JARGONFREE Compass for Sustainable Contracting

Missing sustainability commitments

Sustainability commitments easily disappear if they are not embedded in contracts.

Sustainability that does not enter

rarely enters reality.

Level Typical Failure Consequences Diagnostic Question
1. Product No sustainability criteria in specifications; reliance on “comply with all laws”. Environmental and social impacts are not integrated into design decisions. Are sustainability goals translated into concrete product-level requirements and specifications?
2. Operations Vague commitments without operational mechanisms. Sustainability goals and requirements are not embedded in daily operations. Does the contract require concrete operational practices that make sustainability executable?
3. Supply Chain Commitments are not calibrated to be fit for purpose and remain without appropriate cascading across tiers. Sustainability is not managed across the supply chain. How do sustainability commitments travel – and how are they supported – across the supply chain?