Green Procurement Playbook 2025

Building block 6 Cross-industry collaboration and ecosystem engagement While leaders can initiate green procurement within a company, they can unlock its full potential only through collaboration beyond corporate boundaries. Yet translating this imperative into cross-industry action remains difficult. A commonly-cited barrier is the lack of consistent expectations across companies and regions. When each buyer imposes its own sustainability standards, suppliers face a fragmented landscape, leading to inefficiencies, duplicated audits and confusion. Competitiveness is also important. Without supportive regulation or widespread industry alignment, companies that move first risk being penalized in the market. Sustainability investments, especially in low-carbon materials or infrastructure, are hard to justify unless demand signals are clear and shared. “Either you have regulation, or you need everyone to move together,” said one CPO.Even when companies are willing to collaborate, partnerships often falter due to misaligned goals, lack of trust or governance gaps. Data sharing is particularly sensitive. Organizations hesitate to disclose emissions data or supplier performance, even when such transparency could benefit the entire ecosystem. Legal concerns, particularly around antitrust, also slow down collaboration. Without safeguards, even well-intentioned initiatives risk being derailed by compliance fears. Despite these challenges, CPOs increasingly embrace partnerships as a strategic necessity. Those who succeed focus on value creation, neutral governance and trust-based collaboration. Collaboration is key. If every company sets different sustainability baselines, it creates inefficiencies for suppliers. Standardization will accelerate progress. LyondellBasell Why collaboration pays off Creating unified demand signals and standards: Initiatives such as Together for Sustainability (TfS), in chemicals and Drive Sustainability in automotive, have enabled companies to harmonize supplier assessments, co-develop product carbon footprint standards and avoid audit duplication. Suppliers benefit from a single, consistent expectation, freeing up resources to act rather than report.18 Demand aggregation and cost-pooling to de- risk innovation: Collaborative platforms such as the World Economic Forum’s First Movers Coalition (FMC) enable companies to pool demand and commit to purchasing low-carbon products (e.g. green steel, SAF) by 2030.19 This sends a powerful pre-competitive market signal that reduces risk for suppliers and accelerates the scale-up of breakthrough technologies.Strengthening supplier support: Many collaborations help build supplier capabilities at scale, such as TfS’s training academy. Enhancing credibility and influence: Collaborative platforms such as Sustainable Procurement Pledge (SPP), Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative and The Climate Pledge help companies speak with a unified voice, whether engaging with regulators, shaping industry norms, or driving collective action.20 Accelerating organizational learning: Successful alliances operate as learning communities. Members share not only best practices but also lessons learned from setbacks. Green Procurement Playbook: The CPO’s Guide to Delivering Value for Business and Planet 39