Sustainability in Motion: How Procurement Leads in Imperfect Conditions
Sustainability work today is not defined by perfect data, complete control, or fully aligned processes. It is defined by people who move forward even when information is incomplete, legislation is shifting, and supply chains stretch across hundreds of countries.
That reality shaped the Sustainability Panel at CPO Outlook 2025 — a conversation grounded in lived experience rather than ideal models. On stage were:
- Maria Mollberg, Director Sustainable Procurement, Essity
- Katarina Jönsson, Head of Sustainable Procurement, Solar
- Kjersti Wilhelmsen, Head of SCM ESG & Compliance, Equinor
- David Frydlinger, Partner, Cirio
Together, they provided a truthful picture of what sustainable procurement looks like inside large organizations — demanding and deeply meaningful.
The Landscape They’re Working In
Insights gathered during EBG | Xperience 2025 Focus Days and the CPO Outlook pre-survey pointed to similar concerns across industries:
- Sustainability expectations are rising far faster than operating capacity.
- Ownership is often shared, but practical responsibility still lands on procurement.
- Leaders describe a sense of “regulation fatigue,” with new demands emerging before previous ones are embedded.
Rather than resisting this pressure, the panel leaned into reality — and reflected on how progress happens even when certainty is limited.
Building Responsibility Into Daily Decisions
Maria Mollberg at Essity described a global sustainability structure that spans tens of thousands of suppliers across 100+ countries and involves teams across functions.
Global procurement are in lead or strongly connected to most sustainability related targets:
- Science based climate targets
- Sustainable innovations
- Responsible sourcing
- Packaging and fresh fiber development
Clear targets are set and followed up annually.
Three elements stand out:
1. Strong leadership commitment
Sustainability has been anchored at senior level for more than a decade, shaping expectations and direction.
2. A small core team enabling a global organization
Maria’s team of four supports hundreds procurement colleagues worldwide, making integration — not separation — essential.
3. Supplier expectations built into every relationship
Essity’s mandatory Global Supplier Standard covers environmental, social, ethical and product-safety criteria.
Essity’s annual report reinforces this direction, highlighting ambitions to reduce environmental impact across the value chain and increase circularity.
Her message: clarity, structure, and integration matter more than perfection.
Pragmatism, Leadership, and the Realities of Scale
Katarina Jönsson at Solar explained how they work with thousands suppliers and around one million articles, making sustainability inherently varied across categories, industries, and geographies.
Solar has a clear 2024-2026 strategy called Solve with the aim to strengthen Solar’s position as a leading sourcing and services partner advancing green transition.
Katarina emphasised:
1. Direction at the centre, adaptability at the edges
A central sustainable procurement strategy guides the work, but each area adjusts it to local realities.
2. Sustainability inside sourcing
Sourcing managers now lead sustainability dialogues, conduct risk assessments, and manage corrective actions.
3. Realistic workloads
The continuous dialogue on sustainability is now a part of everyday sourcing activities.
Solar’s annual report underlines the ambition to support customers in reducing environmental impact while improving the company’s own footprint.
Her message: leadership behavior, communication, and realistic structures enable sustainability to become daily practice.
Acting Where Influence Is Real
Kjersti Wilhelmsen described Equinor’s sustainability work through the lens of a global energy company operating in complex environments.
1. Organizing for impact
Equinor has hundreds procurement employees globally and moved a large group directly into the renewable business to work closer together.
2. Human rights due diligence — hands-on
Processes include audits, worker interviews, third-party assessments, and contractual corrective actions — with tangible improvements in worker conditions.
3. Climate progress through collaboration
Electrification, hybrid vessels, and low-emission operations reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions, while long-term solutions (like low-emission structural designs) require wider industry alignment.
Equinor’s annual report confirms its ambition to lead during the energy transition and to strengthen supply chain ESG.
Her message: progress comes from consistent action where procurement has genuine influence.
Why Traditional Procurement Models Can’t Deliver Sustainability
David Frydliner at Cirio framed sustainability as a responsibility system, not a reporting exercise.
Three reflections stood out:
1. Regulation is changing quickly
Even if some companies later fall outside scope, expectations from customers, employees and society will continue rising.
2. Old sourcing models don’t work
Price-focused models discourage transparency and can push risks down the supply chain.
3. New forms of supplier partnerships are needed
Relational contracting — shared outcomes, guiding principles, joint governance — enables transparency and joint mitigation.
His message: responsibility cannot be bolted onto outdated operating models.
Shared Insights Across All Four
Despite different sectors and realities, several themes connected their experiences:
- Progress will never happen under perfect conditions. Teams move forward anyway.
- People matter more than frameworks. Clarity, communication and behavior determine impact.
- Procurement’s role is expanding. Human rights, climate, and transparency increasingly depend on sourcing decisions.
These reflections align with what leaders mapped during EBG | Xperience Gothenburg — that sustainability advances through judgement, collaboration, and structures that help people act.
Networking with EBG
Continue these practitioner-to-practitioner conversations at CPO Outlook 2026 in Stockholm on October 14–15 and through the EBG | Xperience 2026 Focus Days — hands-on sessions where insights become action.