Last week, procurement and sustainability professionals came together at the Amstel Hotel for two inspiring days of knowledge exchange, meaningful connections, and community building during the 2025 edition of the Procurement Climate Council. The event, hosted by Sourcing Champions and sponsored by Ivalua, EcoVadis, IntegrityNext, Prewave, LiveEO, and Altares Dun & Bradstreet, with support from Impact Institute, WTP Buynamics, and the Scope 3 Peer Group, brought together 60 participants for 5 keynote sessions and 4 hands-on workshops, all under the theme of “Standing Still is Risky, the Time to Move is Now”
🚀 Let’s dive back into the highlights and relive the inspiring moments we created together!
Opening Statement
The Procurement Climate Council 2025 opened with powerful words from Sourcing Champions’ founder, Robert Waalder, and Ivalua’s Senior Account Executive, Martijn van Melsen. Their joint address underscored the urgency of today’s fast-moving world, where climate, regulation, and market dynamics are evolving at unprecedented speed. They reminded us that procurement is not only about managing costs and risks but also about driving meaningful impact, aligning directly with the objectives of PCC 2025: taking climate action beyond compliance, sharing knowledge, making procurement a force for positive change, and doing so with a spirit of collaboration.
Leaving Fossil Fuels Underground: Challenges and Opportunities
Prof. Dr. Joyeeta Gupta is a leading voice on global climate justice. A professor at the University of Amsterdam, winner of the prestigious 2023 Spinoza Prize, and co-chair of the UN’s Ten-Member Group on Science, Technology, and Innovation for the SDGs.
Her opening keynote session emphasized that climate change is not only an environmental crisis but also a profound justice issue that deepened global inequalities. At its core, climate justice ensures a minimum just access to resources to uphold human dignity and escape poverty, while balancing environmental pressures. The keynote concluded with a call for new narratives: positioning climate security as a win-win solution that enhances health and wellbeing, secures resilient supply chains, reduces liability and lock-ins for companies, and ultimately delivers net-positive outcomes for both people and the planet.
Climate change is a story of cracks. Splitting glaciers? Yes. But also splitting of equity, opportunity, fairness, and dignity globally.
Scope 3 Demystified – How to Leverage Collaboration, AI and Data like a Pro
Lara Obst, co-founder of ClimateChoice, cut through the noise around supply chain emissions. She dismantled three myths that hold companies back:
- The myth that we’re too far behind
- The myth that perfect data is a prerequisite
- The myth that no real pressure exists yet.
Instead, she showed how companies can…
- Engage suppliers at different maturity levels
- Automate data collection and verification
- Embed incentives into procurement contracts.
In doing so, Scope 3 is reframed not as a risk to be managed, but as an opportunity to unlock innovation, build resilience, and strengthen competitiveness, with every procurement decision serving as a decisive ClimateChoice.
Challenges and downturns are real, but instead of letting them become a fog that obscures progress, Lara showed that we must look through with clarity. And most importantly, never forget that the power of making the right choices remains with us.
Sustainable Procurement Roulette
IntegrityNext, represented by Bastian Stroucken and Jonas Gehrke, brought regulations to life with their “Sustainable Procurement Roulette.” After setting the stage with the fast-growing wave of EU due diligence and deforestation laws, the session turned into a game-like workshop. Participants spun the wheel to land on different sustainability issues, from EUDR to carbon emissions. In cross-industry groups, participants explored these topics through guiding questions such as: How is this issue affecting your organization today, and what steps are you taking to address it? The result was a lively exchange that turned compliance from a static requirement into an interactive learning experience, showing how regulation can drive practical procurement action.
Circularity in the Supply Chain Needs Your Actions
Jenny Wassenaar, Board Member of Recycling Society, grounded the discussion in reality with a practical and very visual demonstration of packaging materials. As former Chief Sustainability Officer at Trivium Packaging, she built a culture where every department, even finance, knew exactly how to integrate sustainability into their work. During her session at the PCC, she revealed that the often-overlooked factors such as colors, printing, and coatings that can turn otherwise recyclable plastics or cartons into waste. This explains why so much waste that enters recycling streams cannot actually be recycled. Jenny emphasized the importance of designing procurement and packaging strategies based on facts, not assumptions, in order to achieve real circularity.
When Jenny threw the non-circular trash on the ground, it symbolized the fact that the existence of non-recyclable component within recycling loop is very visible and cannot be ignored. That’s why building awareness is so important, and it lies at the heart of the Recycling Society’s mission, on which Sourcing Champions is supporting by translating the organization’s work into German to reach the DACH audience.
Canal Cruise & Dinner
The Procurement Climate Council is an event defined by exchange; exchange of ideas, exchange of contacts, and, by the end of the first day, exchange of toasts. That evening, attendees gathered for a boat party, where dinner and networking took place against the backdrop of Amsterdam’s beautiful canals. And the best part of all? Our party was hosted on a boat that was fully electric, quiet, clean, and green.
The evening’s conversations naturally flowed into reflection as team Sourcing Champions sat down with participants to hear their thoughts about the Procurement Climate Council.
One participant said the PCC gave a clear “Yes” to his question of whether sustainability is still on procurement’s radar. He added that the sessions offered concrete options to tackle the challenges he faces in his own work.
