Sustainable procurement procedures
Initiative description: Integrating the Sustainable Sourcing Code with FIFA, Q22 and the SC’s procurement, licensing and sponsorship processes and procedures to ensure that all key FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ contracts are established and monitored in accordance with the code and in alignment with ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement guidelines. This will include processes for design and specification; supplier, licensee and sponsor pre-selection and selection; tender evaluation; post-contract management; supplier, licensee and sponsor development; and performance review. It will also be informed by an analysis of the most significant sustainability impacts and risk areas in supply chains and sponsorship relationships, and criteria for various spend categories.
Sustainability was a key part of the tournament organisers’ procurement processes and procedures. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Sustainable Sourcing Code (SSC) was applied to 93% and 94% of high-risk procurements in 2021 and 2022 respectively, which was above the target of 90% set for this initiative, and key to achieving many of the tournament’s sustainability objectives.
Integrating and managing supply chain sustainability risks throughout the procurement process
Guided by the ISO 20400 sustainable procurement standard, tournament organisers took a risk-based approach to integrate sustainability into its procurement processes and procedures. This included the development and application of a Sustainable Sourcing Code (SSC) for the tournament. As part of the development of the SSC, a risk assessment of the different procurement categories was conducted to inform the type and depth of sustainability requirements to be integrated into each procurement. The resulting risk matrix, the “Priority Heat Map”, is included in the SSC and constituted the basis to classify which procurement had to be considered as high, medium or low risk from a sustainability point of view.
The “Priority Heat Map” influenced the level of due diligence undertaken during the procurement process. All suppliers were required to commit that they and their subcontractors would adhere to the FIFA World Cup 2022™ Sustainable Sourcing Code (SSC), which also included the SC’s Workers’ Welfare Standards, by signing an SSC Commitment Statement. In addition, social and environmental performance data was usually gathered directly from suppliers and licensees. In a limited number of instances, the tournament organisers made use of a sustainable supply chain data-sharing platform to gather the data.
However, if a procurement was identified as high or medium-risk, as per the “Priority Heat Map”, additional steps were taken as follows:
Bidding stage
Specific sustainability requirements incorporated in Invitation to Tender (ITT) / Request For Proposal (RFP). Examples of sustainability requirements included having a minimum recycled content percentage in materials and products, having designated sustainability personnel as part of the team, legacy plans for products provided, waste segregation and recycling targets.
Suppliers were required to provide a signed Sustainability Commitment Statement, committing to fulfil sustainability requirements as per the SSC.
Supplier proposals received and any supplier questions/clarifications answered.
Evaluation stage
Proposals evaluated from a sustainability perspective. Suppliers received a pass/fail check based on the documentation provided.
Contracting phase
Generic and specific requirements included in the supplier’s contract (in addition to the requirement to comply with the SSC) as per the RFP requirements and any negotiations with the appointed supplier.
Post-contract award stage
Suppliers were monitored to ensure that goods and services were delivered as set out in the contract. For further information on monitoring, please visit the procurement control and enforcement mechanisms web page of this report.
Low-risk suppliers were discounted from sustainable performance evaluation as they were determined to have a low to negligible likelihood and/or severity of potential impact.
Overall, the SSC was applied to 93% of the FIFA, Q22 and SC high-risk procurements in 2021 and 94% in 2022 for all high-risk procurements across the tournament. This is above the target of 90% set for this initiative. For more information on this and other top-level sustainability targets, please visit the sustainability targets web page of the report.
It is inevitable that for a mega-sporting event the size of the FIFA World Cup™, there will be a number of unexpected, last-minute procurements. Due to the urgent nature of these, the tournament organisers were not always able to apply the SSC to the full extent. Accordingly, the 90% target set has been realistic, yet ambitious.
Throughout the procurement process, tournament organisers aimed to create a collaborative approach to ensure responsible practices in the sourcing of goods and services for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ to reduce impacts in local and global supply chains across a wide range of industries including accommodation, merchandising, transportation, venue signage and much more.
Licensing and Commercial Affiliates
Since 1997, FIFA has taken extensive measures to ensure compliance with human rights and other sustainability standards in the production of FIFA licenced footballs that are used during its tournaments. In this regard, FIFA is collaborating with the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) as part of the FIFA Quality Programme, to ensure compliance with human rights and environmental standards in the supply chain.
Over the past few years, FIFA has strengthened sustainability clauses in its contracts with commercial affiliates, suppliers and licensees and has aligned human rights clauses with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). In addition, as of 2021, agreements with newly appointed licensees and commercial affiliates have the SSC as well as generic sustainability requirements integrated in their contract, including the obligation to provide access to their premises for monitoring purposes. This applies also to the licensees’ manufacturers.
In 2021, FIFA started conducting due diligence of its licensees and their manufacturers, with a focus on local Qatari high-risk licensees. As part of that, licensees were required to provide social and environmental audit reports of their appointed manufacturers. Based on the findings, they were either approved or corrective action plans requested. If a manufacturer was not able to demonstrate how non-compliances were going to be addressed ahead of the start of production for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ merchandise, they were rejected. The objective was to work with manufacturers and licensees to improve their performance, however, a minimum threshold related to environmental conduct, human and labour rights as well as health and safety needed to be met.