At a point where biodiversity loss is higher now than at any other time in human history, the World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) New Zealand CEO Kayla Kingdon-Bebb has an urgent message for procurement: every sourcing decision you make is a chance to shift the needle.

The picture is stark. Wildlife populations are in sharp decline, while nature loss and climate change are amplifying each other. The consequences are playing out before our eyes. For procurement and supply chain professionals, this is an economic risk as much as it is an environmental one. Economies are heavily dependent on nature – its destruction creates new risk exposure.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, assures Kayla. Sustainable procurement practices are a critical part of the solution to protecting nature and improving business resilience. This is “procurement’s moment” concluded CIPS’ global head of sustainability, Maxfield Weiss.

Plus: why the whales should offer us hope...

Related links...

As CIPS launches The Great Conversation – a world-wide dialogue about the future of the profession – we talk to David Shillingford, a leading investor in supply chain innovation. His message to procurement and supply chain professionals: extreme complexity is here to stay.

Also on the agenda: why procurement professionals must learn cross-functional scenario planning; where your hidden vulnerabilities lie; why conflict zones are everywhere; and the most important company you've never heard of.

Related links:

A critical supplier goes into administration. There are only eight weeks of stock left, yet it will take nine months to switch to a new supplier. What would you do? In this episode, we hear how the NHS Supply Chain's head of supply chain resilience, Tom Brailsford, and his team responded to ensure hospitals and healthcare providers never ran out of the stock they needed after an essential hand hygiene supplier went bust.

Further reading:

We're joined by Nick Nanos, chief supply chain officer and SVP of wholesale at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), an organisation on the frontline of navigating tariffs, labour disruption and complex global logistics. Hear how his team is spearheading change and innovation in practice to become the strategic lever the  crown agency now relies on to respond to challenges and consistently deliver value.

Related links: 

Are we witnessing a "rupture" of the rules-based international order? How have tariffs and geopolitical events played out on the ground? And what does this all mean for procurement and supply chain professionals? CIPS global economist Dr John Glen and Fastmarkets commodities expert Ross Yeo make sense of all the noise.

Related links

Modern slavery survivor Moe Turaga shares his personal story of forced labour in the Australian horticulture sector. Moe offers a rare and vital insight into this complex crime as part of his mission to place people with lived experience at the centre of the global response to modern slavery.

Further reading

Departing CIPS Chair Alison Barto on horizon scanning, co-innovation with suppliers and why procurement's role is now about bringing the outside world in. Plus, the remarkable sense of belonging that CIPS members enjoy as part of a global community.

Related links

An estimated 28 million people are employed in forced labour in supply chains. Procurement professionals are on the frontline of this global crime - one estimated to be worth half a trillion dollars. It is a challenge the CIPS Foundation is working with UK-based modern slavery charity Unseen to tackle head on by providing funding to turn data from its Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline into actionable insights for procurement professionals. 

In this CIPS Foundation special we lift the lid on an issue that exposes organisations to significant financial, legal and reputational risks - where "plausible deniability" is no longer an option and fundamental human rights are at stake. Andrew Wallis OBE, CEO of Unseen, and Sodexo's Madeline Fitton MCIPS, founder and chair of the BSA Modern Slavery Council, share what progress has been made 10 years on from the UK's landmark Modern Slavery Act.

We uncover the scale of the challenge facing procurement, address why effective legislation must be designed as a "spiky carrot", and provide essential advice on how to identify and respond to modern slavery in your own supply chain.

Further reading: 

Is AI the answer to resolving disputes with your suppliers? Yes... and no - as we find out in the final instalment of this mini-series. While the human input and experience of professionals remains critical to forging and maintaining supplier relationships that keep businesses running, we explore where AI is reshaping procurement roles when it comes to negotiation, contract management and resolving conflict.

Hear from resolutiion's Fayola-Maria Jack and Katarzyna Hewelt on how AI is reducing costs caused by disputes by up to a third, and making contract management faster and more accurate at identifying risks - removing future sources of conflict at source. Acting as a co-pilot, AI gives procurement the time to focus on the strategy and relationships that drive true value for their organisations, explain our guests. 

Additional reading:

This podcast mini-series is brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), in partnership with resolutiion.   

Part two of the CIPS Futures navigating supplier disputes mini-series puts conflict resolution skills and capabilities in the spotlight. We're once more joined by CIPS trainer, Kurt Warren, as he reveals the foundational strategies that procurement and supply professionals must hone to better manage commercial conflict. Realignment of responsibilities and expectations, understanding your "walk away point" and a strong grasp of accurate data are all critical, he advises. 

Plus, how do you spot the signs of a dispute early? Fayola-Maria Jack, CEO and founder of resolutiion and experienced dispute negotiator reveals the key indicators to watch out for.

Additional reading:

This podcast mini-series is brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), in partnership with resolutiion.