“The lack of data is the main bottleneck to sustainable practice,” he noted. “This event gave a good overview of companies that are actively addressing the issue.”
Another attendee expressed his appreciation for the passion of the keynote speakers and the engaging workshops. While his company has already made strong progress in sustainability, he noted the Procurement Climate Council gave him ideas to go the extra mile, for example, by volunteering with Jenny Wassenaar’s Recycling Society.
He also mentioned that he enjoyed working with procurement and sustainability champions from diverse backgrounds and fields, an opportunity to both connect and learn.
DAY 2
The Business Case for True Pricing
Would you pay an extra €0.86 for a chocolate bar? At PCC 2025, Impact Institute’s cofounder, Michel Scholte, and WTP Buynamics’ CCO, Jeroen Maas, explained why we should, because that’s what it takes to cover the hidden environmental and social costs behind it. His session on True Pricing explained how conventional market prices ignore impacts such as CO₂ emission, or underpaid labor, which in reality add significant costs to society. Michel showed how integrating the true costs can guide procurement teams to compare suppliers not only on economic efficiency but also on sustainability performance. In doing so, he reframed procurement to be a driver of systemic change, with the potential to create markets where fair, sustainable value is the standard.
Michel and Jeroen reminded us that by paying the full, true price, we ensure no one else is left to bear the hidden costs.
Procurement Decisions in Action: Carbon Pricing for Real Impact
Nancy Gillis, Lead, Innovation & Strategy of Scope 3 Peer Group, led a hands-on workshop that let participants explore how to embed carbon costs into supplier selection by working with calculation model in simulated scenarios. In practice, the model added each supplier’s quoted price to the cost of their carbon footprint, calculated at an ETS (EU Emissions Trading System) carbon price of roughly €70 per tonne of CO₂.
Teams were asked to compare suppliers, weighing not just price and capacity, but also product carbon footprints and potential investments in decarbonization in the supply chain. During the session, we saw that teams approached the trade-offs differently, reflecting the real-world complexity of balancing cost, capacity, and climate impact.
Just as important as the profit-driving framework, Nancy emphasized that procurement holds a powerful influence over suppliers, and with it, the ability to bring us all closer to Net Zero. Or, as she put it: “Procurement is Sexy.”
Supply Chains of Tomorrow: Transparency, Sustainability, and Carbon Management with Prewave
Thomas von Obernitz and Lorenz Raml of Prewave highlighted the importance of supplier risk visibility and how AI-powered monitoring can help procurement stay ahead of ESG and compliance challenges. Their session revolved around interactive case scenarios that explored not only how to choose the right data and when to look into risks. The lively discussions showed just how complex these choices can be, and how vital it is to move from reactive to proactive approaches. Prewave and their expertise on risk management really reminded us that navigating risks with speed and confidence is more important than ever.
Panel Discussion: Shaping ESG in Procurement Beyond the Sustainabubble
The panel brought together Eric Lips, Sustainable Procurement Risk & Compliance Manager at Air France-KLM; Hans Keeris, former CTO/COO at Wilo Group; and Johan van der Knokke, Global Procurement Director at Hottinger Brüel & Kjær, to discuss how to turn ESG ambition into action. The speakers stressed that tools alone aren’t enough, process, mindset, and ownership are key. As Eric noted, “Having the most expensive bike means nothing if you don’t know how to ride it. The same goes for ESG tools without the right strategy.” The discussion highlighted scaling pilots globally, using AI for predictive insights, and treating regulation not as a burden but as a driver of innovation, all with one message in common: procurement must move ESG beyond talk and into real impact.
Decarbonization in Action – Procurement on the Hot Seat
As a global leader in supply chain intelligence, EcoVadis truly showcased the depth of their data in a workshop led by Account Executive Suzie Dekker. In the interactive activity, participants assessed their company’s progress on the journey to Scope 3 decarbonization. The average assessment score of the progress landed just above the midpoint at 5.4, showing that most of the sustainability champions in the room are already well on their way. From there, the discussion turned to what strategies make the difference, with data, engagement, and tracking emerging as the levers. Investing in technology platforms, creating shared visions with suppliers, and setting clear, science-based targets were highlighted as the practical steps to turn ambition into progress.
Sustainable & Resilient End to End Supply Chain
Our two-day program ended with a keynote session from Hans Keeris, who explored how procurement can build sustainable and resilient supply chains in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world. From AI and digital twins for visibility and innovation to practical steps like supplier certification, CO₂-optimized logistics, and better data quality, Hans highlighted the balance between strategy and execution. Furthermore, during an interactive Menti session, participants emphasized that when thinking of AI in the value chain, automation stood out most strongly, alongside themes of data and traceability.
Our last keynote ensured that everyone left not with empty hands, but with pockets full of tools, minds full of ideas, and hearts full of inspiration.
Closing remarks
From Scope 3 strategies to systemic shifts and smart use of technology, the Procurement Climate Council 2025 showed how procurement can turn ambition into action. What emerged wasn’t just inspiration, but a set of practical pathways for companies ready to lead.
As we wrap up this recap, one theme stands out, the Procurement Climate Council fostered a shared understanding of the urgency of adopting sustainable practices in today’s volatile world. One partner complimented the quality of the curated topics, which she said made her realize the deeper significance of the event:
“It gave a sense of why we are all here today.”
