Suppliers, offshore and nearshore – how do you keep track of your climate impact?
The supplier and offshoring area focuses on the selection of vendors and the decision-making process regarding offshore and nearshore outsourcing, specifically within the IT sector. These outsourced teams often constitute a significant portion of an IT organization and come with their own benefits and challenges. Sustainability concerns become crucial within this domain as the decision to choose one vendor over another or to have offshore or nearshore teams impacts the requirements of a company's IT system, culture, policies, and overall environmental footprint, which can vary significantly based on the location of the vendor.
Through collaboration with suppliers, organizations can drive the transition towards more sustainable IT management that minimizes negative environmental impacts and enables digitalization to create positive changes. The more organizations that demand the same requirements from their suppliers, the greater the impact and the faster we can achieve climate goals.
Good questions to ask oneself
- Do you have offshore or nearshore teams?
- Do you have requirements for suppliers' sustainability efforts and energy usage?
- Is sustainability a factor when you decide on the location of you nearshore or offshore team?
Code of Conduct - The foundation for setting requirements
One approach to working with supplier requirements is to make additions to an existing Code of Conduct to further emphasize the importance of sustainable IT. You can download an example of a Code of Conduct here. This example can serve as inspiration for additions and is divided into different sustainability areas related to IT.
Technology sustainability index: framework for evaluating vendors
TSI is a framework that supports organizations in integrating sustainability assessments into procurement processes, specifically Request for Proposal (RFP). The framework includes questions in four different areas: Hardware, Software, Cloud Services, and Consulting Services. Based on the responses to these questions, suppliers are assigned a score that can be used as a qualification factor in evaluating different suppliers in RFP processes. The more companies that evaluate suppliers based on these criteria, the greater impact can be made in combating climate change!
Are you curious about the TSi concept? In the LinkedIn group TSi, you can ask your questions, engage in discussions, and gain valuable insights from others. You can find the group here.
Artiklar & rapporter om leverantörer & shoring
Supplier sustainability: A comprehensive review and future research directions
Vetenskaplig artikel
Patil, V., Tan, T., Rispens, S., Dabadghao, S., & Demerouti, E. (2022).
A More Sustainable Supply Chain
Artikel
Villena, V. H., & Gioia, D. A. (2020). Harvard Business Review
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