Welcome to the website of the Sustainable Procurement Barometer survey.
ECPAR (Espace de concertation sur les pratiques d’approvisionnement responsable) is pleased to invite you to contribute to the 2024 Sustainable Procurement Barometer (the “Barometer”), our fourth edition of this strategic tool for measuring sustainable procurement practices.
1. Why take part in the 2024 Sustainable Procurement Barometer?
Completing the questionnaire to take part in the Barometer is a unique and valuable opportunity to objectively assess where your organization stands on sustainable procurement. The questionnaire provides an in-depth analysis of your performance in relation to a representative sample of organizations across Canada. A custom scorecard of your results will be available at a later date.
Completing the questionnaire is an opportunity for your organization to update its knowledge of the latest trends and standards in sustainable procurement, as the Barometer is based on current standards and benchmarks, including ISO 20400. Experts from ECPAR and CIRAIG (International Reference Center for Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainable Transition) have collaborated with researchers from Université Laval, the University of Ottawa, and the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) to create an assessment tool whose rigorous methodology and reflects contemporary practices in the field.
In winter 2025, survey results will be summarized and published in the 2024 Sustainable Procurement Barometer report, a statistical overview of the state of sustainable procurement in Canada. The Report is part of a wider framework to promote sustainable procurement practices and support the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
If your organization is identified as a sustainable procurement leader, and presents tangible evidence of your practices, the Barometer is an opportunity to raise the profile of your exemplary initiatives. The exact form this recognition will take will be determined in the coming stages in our work on the Barometer, which will also feature support tools.
2. How long will it take to assess our sustainable procurement practices?
Completing the questionnaire takes 30 minutes to 1 hour. Your answers will be saved as you go, making it possible to step away and return to the questionnaire at your convenience, provided you supply a valid email address.
The vast majority of questions (95%) are multiple-choice, while 5% involve estimating numbers, such as the number of employees assigned to sustainable procurement or the percentage of your products that reflect identified sustainability criteria. If you cannot give an answer to any question, you can leave it blank and continue the questionnaire, with the option to return later. However, be careful to come back and respond. Leaving a question unanswered will not prevent the submission of the questionnaire, but it will result in a zero score for that question in the assessment of your organization.
Questions are numbered for clarity, and certain questions are conditional (on your response to a previous question), resulting in numbering variations.
Supporting documentation will be requested from organizations rated at maturity levels 4 and 5, according to the corresponding indicators.
3. Target audience: Who can complete the survey?
For the 2024 Barometer, our fourth edition, we have updated the Barometer to better reflect current sustainable procurement practices in organizations. New features include a revised general questionnaire for all organizations along with three new sections targeted to specific sectors: public organizations, SMEs, and food services.
The study is designed for organizations of all sizes and in every sector. In the public sector, these include government ministries, bodies, and agencies, municipalities, health and social services organizations, and educational institutions. In the private sector, the study is designed for organizations of all sizes, from major corporations to SMEs, and in every sector, including the food sector.
We suggest that the questionnaire be completed by purchasing managers, in collaboration with sustainable development and environment teams and other concerned individuals.
For public organizations in Quebec, and other provinces in Canada, please respond on behalf of your organization with reference to purchases made outside of ongoing group purchasing arrangements or standing offers.
4. Confidentiality guaranteed: Your participation remains protected
This study follows the principles set out in Université Laval’s policy on responsible research, creation, and innovation (“Politique sur la conduite responsable en recherche, en création et en innovation”).
To take part in the study, you must provide your name. However, your data and results will remain strictly confidential. No results will be associated directly or indirectly with the name of an organization. No individual results (including the organization’s maturity level) will be made public or shared with any third party. At the end of the questionnaire, you will be given the opportunity to consent, or not, to your details being passed on to research professionals who may contact you in the course of their professional activities. Only aggregated data will be used to form an overall statistical picture and for research purposes. Every participating organization has the power to decide whether they wish to make the results of their questionnaire public, at their own discretion.
5. The four components of sustainable procurement
The Barometer’s structure will help respondents implement their own sustainable procurement approach. It also serves as a tool for internal and external communication and information-sharing.
For the 2024 Barometer, following in-depth research, interviews and focus groups, we have identified four new components of sustainable procurement:
- Vision and challenges
- Commitment and governance
- Implementation
- Measurement and disclosure
Implementing a sustainable procurement strategy is achieved in accordance with management principles. First, organizations establish a vision that reflects their objectives. They then formalize this vision through commitments, and set up a governance structure to foster and guide their approach. The last steps are implementing these actions and measuring their progress and impact.
If you would like to find out more about the various certifications mentioned in this questionnaire, you can consult the listing (in French only) of environmental labels from the Quebec government’s Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP)
The 2024 Barometer questionnaire can be completed from October 15 to December 31, 2024. The full report of the 2024 Sustainable Procurement Barometer, as well as customized individual reports, will be released in winter 2025.
We would like to thank you in advance for taking part in this important study, which aims to reach 500 participating organizations.
For information or questions about the Sustainable Procurement Barometer questionnaire, please contact SPBarometer@ecpar.org.
