Central Purchasing sustainable purchasing efforts support the County’s values that seek to provide a healthy community and focus on long term environmental and economic impacts to its citizens.
In FY2017, our Sustainability work was nationality recognized with awards and invitations for formal presentations from the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, West Coast Climate Forum, and the Oregon Environmental Council.
Central Purchasing continued to expand stakeholder engagement to further develop responsible business practices that ensure our suppliers are practicing supply chain sustainability standards, while providing a framework that is supportive, flexible, and responsive for suppliers to share their innovations that are specific to meeting our local needs. This has been reflected in County processes beginning with procurement planning and culminating with contract administration.
Multnomah County continues to foster a culture that empowers employees, suppliers, and individuals in the community to move to action to develop more sustainable practices by:
- Valuing dialog in the development of necessary tools
- Providing a learning environment
- Conducting analysis of a supplier’s or manufacturer’s processes
- Providing technical assistance and resources through person-to-person contact, online resources, and formal training
- Developing clear roles, timelines, and outcomes
- Developing metrics and analyzing data
- Addressing issues in a timely manner
- Identifying opportunities for change
The County is a member of The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC), a non-profit organization whose mission is to support and recognize purchasing leadership in the area of sustainable business practices across both public and private sectors. The SPLC evolved from a need for organizations to come together to share their knowledge of sustainability in the public and private sector. While the County has been recognized by the SPLC for work with and towards sustainable business practices, the goal for FY2018 is to continue the work of enhancing efforts through collaboration and networking with public and private organizations such as the SPLC to affect greater outcomes.