JARGONFREE Sustainable Contracting Scorecard
You can use the JARGONFREE Compass Scorecard (explained in detail in Module IV) to assess your company's current practice and identify effective means for targeted improvements. Pair this scorecard view – always available in the bottom left – with your reading of the Compass, to guide you to actionable problem/solution pairs in your everyday practice.
Your input is only stored locally in your browser and never sent to the server.
Delete all data in local storage (this resets the scorecard)
| Dimension | Inactive | Reactive | Proactive | Transformative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attitudes | No awareness. “This does not concern us.” | Sustainable contracting is addressed mainly in response to external requirements or practical problems. | Sustainable contracting is integrated into management systems and day-to-day decision-making. | Sustainable contracting is used strategically to support improvement, collaboration, and long-term change. |
Relevant Compass content: As a starting point for improvement, Module II ‘Contracts as drivers of sustainability’ introduces the stepping stones for a contracting strategy. Relevant Compass content: As a starting point for improvement, Module II ‘Contracts as drivers of sustainability’ introduces the stepping stones for a contracting strategy. Relevant Compass content: As a starting point for improvement, Module II ‘Contracts as drivers of sustainability’ introduces the stepping stones for a contracting strategy. Relevant Compass content: As a starting point for improvement, Module II ‘Contracts as drivers of sustainability’ introduces the stepping stones for a contracting strategy. | ||||
| Relevance | No sustainability-related content, or it is ignored. | Generic, copy-pasted clauses with limited relevance or operational value. | Commitments and requirements are tailored to identified risks, relationships, and implementation needs. | Commitments and requirements are outcome-oriented, context-specific, and co-created across the supply chain where appropriate. |
Relevant Compass content: What does sustainability-related content say or not say and does it provide sufficient support and guidance for action? See ‘Problem 1. Missing or generic content’). ‘Solution 1: From missing or generic to explicit and actionable content’ shows how to make such content explicit and actionable, so that it can guide decisions and behaviour in practice. Relevant Compass content: What does sustainability-related content say or not say and does it provide sufficient support and guidance for action? See ‘Problem 1. Missing or generic content’). ‘Solution 1: From missing or generic to explicit and actionable content’ shows how to make such content explicit and actionable, so that it can guide decisions and behaviour in practice. Relevant Compass content: What does sustainability-related content say or not say and does it provide sufficient support and guidance for action? See ‘Problem 1. Missing or generic content’). ‘Solution 1: From missing or generic to explicit and actionable content’ shows how to make such content explicit and actionable, so that it can guide decisions and behaviour in practice. Relevant Compass content: What does sustainability-related content say or not say and does it provide sufficient support and guidance for action? See ‘Problem 1. Missing or generic content’). ‘Solution 1: From missing or generic to explicit and actionable content’ shows how to make such content explicit and actionable, so that it can guide decisions and behaviour in practice. | ||||
| Architecture | Content is missing, scattered, or difficult to locate. | Content exists but is fragmented across documents with limited visibility and weak connections to practice. | Content is organised and connected across the contract stack, with attention to where decisions and actions take place. | Content is aligned across contracts, functions, and relationships, supporting coordinated action and implementation across the supply chain. |
Relevant Compass content: Contract architecture, the way sustainability-related information is structured, connected, and organised across contract documents can limit their effectiveness. See ‘Problem 2. Hidden, misaligned, or misplaced content’). ‘Solution 2: From hidden, misaligned, or misplaced to structured and aligned content’ helps identify abstract, fragmented, or disconnected sustainability-related content, and to strengthen it to guide action. Relevant Compass content: Contract architecture, the way sustainability-related information is structured, connected, and organised across contract documents can limit their effectiveness. See ‘Problem 2. Hidden, misaligned, or misplaced content’). ‘Solution 2: From hidden, misaligned, or misplaced to structured and aligned content’ helps identify abstract, fragmented, or disconnected sustainability-related content, and to strengthen it to guide action. Relevant Compass content: Contract architecture, the way sustainability-related information is structured, connected, and organised across contract documents can limit their effectiveness. See ‘Problem 2. Hidden, misaligned, or misplaced content’). ‘Solution 2: From hidden, misaligned, or misplaced to structured and aligned content’ helps identify abstract, fragmented, or disconnected sustainability-related content, and to strengthen it to guide action. Relevant Compass content: Contract architecture, the way sustainability-related information is structured, connected, and organised across contract documents can limit their effectiveness. See ‘Problem 2. Hidden, misaligned, or misplaced content’). ‘Solution 2: From hidden, misaligned, or misplaced to structured and aligned content’ helps identify abstract, fragmented, or disconnected sustainability-related content, and to strengthen it to guide action. | ||||
| Language & design | Unclear language, jargon, poor structure. | Limited attention to contract clarity, usability, or implementation. | Contract content and communication are structured to support action and implementation. | Clear, accessible, and actionable contract communication supports implementation, collaboration, and effective use in practice. |
Relevant Compass content: Even when sustainability-related clauses are present and properly placed, they may still fail if they are difficult to understand and use. See ‘Problem 3. Complex or unclear communication’). ‘Solution 3: From complex or unclear to clear and actionable communication’ looks at plain language, information design, and contract design patterns as one part of a broader implementation pathway. Relevant Compass content: Even when sustainability-related clauses are present and properly placed, they may still fail if they are difficult to understand and use. See ‘Problem 3. Complex or unclear communication’). ‘Solution 3: From complex or unclear to clear and actionable communication’ looks at plain language, information design, and contract design patterns as one part of a broader implementation pathway. Relevant Compass content: Even when sustainability-related clauses are present and properly placed, they may still fail if they are difficult to understand and use. See ‘Problem 3. Complex or unclear communication’). ‘Solution 3: From complex or unclear to clear and actionable communication’ looks at plain language, information design, and contract design patterns as one part of a broader implementation pathway. Relevant Compass content: Even when sustainability-related clauses are present and properly placed, they may still fail if they are difficult to understand and use. See ‘Problem 3. Complex or unclear communication’). ‘Solution 3: From complex or unclear to clear and actionable communication’ looks at plain language, information design, and contract design patterns as one part of a broader implementation pathway. | ||||
| Feasibility & realism | Sustainability-related content is disconnected from business reality (e.g. pricing, timelines, capabilities). | Some alignment, but gaps remain between sustainability-related requirements and operational realities. | Sustainability-related content is aligned with roles, capabilities, resources, operational realities and implementation needs. | Sustainability-related content is realistically calibrated and aligned with business models, relationships, and continuous improvement across the supply chain. |
Relevant Compass content: Even when sustainability-related content is relevant, visible, and clearly expressed, it may still fail if it is not feasible or is disconnected from operational and commercial realities. See ‘Problem 4: Unfeasible or unrealistic requirements’). ‘Solution 4: From unfeasible or unrealistic to feasible and realistic requirements’ introduces measures that help transform sustainability requirements from “words on paper” into feasible and realistic practices. Relevant Compass content: Even when sustainability-related content is relevant, visible, and clearly expressed, it may still fail if it is not feasible or is disconnected from operational and commercial realities. See ‘Problem 4: Unfeasible or unrealistic requirements’). ‘Solution 4: From unfeasible or unrealistic to feasible and realistic requirements’ introduces measures that help transform sustainability requirements from “words on paper” into feasible and realistic practices. Relevant Compass content: Even when sustainability-related content is relevant, visible, and clearly expressed, it may still fail if it is not feasible or is disconnected from operational and commercial realities. See ‘Problem 4: Unfeasible or unrealistic requirements’). ‘Solution 4: From unfeasible or unrealistic to feasible and realistic requirements’ introduces measures that help transform sustainability requirements from “words on paper” into feasible and realistic practices. Relevant Compass content: Even when sustainability-related content is relevant, visible, and clearly expressed, it may still fail if it is not feasible or is disconnected from operational and commercial realities. See ‘Problem 4: Unfeasible or unrealistic requirements’). ‘Solution 4: From unfeasible or unrealistic to feasible and realistic requirements’ introduces measures that help transform sustainability requirements from “words on paper” into feasible and realistic practices. | ||||
| Action & implementation | Responsibilities and follow-up are unclear or absent; contracts are hardly used in practice. | Responsibilities and follow-up are partial or reactive; contracts are used inconsistently in practice. | Responsibilities, workflows, and follow-up mechanisms are connected to implementation practices. | Contracts are embedded into organisational practice, actively used, monitored, and continuously improved across the supply chain. |
Relevant Compass content: Unclear ownership and lacking integration into organisational practices and workflows across the company are some of the most common reasons why otherwise well-designed requirements fail in everyday operations. See ‘Problem 5. Unassigned responsibility’ and ‘Problem 6: Not embedded in practice’. ‘Solution 5: From unassigned to owned and supported responsibility’ and ‘Solution 6: From not embedded to embedded in practice’ introduce pathways to tackle these issues – not least including this very scorecard as a tool for analysis and action. Relevant Compass content: Unclear ownership and lacking integration into organisational practices and workflows across the company are some of the most common reasons why otherwise well-designed requirements fail in everyday operations. See ‘Problem 5. Unassigned responsibility’ and ‘Problem 6: Not embedded in practice’. ‘Solution 5: From unassigned to owned and supported responsibility’ and ‘Solution 6: From not embedded to embedded in practice’ introduce pathways to tackle these issues – not least including this very scorecard as a tool for analysis and action. Relevant Compass content: Unclear ownership and lacking integration into organisational practices and workflows across the company are some of the most common reasons why otherwise well-designed requirements fail in everyday operations. See ‘Problem 5. Unassigned responsibility’ and ‘Problem 6: Not embedded in practice’. ‘Solution 5: From unassigned to owned and supported responsibility’ and ‘Solution 6: From not embedded to embedded in practice’ introduce pathways to tackle these issues – not least including this very scorecard as a tool for analysis and action. Relevant Compass content: Unclear ownership and lacking integration into organisational practices and workflows across the company are some of the most common reasons why otherwise well-designed requirements fail in everyday operations. See ‘Problem 5. Unassigned responsibility’ and ‘Problem 6: Not embedded in practice’. ‘Solution 5: From unassigned to owned and supported responsibility’ and ‘Solution 6: From not embedded to embedded in practice’ introduce pathways to tackle these issues – not least including this very scorecard as a tool for analysis and action. | ||||
