THE SITUATION
It’s no secret that our world faces large-scale environmental and social crises. The question is how we fix them.
The Sustainable Procurement Pledge (SPP), an international not-for-profit organization, believes that procurement teams can be changemakers. In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, SPP has launched a movement to embed sustainability into all global supply chains by 2030 – and more than 16,000 procurement professionals across industries and around the world have signed on.
THE CHALLENGE
After getting its start as a volunteer-led grassroots organization, SPP grew very quickly. To maintain momentum, SPP needed to professionalize, grow its diverse global community, and scale its engagement across topics, regions, and industries. It was also critical that SPP build a strong governance and legal structure to provide a sound foundation and safe platform for procurement professionals to come together and develop a more sustainable global business ecosystem and supply chains.
OUR OBJECTIVE
On an ongoing basis, a McDermott team seeks to help SPP structure its platform, drive significant real-world impact, and achieve the next level of its development, all while navigating legal regulations and potential risks. The team is led by Ranajoy Basu and supported by Priya Taneja and others*.
THE OUTCOME
SPP has forged connections and drawn insights from McDermott’s cross-sector client relationships, international footprint, and experience partnering with the United Nations on an array of impact finance initiatives.
McDermott advises SPP on how to scope and structure its platform for maximum impact through the free flow of information between individuals, companies, and communities across industries. Because the corporate structuring of the platform and organization runs through a foundation in Germany, McDermott has brought in its German corporate and intellectual property teams, led by Steffen Woitz, Alexander Hoppe, and Lea Hachmeister, to assist with governance workstreams supporting SPP’s growth and to protect SPP’s brand and data.
McDermott also supports SPP in addressing a need identified by SPP’s community: developing tools for carbon pricing within a procurement context. McDermott has helped SPP provide a safe space for procurement professionals across industries to collaborate and develop standard principles for integrating carbon pricing in the procurement process. These standards could accelerate decarbonization along supply chains and global value chains by incentivizing suppliers worldwide to measure and decrease their carbon footprints. Raminta Dereskeviciute and Jacob Hollinger have provided regulatory counsel on carbon pricing and the various pricing tools available in the United States, the United Kingdom, and across Europe.
Finally, the McDermott team has helped SPP establish proper governance structures and design the operational aspects of SPP’s platform for long-term efficiency and regulatory compliance.
DIG DEEPER
McDermott’s work is positioning SPP to move quickly and meet its goal of embedding sustainability into global supply chains by 2030.
Because SPP is a not-for-profit organization outside of the corporate world, it is well placed to convene and empower a community for procurement, by procurement. This community can identify best practices in procurement sustainability, establish standardized professional conversations, and collaboratively uncover solutions – all from an impartial, open-minded, and forward-thinking perspective. SPP’s work shifts the culture of the procurement professional and supports the procurement community in disrupting supply chains to shape a brighter future.
“It is an amazing joy to work with McDermott,” said Kathrin Decker, SPP’s deputy director. “The support that we get, from the excellent legal expertise to pulling the right people into the conversation from the McDermott network, has been critical for us an ambitious organization.”
Mélissa de Roquebrune, SPP’s executive director, added, “We are working with a group of people across McDermott who really care, who are willing to think big, look at a future that doesn’t yet exist, and figure out how we’re going to get there. It’s incredible to see their passion for the vision that we’re trying to drive forward.”
As enthusiastic advocates for SPP’s mission, McDermott hosted the Procure Innovation Dialogues, co-hosted by SPP and the First Movers Coalition of the World Economic Forum, during the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York City. With 83 chief procurement officers and their guests in attendance, the September 2024 event allowed participants to exchange ideas and key learnings, discuss transformative approaches and tools in the procurement space, and promote strong partnerships to help achieve companies’ climate agendas.
You can sign the pledge to join the movement and community and become an SPP ambassador. Learn more about our sustainability, impact, and ESG capabilities.
*The McDermott team of lawyers and business professionals also includes Michal Chajdukowski, Carina Kant, Katharina Hoffmeister, Phillip Uecker, Gudrun Germankowski, Paul McGrath, Rebecca Podberesky, Steffen Woitz, Alexander Hoppe, Lea Hachmeister, Raminta Dereskeviciute, Jacob Hollinger, Lauren Vollmer, and Sonia Tavanai-Tamanai. Laura-May Jones (no longer with the Firm) also provided support.