Suppliers & shoring
Suppliers, offshore & nearshore
The supplier and shoring area focuses on the choice of suppliers and the choice around offshoring and nearshoring, focusing on outsourced teams which in the IT sphere sometimes comprise a large part of an IT organization and come with their own profits and challenges. Even in this area, the question of sustainability becomes important as the decision to take one supplier over another or to have offshored or nearshored teams affects what is required of a company's IT system, culture, policies and that a company's total environmental impact can change greatly depending on which country the supplier is located.
Through cooperation with suppliers, organizations can drive the change towards more sustainable IT management that minimizes the negative environmental aspects and enables digitalization to create positive changes. The more organizations place the same demands on their suppliers, the greater the impact and the faster we can achieve climate goals.
Questions to ask
Do you utilize near- or offshored teams?
Do you place demands on your suppliers' sustainability work and energy consumption?
Is sustainability a factor when you decide where the near/offshore team is located?
Code of conduct - the basis for setting requirements
One way to work with setting requirements for suppliers is to add to the existing Code of Conduct to further show the importance of sustainable IT. An example of the Code of Conduct can be downloaded here beside you. The example can serve as an inspiration for additions and is divided into different sustainability areas linked to IT.
Technology sustainability index: framework for evaluating suppliers
TSI is a framework that supports organizations in integrating sustainability assessments into procurement processes. The framework contains questions in four different areas: Hardware, Software, Cloud Services and Consulting Services. Based on the answers to these questions, the suppliers get a score that can be used as a qualifying factor when evaluating different suppliers in RFP processes (Request for Proposal). The more companies that evaluate suppliers based on these criteria, the bigger impact can be made to combat climate change!
Are you curious about the TSi concept? In the LinkedIn group TSi, you can ask your questions, discuss, and get wise inputs from others. You can find the group here.
This is how Bjäre Kraft makes a difference by setting requirements for its suppliers.
Bjäre Kraft is an energy and communications company in northwestern Skåne with the mission to provide society with electricity and urban networks through fiber connections. Johan Thell has been the chief technology and development officer at Bjäre Kraft for 6 years. A few years ago, Johan started to become aware of the climate footprint that hardware, components, and other infrastructure-critical components generate, in both production and transport across "half the globe". It became the starting point for a new direction for Bjäre Kraft regarding collaboration with suppliers and purchasing of products.
"Today, we want products to last long, affect the climate as little as possible and promote fair working conditions, but at the same time be as cheap as possible. Who are we trying to fool?"
Three tips from Johan to set better requirements when procuring:
- Start by making a joint decision in the management team to start placing demands on suppliers.
- Start simple! It might be enough with one supplier in the beginning, and then expand gradually.
- Find ways to start measuring and following up. Take a little at a time. You will learn along the way and based on the insights you gain, you will be able to develop your requirements gradually.
Articles & reports on communication
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