Sustainable Procurement as a Strategic Capability: Toward a Decarbonized Supply Chain Logic

This viewpoint paper puts forward the argument that sustainable procurement has emerged as a strategic organizational capability, with decarbonization serving as the organizing principle for supplier choice and value chain management. This conceptual analysis employs a multi-theoretical framework integrating stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory, and green institutionalism to examine how decarbonization imperatives transform procurement decision-making processes. Through these theoretical lenses, we demonstrate that procurement practices incorporating carbon measurement restructure supplier evaluation from price-dominated models to impact-weighted assessment frameworks. Through systematic literature synthesis and analysis of contemporary trends and regulatory developments, our findings reveal how organizations must reconceptualize procurement beyond transactional efficiencies as a mechanism for value creation through environmental stewardship. The analysis demonstrates that sustainability pressures will reshape procurement strategies through 2030, establishing performance criteria integrating carbon footprint into supplier relationship management. This paradigm shift necessitates organizational development of capabilities in carbon accounting, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory compliance alongside operational excellence. The theoretical contribution lies in positioning sustainable procurement as a strategic capability affording competitive advantage through enhanced legitimacy, stakeholder trust, and long-term value creation. This framework advances procurement theory by integrating environmental imperatives into strategic capability development, offering practitioners a structured approach to building decarbonization competencies.