Public sector bodies, such as local councils and universities, are major buyers of a wide range of product groups. They can use their role as buyer to increase the demand for sustainable products. The Dutch government, for example, has expressed the ambition to purchase 100% of its products and services sustainably. If this is applied properly, it can provide a huge stimulus for a cleaner and fairer method of production.
SOMO is active in the sustainable purchasing working group of the MVO Platform, and is a participant in the Procure IT Fair project. This project focuses on the sustainable purchasing of computers by local councils and universities throughout Europe. SOMO produces manuals for sustainable purchasing, monitors the major computer brands and organises workshops and meetings.
Sustainable Procurement News
13-04-2012
Three large cities in the Netherlands are now participating in the Sustainable Squares Project. In developing plans for a public square, the choice is made to procure products and materials which have been produced sustainably, wherever possible. In the East district of Amsterdam, the Sustainable Squares Project has been actively involved in the refurbishment of the Beukenplein from the beginning. ‘This is a way to raise awareness regarding the environmental and social issues that play a part in the production of stones and street furniture, not only among council employees and project developers, but also among civilians and users of public spaces,’ says Liesbeth Unger of Human Rights@Work, who is the project leader of the Sustainable Squares Project.
24-01-2012
Despite earlier promises, electricity companies continue to withhold important information about the origin of the coal they use. As a result, it is likely that coal imported into the Netherlands comes from mines where abuses of human rights and the environment are taking place. This is one of the conclusions of The Black Box: Obscurity and Transparency in the Dutch Coal Supply Chain, a report published today by SOMO in collaboration with Greenpeace. SOMO and Greenpeace call on the electricity companies to be transparent about the coal supply chain and guarantee consumers that no coal is used from mines where human rights and the environment are threatened.
24-12-2010
In the context of the Procure IT Fair project, SOMO collected information on public institutions and other organisations in Europe that actively engage in the sustainable public procurement of IT hardware. Examples of procurement of IT hardware are presented that take into account social considerations, such as adherence to the ILO Core Conventions for the benefit of public purchasers, policy makers and other interested parties. These examples illustrate what is possible within the framework of the European Procurement Directives.
