The procurement of agricultural commodities by multinational organizations has been identified as a leverage point for moving the global agricultural system towards sustainability. This study focuses on how multinational organizations can improve their capacities to procure more sustainably grown agriculture commodities. Using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) to create a theoretical ‘Ideal Case’ for procurement practices, this study analyzes the key strengths and weaknesses of existing practices surrounding the procurement of agricultural commodities in order to determine how they can improve. Interviews with four multinational corporations, one INGO and several experts in the field showed various weaknesses, including a lack of whole-system perspectives, inadequate definitions of sustainability, and weak strategies and tools to support organizations’ movements towards sustainability. Using these findings, recommendations were created to provide procurers, sourcing managers, supply chain managers, and sustainability managers with the necessary guidance to create conditions enabling the procurement of more sustainably grown agricultural commodities. The recommendations call for multi-stakeholder cooperation, increased use of impact assessments, long-term sustainability goals, and credible certification systems.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:bth-3135 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Bragg, Eric, Krogseng, Kyla, Schwaller, Christiane |
| Publisher | Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för ingenjörsvetenskap, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för ingenjörsvetenskap, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för ingenjörsvetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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