Purchasing and Negotiation Training

Richard Hough, Executive Vice president, American Purchasing Society

Editor’s note:this blog post is the Introduction of Green Purchasing and Sustainability, written by Rich Hough, Executive Vice President of the American Purchasing Society.  This workbook and manual details how to go green and save money in the process.  Order information will be available in July.

Green practices and sustainability as a business movement is still new to many business organizations.  Were you to ask professionals at random for their reactions, they would range from awareness to ignorance.  It would also be difficult to separate politics from sustainability.   

 Regardless of the viewpoint, the reality is that sustainability ultimately relates to conservation and preservation.  Whether the processes at hand relates to fuels, electricity, storm and sanitary waste water, all manner of natural resources, chemical substances, or even construction and facilities, all can conform to sustainability standards.

 Another word for conservation and preservation is saving.  Conservation and preservation saves on consumption. It also reduces costs.  In business, savings and cost reduction are a vital role of professional purchasing.  

back cover, Green Purchasing and Sustainability

The author of this book, Robert Menard, is a renowned expert to the purchasing profession who has trained purchasing professionals and companies worldwide. He is a long time friend and resource to the American Purchasing Society.  In addition to his books, CDs, and online courses, he is an expert in all purchasing and negotiation matters.  We are grateful for his expertise, enthusiasm, experience and business savvy. 

 In his typical education and training style, Menard provides, in his characteristic “how to” style, content intensive material in small bites and then reinforces the material with challenging exercises.  Other books may talk about what to do in sustainability but provide scant instruction on how to actually do it. By the time the reader has completed this manual, he or she will be ready to lead an enterprise wide sustainability initiative.  Whether the motive is to save money or comply with market place dictates, you will be well-served by this publication. Menard provides a depth of knowledge in all categories of sustainability matters as well as purchasing – a combination available in no other quarters of the market place.

 Whether you are a serious student, casual observer, or practitioner ready to undertake sustainability, you will derive extreme value from this manual that produces immediate payback and hundreds of multiples in return on investment.