Vol.:(0123456789) Environment, Development and Sustainability https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00750-w 1 3 Policy framework for implementation of sustainable procurement practices in healthcare industry Salik Uddin Ahmed 1  · Amjad Ali 2  · Abdul Hameed Memon 1  · Ahmad Hussain 3 Received: 20 August 2019 / Accepted: 22 April 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020 Abstract Adaptation of sustainable development practices in developing countries has faced many challenges and barriers due to the lack of policy structure. In Pakistan, sustainable develop- ment and specifically procurement practices have continued on the same trend prior to the Paris Agreement. This research study examines policy areas that need enhancement for the implementation of sustainable procurement practices in Pakistan’s healthcare industry. The data have been collected from two hospitals and have been analyzed quantitatively with the help of SPSS 22.0. The following factors are investigated to gain a better understanding of underlying issues: the price of equipment, country of origin, international standard compli- ance (energy, environment, safety and quality standards), actual procurement decision and the most efficient equipment. The Spearman and Chi-square tests are run, and the findings are then utilized to formulate a policy framework. Statistical analysis revealed that price and standard compliance are positively correlated, while the association between country of origin and most efficient equipment using Chi-square test could not be proven. Based on this evaluation, a comprehensive policy framework is proposed covering government and institutional policies, senior management role in terms of commitment toward the imple- mentation of sustainable procurement practices, and introduction of rules incorporating in- depth evaluation of energy, environment, safety and quality standards of all quoted equip- ment during the procurement process. Such a policy blueprint will assist policymakers and sustainable development planners in the implementation of sustainable processes across various industries. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s1066 8-020-00750-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Amjad Ali amjad.ali@kfupm.edu.sa 1 Faculty of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Hamdard University, Karachi 74600, Pakistan 2 Centre of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy (Core-RE), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia 3 Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC), Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Karachi 75600, Pakistan