Procurement Professional is the official publication of CIPS Australasia

# 98 - Why Copenhagen is important to procurement

01 Dec 2009

In the future, carbon [or at least carbon credits] will become a new form of currency. A tool for buying and selling something of value. Who better to manage that process than procurement professionals? [see Blog #4].

Simply, all the techniques, skills, processes and procedures of procurement apply – just the actual currency changes to carbon. Think of carbon the same way as € euros say, and suddenly it makes sense. Procurement skills should be easily transferrable.

Many organisations still manage their CPRS strategy within the Strategy department, CFO’s office, specialist CSR team, outsources or consultants. Few have handed over responsibility to their different brands/businesses/SBUs around their group. Even less have actually farmed out the responsibility to operational  managers. That will start to change after December 2009 and the outcomes of the Copenhagen summit, as governments around the world start to implement any new treaty to start in 2013 post-Kyoto.   

Copenhagen holds the potential to be much bigger than Kyoto. Or even an anti-climax to Kyoto – we’ll see. But either way it will be a critical decision day for most organisations waiting to see how the land will lie in future with regard to global carbon trading? It could [and should] have a significant impact in the medium term – to save us all in the long term. 

There is much stuff around on Copenhagen of course....... Google ‘Copenhagen summit’ and you’ll get a few billion hits.

The key for us though, is what role should procurement people be playing in future? If actual carbon trading is left to those withiout trading skills, it may be doing a diservice to your organisation.

The Buyer – posted 1 December 2009 

The views of THE BUYER are personal and are not necessarily those of Procurement Professional magazine, BTTB Marketing nor CIPS.