Richard Cameron from Fletcher Construction talks about the new Meridian office building in Wellington.

Meridian does not operate in isolation. We work with a network of suppliers who provide products and services that help us operate our business. Equipment manufacturers, information technology companies, office product suppliers, advertising agencies and cleaners are all part of our supply chain. To ensure we are operating according to our sustainable development principles, we endeavour to buy products and services that are in line with those principles.

Meridian Procurement Manager Shayne Gray says sustainability considerations are already built into our procurement processes. "For example, we work with our cleaning contractors to make sure they are using certified environmentally friendly cleaning products. Another example is working with printing companies to ensure that Meridian printed materials use chlorine-free paper and vegetable-oil based printing inks," says Shayne.

Sustainable Supply Chain Management guidelines

We are taking this a step further with the development of a set of formal Sustainable Supply Chain Management Guidelines, based on the United Nations Global Compact, a widely accepted corporate social responsibility initiative.

The guidelines encourage our purchasing decisions to be based on value in the widest sense of the word. They ensure that sustainability considerations are taken into account when selecting suppliers. These considerations include corporate responsibility, risk management, compliance with relevant treaties and covenants, human rights, labour practices, community involvement, environment and suppliers’ own sustainable supply chain systems.

"Every procurement decision is different," says Shayne Gray. "We apply common sense to allocate the appropriate degree of criticality to each factor depending on the business need and particular situation". By making sustainability considerations an essential part of the evaluation process, we are building it into an increasing number of decisions we make.

Sharing our knowledge

Leading the way in sustainable supply chain management is linked to our goal of becoming the global reference company in renewable energy. We are actively seeking to encourage other businesses to incorporate sustainable practices more deeply in their own activities. We are working with our suppliers to help them understand how they can do this, and what the benefits are to their businesses.

Our new office building on Queen’s Wharf in Wellington is a good example. Fletcher Construction, who are building the new office, have committed to introducing sustainable practices on the site, with great results.

"Fletchers have reduced waste to landfill from the site by 60%," says Shayne Gray. "In the process, they’ve generated some additional revenue streams. Gib offcuts are processed into gypsum for compost, along with mulched timber offcuts, and steel cuttings end up as steel byproducts. They’re now looking to apply their learnings into other building projects."