What are responsible purchases?

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Written by Violette Demain- Article published in July 2023, updated in May 2026

Purchasing accounts for an average of 50% of a company's revenue. Therefore, it is one of the most powerful levers to concretely impact an organization's CSR — well beyond just internal operations. In the face of increasingly demanding regulations (duty of vigilance, CSRD, CS3D) and increasingly attentive stakeholders, structuring a responsible purchasing approach is no longer an option. It is a strategic issue and, for many companies, a growing obligation.

What is responsible purchasing?

Selon l'Observatoire des achats responsables, près de 90% des organisations ont déjà adopté une démarche d’achats responsables et plus de 80% considèrent désormais l'achat responsable comme une priorité. Les critères RSE gagnent en importance, dépassant le simple critère du prix dans la sélection des produits et services. Ainsi, les entreprises ont la capacité et la nécessité de concilier leurs objectifs commerciaux avec des valeurs éthiques et durables.

The role of purchasing in a company

Purchasing plays a crucial role within companies, representing an average of 50% of revenue. It thus has a considerable impact on the economic performance of the company, as well as on the economy, the environment, and society. Purchases can be classified into different categories based on the nature of the goods and services acquired, such as raw materials, equipment, supplies, marketing, financial services, and outsourced services. In each category, the objectives are the same: to optimize costs, ensure the quality of goods and services, guarantee the availability of necessary resources, and maintain strong relationships with suppliers. Therefore, the purchasing decision is of great strategic importance for the company, especially if it aims to achieve objectives related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development.

What is responsible purchasing?

According to the Observatory of Responsible Purchasing (ObsAR), 

"A responsible purchase is a purchase whose environmental, social, and economic impacts are as positive as possible throughout the entire life cycle and which aims to minimize negative impacts as much as possible."

This approach goes beyond the usual criteria of price and quality and allows for reducing environmental impact, increasing social benefits, and strengthening the economic sustainability of the purchasing process. 

 Une politique d'achat responsable permet ainsi de concilier trois enjeux essentiels : 

• The environment: by promoting energy performance, reducing waste, and preserving resources.
• Ethics and society: by ensuring respect for human rights, working conditions, and promoting social inclusion.
• The economy: by optimizing costs, ensuring product quality, and meeting delivery deadlines 

Specifically, the supplier approach is often the most impactful starting point for structuring a responsible purchasing process. It involves assessing the CSR practices of its business partners according to environmental, social, and governance criteria — and using this data to guide purchasing decisions, meet due diligence requirements, and support CSRD reporting. This is precisely what allowsa structured supplier CSR assessment.

ISO 20400: the standard for responsible purchasing

Les bonnes pratiques d'achat responsable sont définies dans la norme internationale ISO 20400, qui considère les achats comme un puissant levier pour les organisations souhaitant adopter une démarche responsable. Complémentaire à la norme ISO 26000, cette norme spécifique aux achats fournit des recommandations aux entreprises désirant intégrer la responsabilité sociétale dans leurs processus d'achat.

ISO 20400 establishes the principles of responsible purchasing, such as accountability, transparency, respect for human rights, and the adoption of ethical behavior. It also defines the necessary steps to integrate social responsibility into purchasing. This standard applies to all types of organizations, whether public or private, and covers all purchasing activities and decisions, whether for office supplies, catering services, energy, raw materials, and more.

The benefits of responsible purchasing

Adopting a responsible purchasing approach offers numerous advantages for companies, as demonstrated by the ADEME study titled "Witness SMEs: embarking on responsible purchasing." 

These benefits include:

1. Cost reductionby reducing waste and avoiding overconsumption.
2. Improvement of relationships with suppliersby involving them in sustainability issues, encouraging them to innovate and develop more sustainable products and services. 
3. More local sourcing.
4. Relocalization of activities in France.
5. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

This last advantage is even more important since January 1, 2023, companies subject to theExtra-financial Performance Declaration(DPEF) are required to include purchases in theirregulatory carbon footprint. Previously, only scopes 1 and 2 (direct and indirect emissions related to energy) were taken into account, but now, scope 3, which includes other indirect emissions, particularly those related to purchases, is also considered. This new approach will also be extended to a large number of companies by 2024. This is why by adopting responsible purchasing, companies can not only reduce their carbon footprint but also anticipate increasingly strict regulations.

Concrete cases: examples of responsible purchasing

L'étude de l'ADEME a d’ailleurs mis en lumière des exemples concrets d'entreprises ayant bénéficié d’impacts positifs en adoptant une démarche d’achat responsable. Pour en citer quelques une :

1. Gault & Frémont Companyhas reduced its CO2 emissions by 50 tons per year by working with committed suppliers and supporting responsible products, while achieving annual cost savings of 76,000 euros.
2. Mauna Kea Companyhas optimized the design of its packaging, thus halving the purchase price, while reducing CO2 emissions by 97% and achieving a packaging recyclability rate of 95%.

Conclusion

Ultimately, in response to stakeholder expectations, an increasingly strict regulatory framework, and the multiple advantages it offers, adopting a responsible purchasing approach should be considered a priority for companies committed to sustainable development.

The next concrete step? Structure the CSR evaluation of your suppliers, to have a clear view of your value chain, document your approach under the duty of vigilance, and feed your CSRD reporting.