Engage leadership

Buy-in and commitment from key individuals within your organisation are needed to secure necessary resource and support meaningful change. 

In the early stages, focus on building support from leadership by making a strong business case for improving purchasing practices. Start by reaching out to likely allies, and use the activities in this resource hub to help evidence your points.

Consider existing commitments
Most responsible businesses have already made public commitments to respecting the rights of supply chain workers.

• Highlight where current purchasing practices may be undermining your company’s commitments.

Use supplier feedback
As supply chain expert Vanessa Podmore notes (link to relevant section in P1), supplier feedback is a powerful way to evidence existing issues.

• Use the supplier engagement briefing (link to section in P2) to gather insights.
• Present feedback clearly and succinctly to build understanding.

Gain internal feedback
Even where responsible purchasing policies exist, they’re often not well understood or implemented.

• Use the procurement mapping exercise (link to exercise in P1) to engage colleagues across functions and build a shared understanding of day-to-day realities.
• Capture and share key insights with leadership.

Leverage legislation
New and upcoming laws are setting clearer expectations for companies to review and improve their purchasing practices.

• Highlight relevant legislative changes and how these may affect your business—now or in the future. 

Motivate with examples
Stories of good practice can inspire action.

• Share case studies and examples from this resource hub to show what’s possible.

Make the business case
Improving purchasing practices can lead to better treatment from suppliers—thanks to being a more reliable source of business—along with smoother production planning and stronger internal collaboration.

• Highlight these opportunities, and use evidence of improved business functions as you go to show the benefits in action. 

Be clear and practical in your asks
Even simple next steps, like connecting with colleagues, can be more effective with leadership support. 

• Be specific about the time, space, or resources you need to take the next step. (E.g. time from colleagues or a large meeting room to host cross-functional workshops)

Get your teams on board

Your company’s purchasing practices are shaped by many internal functions. Helping teams understand how their decisions impact suppliers and workers is key to building a shared sense of responsibility. This awareness sets the stage for collaboration and practical improvements.

While raising awareness of human rights risks linked to purchasing is just the beginning, it’s a vital step. Use internal resources or bring in external support to build this understanding. Most importantly, create space for teams to explore how they can make a difference through their everyday actions.

In this video: Bo Duijvestijn, CSR specialist at Zeeman

Bo shares how the company builds internal understanding through targeted training sessions with their commercial teams.

Bo highlights that simply writing expectations into company policy isn’t enough to drive real understanding or behaviour change. That’s why Zeeman takes a more engaged approach:

• Leadership involvement: Each session is opened by Zeeman’s Buying Director, reinforcing the importance of responsible purchasing from a commercial perspective and inspiring teams to take ownership.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Break-out groups include colleagues from different departments and levels of seniority, encouraging diverse perspectives and shared learning.
• Supplier feedback as a guide: Teams compare Zeeman’s commitments with feedback from suppliers, identifying gaps and discussing where improvements are needed.
• Action-focused outcomes: Sessions conclude with clear, immediately actionable changes for commercial teams, alongside longer-term improvement plans.

This approach helps embed responsible purchasing into everyday decision-making and ensures that teams are equipped to support supplier wellbeing in practical, meaningful ways.