Leadership Awards
Have you done something extraordinary to further the sustainable procurement movement? Get the recognition you deserve!
Now Accepting Submissions for the 2025 SPLC Leadership Awards!
The 2025 SPLC Leadership Awards recognize and honor the organizations and individuals demonstrating exceptional dedication and innovation in integrating sustainability into core procurement practices.
We invite you to nominate those who have made significant contributions to advancing sustainable procurement. The SPLC Leadership Awards celebrate those organizations and individuals who are driving tangible, positive impacts for their organizations and the world. We encourage submissions that highlight achievements across the spectrum of sustainable procurement, including environmental, social, economic, and ethical considerations. The submission deadline is September 9, 5:00 pm ET.
Juried Award Categories
| Overall Program |
Recognizes an organization whose overall sustainable purchasing program exemplifies the qualities defined in SPLC’s Principles for Leadership in Sustainable Purchasing |
| Special Initiative |
Recognizes an organization for a specific purchasing initiative that demonstrates exceptional leadership in improving the environmental, social, and economic performance of the organization and supply chain. |
| Supplier Engagement |
Recognizes a purchasing organization that has done an exceptional job of motivating and helping to develop high sustainability performance by its suppliers. |
| Business Case |
Recognizes the organization that best demonstrates the business value generated by sustainable purchasing. |
| Supplier Leadership | Recognizes a supplier organization whose actions have enabled institutional purchasers to better understand and improve the impacts of their procurement decisions. |
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Public Interest Advocate Leadership |
Recognizes a public interest advocate organization whose actions facilitate market transformation towards sustainability – in particular those who have enabled institutional purchasers to better understand and take responsibility for the consequences of their spending. |
| Circular Economy Leadership | Recognizes leadership in work to forward circular procurement |
| Individual Leadership | Recognizes one or more individuals whose vision, leadership, and dedicated effort have been fundamental to the advancement of sustainable procurement best practice and building the sustainable purchasing movement. Nominations for the Individual Award can be made by the individual themselves, and/or by another person or organization. |
| Outstanding Case Study | This award is given to all high quality case studies submitted that meet our outstanding case study criteria but are not selected for juried awards at this time. Recognizes the contribution leaders make when they take the time to document and share their work with others to provide models of excellence in sustainable purchasing. All Outstanding Case Study submissions will be included in the SPLC Case Study Library. |
Important Information
- Special consideration will be given to purchaser submissions that have completed the 2025 SP Assessment via SPLC Navigator. SPLC Navigator is included with SPLC membership and available to nonmembers for purchase.
- Please note that Navigator assessments do not need to be submitted at the same time as the awards submissions.
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SPLC strongly encourages submissions that address social, economic, and ethical aspects of sustainable procurement, as well as environmental impacts.
For example:
- Have you worked to develop the sustainability competency and capabilities of your small and diverse suppliers?
- Have you addressed supply chain human rights concerns like conflict minerals and human trafficking?
- Have you challenged your suppliers to put in place anti-discrimination and affirmative hiring practices?
- Have you connected your purchasing to local economic development that improves the community in which you operate?
- SPLC awards are intended to recognize organizational and individual achievement in sustainable procurement leadership, and not to showcase specific products or services. Case studies that primarily promote a supplier’s products or services will be disqualified.