Over the next 12 to 18 months , Equiniti will be moving into the next phase of maturity for its supplier management programme , which will look to improve the resilience of the company ’ s supply chain . “ We will be looking at performing audits of our key suppliers to understand in greater detail our second and third-tier suppliers and how they are being managed ,” says Burt .
“ The next big question I will be asking the function is how we can best support our business to be an even more responsible business . We will be looking to set specific ESG targets for our suppliers as well as making sure we incorporate ESG into our procurement evaluation criteria . In the very near term , I can see carbon reduction targets being equally weighted in importance as cost reduction targets . Businesses cannot afford to be on the back foot on ESG and Procurement is perfectly placed to help with the challenge ,” concludes Burt .