SCHEDULE: 8:00 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Workshop
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. Networking Lunch

LOCATION: SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings, Vancouver

Optimize Your Program - Get Better Results from Vendors

Learn to Integrate Sustainability Into Purchasing and Bid Documents

Even as many organizations strive to purchase from businesses that employ or are
owned by First Nations, they find that suppliers often cannot meet their
purchasing requirements. However, overcoming the challenges is important since
the success of aboriginal purchasing can have important community impacts. For
instance, when VANOC contracted the Lil’wat Nation for several projects, they
helped reduce seasonal unemployment rates, and created increased capacity in the
band through training and skills development.

When your organization uses a formal process (ex.
Requests for Proposals), this workshop will help you to send clear signals to
your suppliers about your social and environmental requirements, and enable you
to assess quotes and proposals effectively. Even if your organization does not
have such formal purchasing processes, you will learn to assess the
sustainability attributes of suppliers or supplies/services that your
organization is seeking.

This workshop will help purchasers
learn:

Purchasing experts will join our group dialogue on Buying Greener
Paper to illustrate how organizations are implementing green paper
purchasing. They will share: