From Pledges to Progress: How Procurement Will Drive Sustainability in 2026

Darshan Deshmukh, President of ProcureAbility, was recently featured in Supply Chain Game Changer™.

Who’s driving the (electric) bus on the road to net zero? Between 2020 and 2025, the boards and leaders of 1,953 global entities committed to achieving net zero emissions, amounting to a 152% increase from the end of 2020.

But, when it comes to living up to those ambitions, procurement is emerging as the primary business enabler behind the wheel. This will be no easy journey. Either procurement teams must translate public-facing sustainability goals into tangible plans with clear goals, measurements, and timelines.

And they will need to do in uncertain and ever-changing conditions, with developments such as AI’s emergence, tariffs, and increased public scrutiny of environmental objectives creating a combination of headwinds, crosswinds, and tailwinds at every turn.

To help these teams succeed, this piece explores key strategies for driving progress. It focuses on adopting circular economy principles, assessing supplier performance, increasing transparency, and leveraging AI to enhance sustainability initiatives.

Read his full article on the Supply Chain Game Changer™ website.

Darshan has extensive global operations and delivery experience in the managed services and advisory fields. He has deep expertise in building global programs focused on procurement, strategic sourcing, category management, and supply chain/procurement transformation.

Prior to joining ProcureAbility, Darshan spent most of his career building large-scale, global delivery operations. He spent a decade in a series of global leadership positions in IBM’s Integrated Supply Chain organization and then joined Denali Sourcing Services as operations leader and was instrumental in establishing and growing the company’s global delivery capability. After Denali’s acquisition integration with WNS, Darshan transitioned to tech start-ups, OpenGov and Icertis, where he built their global professional services and customer success organizations. Darshan has worked with global clients in high-tech, financial services, manufacturing, retail, utilities, and healthcare/pharma.

Darshan holds an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, a graduate degree in supply chain from Penn State, and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management. He loves international travel, movies, and everything food.

ProcureAbility, a Jabil company, is the leading provider of procurement and supply chain services, offering advisory, managed services, digital, and staffing and recruiting solutions. For 30 years, we have focused exclusively on helping clients elevate their procurement and supply chain functions.

We combine leading methodologies, analytics, market intelligence, and industry benchmarks with our uniquely flexible and customizable service delivery model. Global organizations of all sizes trust ProcureAbility to transform their procurement operations, drive growth, and reimagine what’s possible.

Let ProcureAbility help you reimagine your procurement capabilities.