26. September 2007 by admin.

SDCExec.com - Article - Socially Responsible Sourcing
Socially Responsible Sourcing
TradeCard partners with Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production to identify socially compliant manufacturers, promote code of ethical conduct
By Editorial Staff

New York — TradeCard Inc., a provider of extended supply chain solutions, has partnered with Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the certification of lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing throughout the world, to promote social responsibility on TradeCard’s network of 3,000 global trading partners.

Factory certification data from WRAP will be available on the TradeCard Platform to enable buyers to check ethical compliance statuses and social track records prior to transacting with a factory.

WRAP works with retailers, buyers and interested stakeholders to enforce a Universal Code of Ethical Conduct that takes into account factories’ compliance with labor laws and workplace conditions.

“TradeCard is excited to be making a positive impact on the enforcement of lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing practices,” said Kurt Cavano, CEO of TradeCard Inc. “Socially compliant manufacturing is a priority for consumers, brands and retailers worldwide, and TradeCard is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards for humane and ethical production on the TradeCard Platform. Thousands of TradeCard users that transact on the Platform each day will have the ability to make a difference by confirming WRAP certification.”

TradeCard works with clients that range from $10 million to over $20 billion in revenue to eliminate waste and delay from the sourcing process. Financial services available on the TradeCard Platform are designed to help companies of all sizes to improve margin and cash flow.

WRAP operates worldwide in 70 countries. A list of factories certified by WRAP is published on the organization’s Web site

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25. September 2007 by admin.

Novo Nordisk Ranks Supersector Leader in the 2007 Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes
Novo Nordisk Ranks Supersector Leader in the 2007 Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Novo Nordisk, a
world leader in diabetes care, announced that effective today, the company
is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) as
best-in-class in the healthcare industry — one of 18 global supersectors
analyzed.
The latest global analysis of corporate sustainability leadership was
based on a thorough analysis of companies’ economic, environmental and
social performance, assessing issues including corporate governance, risk
management, branding, climate change, supply chain standards and labor
practices.
The report concludes “Novo Nordisk is the leading company in terms of
sustainability in the pharmaceutical industry. Sustainability is an
integral part of its corporate strategy and business organization.”
The report continues, “Novo Nordisk is particularly strong in the
social dimension where it achieved the industry top ratings in human
capital development, corporate citizenship/philanthropy, and social
reporting.” The company’s responsible sourcing, environmental management,
bioethics and climate strategy also achieve high scores.
“This honor provides us further encouragement for operating our
business according to our Triple Bottom Line philosophy — a company that
can be economically vital, as well as socially and environmentally
responsible,” said Martin Soeters, president, Novo Nordisk in the United
States.
“Our passion for changing diabetes is supported by an understanding
that sustainability in business is not just possible but necessary. By
putting the patient at the center of all we do — from providing the best
therapies to patients and advocating our employees’ volunteerism with
patient groups and at diabetes camps to our environmental stewardship
through water conservation efforts and our climate change strategy — we
strive to be successful and responsible.”
The indexes, which currently comprise USD$5.6 billion assets under
management, are used as a tool by asset managers in 15 countries to guide
their investment decisions.
Novo Nordisk has been a component of the Dow Jones Sustainability
Indexes every year since the launch in 1999.
About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company with an 84-year history of
innovation and achievement in diabetes care. The company has the broadest
diabetes product portfolio in the industry, including the most advanced
products within the area of insulin delivery systems. In addition to
diabetes care, Novo Nordisk has a leading position within areas such as
hemostasis management, growth hormone therapy, and hormone therapy for
women. Novo Nordisk’s business is driven by the Triple Bottom Line: a
commitment to economic success, environmental soundness, and social
responsibility to employees and customers. With headquarters in Denmark,
Novo Nordisk employs more than 25,000 employees in 79 countries, and
markets its products in 179 countries. Novo Nordisk’s B shares are listed
on the stock exchanges in Copenhagen and London. Its ADRs are listed on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘NVO’. For global information,
visit novonordisk.com; for United States information, visit
novonordisk-us.com.

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25. September 2007 by admin.

Sustainability tops retail agenda - Talking Retail
Sustainability tops retail agenda

Green issues, “multi-channel” retailing and changing consumer demands will top the agenda at next year’s World Retail Congress in Barcelona.

The topics were decided upon after a meeting of the congress advisory board in Paris.

The board includes Greg Sage, international corporate affairs director for Tesco, David Shriver, strategic advisor at Carrefour, and B&Q chief executive Ian Cheshire.

During the meeting, much emphasis was placed on the importance of the sustainability debate, especially energy policies, ethical sourcing and sustainable materials.

This will now form a key theme of the congress.

The advisory board recommended that the congress seeks to identify a number of “sustainability pledges” during the debate, which would be endorsed by delegates and so form a set of global benchmarks for best practice.

