Prepared with strategic support from Fundo Vale, the report aims to help Vale transform commitments into practical mechanisms, bringing the impact agenda into the procurement function
A new study on impact procurement in intensive supply chains, developed by Fundo Vale in partnership with Ago Social, shows that the procurement area can play a role far beyond simply purchasing goods and services. In complex environments that rely heavily on large suppliers, such as mining, purchasing decisions simultaneously balance operational continuity, cost, risk, and indirect social and environmental effects.
The study, titled “Impact Procurement in Decision-Making: Challenges and Directions for Intensive Supply Chains,” analyzes how social and environmental criteria can be incorporated in practical ways into the day-to-day work of the procurement function, without creating parallel layers of bureaucracy and without ignoring the real limitations of suppliers.
“At Fundo Vale, we understand that innovation can support different areas and initiatives across the company in strengthening their performance, such as through process improvement. This study is an example of that, presenting the concept of impact procurement as a field of organizational innovation. Instead of creating more layers of rules, the idea is to prioritize, simplify and integrate, so that sustainability and positive impact are brought to the table where purchasing decisions are made,” says Giovana Serenato, from Fundo Vale’s Innovation Area.
Fundo Vale’s role as impact agenda catalyst
At the center of this movement is Fundo Vale, an organization that acts as a catalyst for environmental innovation connected to Vale’s business. The study aims to strengthen the work already carried out by Vale’s Procurement Area (through its Responsible Procurement Program and Sharing Program), which has gradually been developing many of these strategies.
In supporting this research, Fundo Vale sought to answer a key question: how can the procurement function’s ability to incorporate impact procurement into real decisions be strengthened in a practical and governable way?
The study was designed as a practical benchmarking exercise, combining:
- a review of international references (OECD, World Bank, ISO 20400, European Commission and UN Global Compact, among others);
- analysis of Vale’s internal documents and processes;
- interviews with experienced professionals working in sustainable and impact procurement at large companies with intensive supply chains.
Strategic directions: How to move impact procurement from concept to practice
Based on this diagnosis, the study proposes six strategic directions for progress, always focusing on the moments when purchasing decisions actually take place:
- Reposition sustainable and impact procurement as a value strategy
Sustainability needs to be treated as a legitimate cost-benefit variable, especially in prioritized categories. It should no longer be viewed as an additional cost or peripheral obligation.
- Prioritize categories and build progressive pathways
Instead of promising impact across the entire base of suppliers, Vale should work with pilot categories, selected based on criticality, ESG materiality and operational feasibility. Three pathways stand out: direct impact in categories with room for choice; indirect impact through large suppliers, with gradual requirements and improvement plans; and thematic, regional pilots focused on specific challenges (such as local productive inclusion).
- Translate sustainability into instruments compatible with procurement decisions
Adopt a small number of clear ESG criteria in requisition and specification processes. Provide buyers with a simple and integrated view of each supplier’s ESG performance. Define how these criteria are considered in bid evaluation alongside price and delivery time.
- Align incentives, metrics and expectations with the impact agenda
Differentiate maturity metrics (process/capability) from outcome metrics (generated impact). Recognize decisions that incorporate social and environmental criteria, preventing indicators focused solely on cost from penalizing those seeking to make progress.
- Treat supplier inclusion and development as a systemic strategy
Integrate local procurement, inclusion and supplier development programs into sourcing strategy and contract management. Determine where to act through direct inclusion and where to act through supply chain requirements involving anchor suppliers.
- Build cross-functional governance to balance trade-offs and protect decision-making time
Create a structure that connects procurement with sustainability, HSE, human rights and integrity, with clear roles and decision-making authority. Establish a process to resolve conflicts between cost, timeframes and impact in prioritized categories.
An organizational innovation “laboratory”
By focusing on the decision system rather than only on standards and policies, this study suggests a meaningful role for Vale as a potential laboratory for innovation in impact procurement.
The research concludes that the agenda will not advance through universal adoption, but through prioritization, progressive implementation and clarity about where there is real room for choice and influence. In this approach, impact procurement moves from an abstract ideal to a concrete decision-making field, grounded in governance, appropriate metrics and Vale’s ability to use its purchasing power to protect and generate social and environmental value.