At the end of May, I was in sunny Switzerland for a supply chain conference and workshop in Solothurn, with a focus on sustainable public procurement. About 80 participants came to the conference and the panels and workshops provided a great platform for detailed discussions around particular topics. I participated in a workshop on current practices and ideas around sustainable computer procurement.

I presented HP’s social and environmental supply chain programme, illustrating how our supply chain practices are embedded in our Global Citizenship policies. HP’s supplier engagement, the code of conduct (EICC), audit practices, continuous improvement and capability building examples rounded up the presentation. You will find the latest information about our supply chain practices in our Global Citizenship Report.

In his podcast Jay Celorie describes our transparency regarding environmental standards in the supply chain and you will also find a quick overview of our supply chain practices in our case study.

The workshop discussions confirmed a need for guidelines on sustainable procurement for public organisations and many of the participants wished to have a simple tool (such as labels for example) which would allow them to clearly indicate whether a product is produced under social and environmentally responsible conditions or not.

Public sustainable procurement is definitively in the horizon. Initiatives of some European countries and the European Commission, as well examples from Swiss cities discussed during the workshop, clearly indicate that it is only a question of time until the public will buy only sustainable products and services. 

Karl Daumueller, Lead Auditor & Program Manager