Lacks consistency or centralized oversight. Requir es ongoing investment in training or support.Sustainability experts sit in corporate sustainability and advise category managers. Procur ement leads sour cing, but guidance may lack relevance to procur ement realities. Provides access to deep sustainability expertise and ensur es alignment with corporate sustainability goals. Limited procur ement-specific knowledge and lack of ownership can hinder practical integration into sour cing.Dedicated team within procurement drives sustainability integration across sour cing, providing tools and guidance to category managers and reporting to CPO. Brings focus, consistency and procur ement-specific expertise to drive sustainable sour cing at scale. Requir es additional investment, clear mandate and strong leadership support to be effective.Decentralized ownership model Central support model Dedicated team model Ownership levelCorporate sustainability*Procur ement Category management Category cross- functional teamOther functionsCorporate sustainabilityProcur ement Category managementSustainability expert Category cross- functional teamOther functionsCorporate sustainabilityProcur ement Category managementSustainable procurement Category cross- functional teamOther functions