Our purchasing decisions should where practicable consider whole life cost and the associated risks and implications for society and the environment. Procurement can make a significant contribution to our goals of sustainable economic development and resource minimisation by ensuring that the goods and services we buy consider optimum environmental performance. Procurement has an additional role to play in minimising any risk of social exploitation within the supply chain. We believe that this not only makes business sense, it also has the potential to improve the living and working standards of people around the world.