How AI-Driven Sustainable Procurement Enables Supply Chains
AI-driven sustainable procurement is rapidly ending the era of ESG “unknowns” in global supply chains – and that is the central premise of the webinar The End of Blind Spots: AI-Driven Sustainable Procurement Is About to Rewrite Global Supply Chains.
Hosted by Sustainability Magazine in partnership with IntegrityNext, the session brings together leading voices from Bosch, Schneider Electric and IntegrityNext to explore how AI-powered supplier intelligence can turn regulatory pressure and complexity into a strategic advantage.
Meet the speakers
Simon Jaehnig, Co-founder & President, IntegrityNext
Simon Jaehnig is a co-founder and the North American President at IntegrityNext. Simon has been in the software business for 15 years, focusing on strategic purchasing, supply chain and risk management solutions.
As an expert in procurement, supplier management and technical sales, he previously held positions at IBM and SynerTrade.
In 2016, together with Martin Berr-Sorokin and Nick Heine, he founded IntegrityNext, the leading global supply chain sustainability platform.
Kanishk Negi, Sustainable Procurement Director, Schneider Electric
Kanishk Negi is Sustainable Procurement Director at Schneider Electric, where he leads supplier initiatives on decarbonisation, human rights, resource efficiency and circularity.
With more than 20 years’ experience in sustainability strategy and execution, he has designed and led award-winning programmes, including Schneider Electric’s flagship Zero Carbon Project and its Decent Work Program, accelerating supplier engagement on climate and social impact across global value chains.
Chandan Trehan, Lead Digital Transformation: Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Bosch
Chandan Trehan is Lead Digital Transformation: Manufacturing & Supply Chain at Bosch, where he drives AI-, blockchain- and IoT-enabled innovation across global operations.
A recognised thought leader, he focuses on people-centric digitalisation, building “digital fluency” and resilient, data-driven supply chains that support sustainability goals.
With more than a decade’s experience in large-scale transformations, he links emerging technologies with circular economy strategies and pragmatic, fail-fast execution.
From blind spots to full visibility
As global supply chains fragment and regulations multiply, traditional supplier due diligence cannot keep pace with the volume, velocity and variety of ESG risk. Manual questionnaires, static spreadsheets and annual audits leave procurement teams exposed to undisclosed labour issues, environmental non-compliance and geopolitical shocks deep in tier‑2 and tier‑3 suppliers.
The webinar positions AI as a turning point: by continuously scanning disclosures, certifications, news and third‑party data, AI engines can surface emerging ESG risks in near real-time, closing visibility gaps that once felt inevitable. This shifts sustainable procurement from a reactive, check-the-box exercise to a proactive, insight-led discipline where blind spots become increasingly rare – and indefensible.
Regulatory pressure as a catalyst
Coming into 2026, sustainability and procurement leaders face a tightening net of global due diligence rules, from Europe’s CSRD and CSDDD to commodity-specific regimes like EUDR and sectoral import bans. What was once a reporting challenge is now an enforcement reality, with directors and brands on the hook for ESG failures deep in their supply base.
Rather than treating this as an administrative burden, the webinar reframes regulation as a catalyst for smarter procurement. AI-powered platforms such as IntegrityNext are presented as the connective tissue that helps organisations map their supplier universe, benchmark performance, document remediation and demonstrate to regulators – and investors – that they are in genuine control of ESG risk.
Why 2026 is a tipping point
With AI maturing, regulatory scrutiny intensifying and stakeholder expectations rising, 2026 is framed as a tipping point for sustainable procurement. Companies that move now to eliminate blind spots will be better placed to weather disruption, protect brand trust and unlock value from supplier innovation.
For laggards, the risks are clear: fragmented data, opaque tiers and a widening gap between what regulators, customers and investors expect and what procurement can evidence.
The winners in this new era will be those who treat AI-driven sustainable procurement not as a niche initiative, but as a core lever of resilience and competitiveness in global supply chains.
