Eric Van Der List On Putting Sustainability On The Agenda And Translating Procurement Into Value

Q: Please tell us more about Future Pipe Industries and how the company delivers on its promise to deliver water and energy to the world in the most efficient and sustainable way.

A: Future Pipe Industries is a leader in designing, manufacturing, and installing bespoke composite pipe solutions for the Oil & Gas, Industrial, Water, and Marine industries. Future Pipe Industries offer comprehensive solutions including system design and engineering services, project management, technical support, field supervision, and training.

Established in 1984 in Dubai, U.A.E., Future Pipe Industries has built a trusted reputation for delivering engineering excellence, and a commitment to creating value for our customers. Today our operations are worldwide with manufacturing facilities and sales offices throughout the Middle East, Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia.

We are driven by creating value for our end-users through our corporate purpose, ‘working together to deliver water and energy to the world in the most efficient and sustainable way.’ Our products are durable and lightweight, cost-effective and efficient, environmentally friendly produced, sustainable, and have a long lifecycle.

Q: Using sustainability as a cornerstone, how does the procurement department at Future Pipe Industries hope to drive sustainability and transparency within the organization as well as among its suppliers? Does Future Pipe Industries have a special focus on green/ carbon-neutral supply and supply-chain partners?

A: When it comes to sustainability, Future Pipe Industries only work with suppliers with a commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through a signed Supplier Code of Conduct (or if suppliers have their own version covering and pledging to the same principles, this will also do).

The Supplier Code of Conduct is aligned with the principles of the United Nations Global Compact Initiative and the global chemical industry’s Responsible Care program. Suppliers are frequently audited for compliance and improvements.

Moreover, in the annual Business Evaluation, Sustainability is one of four Critical Success Factors. Suppliers who confirm their carbon footprint get a higher scoring than those who don’t, and suppliers with initiatives to reduce their footprint get an even higher score.

Last but not least, we take the scoring on the Business Evaluation into account in the daily business while making commercial decisions to buy or not to buy (besides other criteria).

Q: How do sustainability and carbon neutrality initiatives fit into your company operations on a wider scale?

A: Future Pipe Industries are committed to sustainable development to ensure a better quality of life for everyone now and for generations to come. We embrace the principles of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as laid down in the United Nations Global Compact. These principles are reflected in our strategy and the mechanisms and practices enabling us to achieve it.

We have a defined Sustainability structure and clear roles and responsibilities. Sustainability is the responsibility of every employee at Future Pipe Industries and we encourage, support and recognize contributions to it.

We are realistic. We understand that we must make improvements gradually and continually whilst sustaining and growing our business and working within our sphere of influence. We achieve this by setting and reviewing long, medium- and short-term goals and maintaining control of our operations.

We focus on 4 key areas:

Stakeholder and Community: Building strong relationships for the good of the business, our customers, partners, employees and the wider community is part of the way we do business.

People & Culture: We believe in people and put them first in all we do. It is only through the actions of people that we will realize our three other Sustainability goals. We will build the relationships and culture needed to enable people to be productive, satisfied and dedicated.

Environmental: The nature of our business means that we need to understand and carefully manage our impact on the environment. We also have a major responsibility and opportunity to convert the world’s pipe systems to the longer term, more environmentally friendly composite pipe.

Economic: We conduct and grow our business ethically and build value by operating and growing responsibility. We hold ourselves accountable for the environmental, social, and economic impact of our operation.

Future Pipe Industries is committed to sustainability in its products and their use. In support of this commitment, we created an Environmental Product Declaration for Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP/GRE) Pipe and Fittings. This Declaration is based on a Life Cycle Assessment and follows the international standard of ISO 14025 (Type III Environmental Declarations) and EN 15804.

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is an independently verified and registered document that communicates transparent information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products such as the product’s carbon footprint, and its potential impact on global warming, ozone depletion and health-related impacts, etc.

In line with the Group’s Green Drive Initiatives and the overall focus to reduce Carbon Emissions, Gulf Eternit Industries, a member of the FPI Group, is now equipped with a 2-Megawatt solar power generation capacity to supply 40% of the plant’s energy requirements and reducing 1,300 tons of carbon emission per year.

Q: Please tell us what you feel would be the one positive change that could be implemented in the procurement industry to raise the regional standard on sustainability and carbon neutrality, taking this industry to the next level?

A: The one positive change, for now, would be including specific contractual reduction requirements for carbon reduction, with raised ambitions over time. I say ‘for now’ since sustainability efforts should never end and progressive insight will lead to the next positive change.

Q: What does it mean to you, to see Future Pipe Industries on the regional/ GCC stage in the context of being committed to sustainability?

A: When I came to Future Pipe Industries almost 9 years ago, sustainability was not on the agenda: not in the company, nor in the region. Having a track record not only in procurement but also in sustainability, I started gathering carbon footprint information and mapping the supply base on their initiatives to either measure or ‘measure & improve’ their footprint. This has been my ongoing (small) contribution to sustainability in general and specifically for Future Pipe Industries.

Over the last 4 years, the company has major steps in leading the sustainability agenda in the composite pipe industry; not only in the region/GCC but on a global scale.

Commitment to sustainability is not a choice but an absolute must to ensure a better quality of life for everyone now and for generations to come!

Q: How did you get involved with Future Pipe Industries?

A: I am a chemical engineer who started in 1999 in procurement by chance. After becoming purchasing manager in Saint-Gobain's insulation division Is over in the Netherlands, I joined Royal DSM in 2003 as a Senior Purchasing Officer leading multiple business group projects and shaping the future matrix organization. In 2006 I transferred to DSM NeoResins which transformed later into DSM Coating Resins. After being the Deputy for 2 years, in 2012 I assumed the position of Global Purchasing Director for all DSM's Resin activities. In DSM I became a sustainability enthusiast, working closely with R&D to develop end-products based on biomaterials.

In 2013, I joined Future Pipe Industries in Dubai (UAE) as Senior Director of Global Procurement & Strategic Sourcing.

Since 2020 I am a Sustainable Procurement Ambassador and took the Sustainable Procurement Pledge: Born out of passion and driven by a shared sense of responsibility. Because of the impact of Procurement decisions on a future sustainable planet, we pledge and commit ourselves to make sustainability the central mindset of our daily decision making.

Q: Please tell us about your favorite city and book of all time and why?

A: My favorite city is Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. It is a city that has it all: it is one of the Caribbean's oldest cities with buildings that date to the 1500s, including the cathedral, which was the first built in the ‘New World’, but also plenty of industry, commercial zones and financial centers. Not to forget the pleasant weather throughout the year!

My favorite book of all time is a management book, but there are so many! “Never split the difference”, “Getting to Yes” and “the Seven Habits” form my top 3. Very relatable for a procurement guy.