Guidance v1.0 Pilot Program
Table of Contents
Overview
SPLC piloted its Guidance for Leadership in Sustainable Purchasing v1.0 during the first half of 2015. Participating organizations received implementation support and were able to suggest improvements to the Guidance before it is widely available for use. The goal of the Pilot was to engage a wide variety of purchasing organizations as well as organizations affected by the Guidance in order to realize a core objective of the Council: collectively build a shared program of Guidance congruent with the Council’s Principles for Leadership in Sustainable Purchasing.
The Pilot was structured as an intensive feedback period taking place from January – June 2015, with multiple avenues for and levels of participation.
Benefits
SPLC Member Organizations in the Pilot Program received access to the following benefits:
- Education sessions(February – May 2015)
- February 24: Chapter 2 – Starting a Sustainable Purchasing Program [View Recording]
- March 5: Chapter 3 – Running a Sustainable Purchasing Program (Part 1) – Understanding and Launching Strategy Cycles [View Recording]
- March 10: Chapter 3 – Running a Sustainable Purchasing Program (Part 2) – Analysis and Prioritization
- March 12: Chapter 3 – Running a Sustainable Purchasing Program (Part 3) – Plan, Commit, Implement, and Report
- March 17: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Professional Services
- March 24: Chapter 4 – Procurement of IT Hardware and Services
- March 26: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Transportation
- April 1: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Paper
- April 8: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Cleaning and Sanitizing Chemicals for Facilities Care
- April 15: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Electricity
- May 7: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Furnishings
- May 13: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance
- May 20: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Food
- May 21: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Construction and Renovation
- Live Feedback Sessions (April – June 2015)
- April 14: Chapter 2 – Starting a Sustainable Purchasing Program
- April 21: Chapter 3 – Running a Sustainable Purchasing Program
- May 12: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Transportation
- May 19: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Paper
- June 9: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Cleaning and Sanitizing Chemicals for Facilities Care
- June 11: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Professional Services
- June 16: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance
- June 18: Chapter 4 – Procurement of IT Hardware and Services
- June 23: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Electricity
- June 30: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Food and Beverages for Food Service
- July 14: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Construction and Renovation
- July 21: Chapter 4 – Procurement of Furnishings
- July 28: Chapter 2 – Starting a Sustainable Purchasing Program
- July 30: Chapter 3 – Running a Sustainable Purchasing Program
- Access to the Pilot Program Online Community
- Public promotion
- Dedicated assistance from SPLC staff, Technical Advisory Committee, and Technical Advisory Groups
Timeline
- Pilot Program opens for registration [Register] (November 2014)
- Guidance v1.0 Member Preview released and Pilot Program begins (January 15, 2015)
- Guidance v1.0 Public Release Launch Webinar (February 5, 2015)
- Education sessions for Pilot Program participants (February – May 2015)
- Live Feedback Sessions for Pilot Program participants launch (April – June 2015)
- Education and live feedback sessions at SPLC’s 2015 Summit
(May 26-28, 2015)
- Last day to submit feedback to be considered toward Guidance v2.0 (July 31, 2015)
- Lessons from Guidance v1.0 Pilot Program published (Fall 2015)
Participation Options
Below are example ways that member organizations participated in the pilot. Note: participation in the Pilot does not require that your organization make a public commitment or that commentary be provided on behalf of a particular organization.
Purchasing Organizations:
Option | Level of Effort | Level of Service | Level of Recognition |
---|---|---|---|
Use the guidance in current work. Complete participant questions. | High | High | High |
Review guidance based on recent or upcoming work. Complete participant questions. | Medium | Medium | High |
Review guidance. Complete participant questions. | Medium | Medium | High |
Review portions of guidance. Provide general feedback. | Low-medium | Low | Low |
Suppliers & Service Providers:
- Review the Guidance affecting your industry. To what extent are you able to meet the needs of purchasers identified in the Guidance?
- Consider to what extent have the most significant impacts been identified? Are there metrics and indicators missing?
Certification, Standards, and Spend Analysis Providers:
- Consider to what extent are your programs able to effectively measure the most significant impacts associated with the purchasing categories relevant to your work?
- Consider to what extent have the most significant impacts been identified? Are there metrics and indicators missing?
Public Interest Advocates:
- Consider to what extent have the most significant impacts been identified? Are there metrics and indicators missing?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the time commitment for the Guidance v1.0 Pilot?
Types of Participation for Purchasing Organizations:
High Level of Effort:
A university just received approval to conduct a spend analysis. As a result, they are going to use Chapter 3 to assist them in the preparation for and conduction of the spend analysis. The team members attend the education sessions, and actively provide feedback within the community group and during the listening sessions. They also submit thorough responses to the questions posed by SPLC regarding the spend analysis section.
Medium Level of Effort:
A state government recently completed the process of developing a plan for their procurement for 2015. The primary members of their team will review Chapters 2 and 3. While they neither used a cross-functional team nor were able to complete a thorough spend analysis, they intend to reflect on how the content in Chapters 2 and 3 would have helped them do their work better. They may attend some education sessions, but will likely not be active in the community discussions or the listening sessions. They do intend to answer the specific questions posed by SPLC targeting the Chapters that they are reviewing.
Low Level of Effort:
A corporation has a large procurement of personal computers coming up in Q3 of 2015. They will review the IT Hardware & Services section of Chapter 4 and provide general feedback. They may answer the specific questions posed by SPLC targeting the Personal Computers section of Chapter 4, but don’t know if they want to commit to that.
Types of Participation for Suppliers and Service Providers, Standards and Certification Developers, and Public Interest Advocates
- Review Guidance affecting your industry
- Answer high level questions above, targeted toward your industry
- Answer specific questions posed by SPLC targeting the Chapters relevant to your industry
- Attend education sessions
- Attend listening sessions, participation in the community forum
Can we limit the scope of our participation to a specific part of the Guidance, like Spend Analysis or Green Cleaning?
Is SPLC membership and pilot participation limited to US organisations?
Is the Pilot relevant to corporate purchasers?
What's the cost of participating in the Pilot?
What data, if any, will SPLC be asking Pilot Participants to submit?
Could a consulting company participate in the pilot together with one of their clients?
How long will the pilot program run?
Do you have to be a member to participate in the pilot?
How can individual contributors in organizations be involved, if they are in the technical side and not a part of the purchasing, facilities, or finances departments.
But how do you open up those opportunities for yourself if you are on the business/program side? Within our Guidance v1.0 there is a section on Enlisting Support, which is really about how an individual employee – no matter where they are in the organization –can go about finding support and opportunities to work with others on applying a holistic approach to managing supply chain impacts. The advice in this chapter will apply equally to you. You might be able to use it to strike up a conversation with people in your organization already working on sustainability or procurement about how you can support that work. One of the ways you may be able to support it is by being a pair of eyes and ears that keeps them informed about the conversations happening in the Council and the resources available to them through it.