Said Cheshire: “Sustainability has become a serious business issue for retailers because the consumer has come to place far greater value on it than ever before.”

Multi-channel retailing - selling through the web, catalogues, and call centres as well as stores - had also grown in importance over the last year, the advisory board decided.

Next year’s World Retail Congress takes place from 9-11 April 2008.

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17. September 2007 by admin.

GreenBiz News | Businesses Embracing Green Procurement, Survey Finds
Businesses Embracing Green Procurement, Survey Finds
Source: GreenBiz.com

According to a new survey from EyeForProcurement, more than 50 percent of companies have policies on greening their supply chain, and companies are nearly unanimous in their belief that green supply chains will only continue growing.

The survey asked 188 procurement professionals — primarily in the United States, Europe and Asia — about their companies’ practices, policies and plans for reducing the environmental impact of the materials used in their work.

The two most heavily represented sectors in the survey were the transportation/logistics fields and the high-tech industry. The retail and apparel sectors were minimally represented, which suggests to the study’s authors that going green is not a high priority for businesses in that field.

The vast majority of products that companies are sourcing sustainably are packaging materials and the raw materials used in manufacturing, with 29 percent and 24 percent of respondents purchasing those materials from sustainable sources.

Two-thirds of the professionals in the survey said that they are practicing green procurement to support their companies’ environmental or sustainability strategies, while 49 percent also said they’re responding to customers’ interest in eco-friendly products and services.

Although companies are increasingly aware of the benefits and importance of green procurement, most of them are only acquiring a small portion of their materials in that way. Only 13 percent of respondents are sourcing half or more of their products and services sustainably, while 55 percent said they source less than 10 percent of green goods.

“The procurement industry appears to be divided on the issue of the cost of implementing green purchasing practices,” the survey notes, with just over half (51 percent) ready to pay a premium for eco-friendly products, and the remaining 49 percent seeing additional costs as an obstacle to sustainable procurement.

Regardless of the obstacles to greening the supply chain, companies agree that it is not a passing trend. Ninety-eight percent of the companies responding to the survey said that green purchasing will continue to expand, and the report notes that customers from all sectors and all countries are increasingly demanding eco-friendly products and services.

The survey was conducted by EyeForProcurement.com, which will be hosting the 2007 Green Purchasing Summit this November in Miami, Florida. More information about the survey and the conference are available at http://www.eyeforprocurement.com/green/

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14. September 2007 by admin.

SDCExec.com - Article - Greening your Supply Chain
Greening your Supply Chain
10 things you can do today to prepare for business in a new environment

By Kris Colby and David Fertal

The green sourcing wave has begun to roll. An increasing number of companies are beginning to catch on and ride this wave in an effort to proactively manage a new era of customer needs, regulations and competitive realities that will ultimately impact their business.

Far from a fad or feel-good initiative, green sourcing is fast emerging as a strategic business imperative. Companies that want to get ahead of the curve and stay there need to begin thinking green now and develop an approach to sourcing and supply chain management that factors this new reality into their plans. It sounds daunting, but with a few simple steps procurement organizations can jumpstart their efforts and get on the path to success:

1. Know where you stand: Understanding your organization’s spend, supply chain and consumption patterns is naturally the first step because you can’t affect what you can’t see. Whether this is a detailed carbon footprint study or an assessment of your organization’s “green” status, you need to know how your supply chain is positioned for the changes on the horizon.

2. Have a plan: Once you understand where you stand, create a set of goals and, even more important, metrics that can be used to track progress.

3. Have a single point of accountability: Many organizations have appointed “chief sustainability officers” to oversee their green efforts. The applicability of this specific position will depend on your organization and industry, but the key is to have a single point of accountability empowered to effect change.

4. Market your progress internally and externally: Half the battle is getting the word out and getting people on board. Be sure to communicate to all levels why green efforts are being undertaken (Goals), what will be measured (Metrics) and how the company is going to get there (Plan).

5. Incorporate “green” into your existing sourcing and procurement processes: Sourcing and procurement have always been about more than just price. Factoring green priorities into your existing processes is a natural extension of the non-price process and an effective way to drive green goals. Be sure to include green criteria in your requests for proposals (RFPs) and create clear metrics for measuring them as part of supplier performance management.

6. Communicate your goals and standards to your supplier community: By setting clear expectations of your supply base during the sourcing process and proactively monitoring compliance/progress, you can quickly improve your sustainability performance. Outline what suppliers will be expected to provide and how they will be measured to ensure that they are delivering and putting in place the processes and procedures to drive compliance.

7. Stay up-to-date with global regulations: Environmental regulations such as the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive in the European Union will increasingly affect how your supply chain functions regardless of your location. You need a method for keeping up with changes in this rapidly evolving area to avoid costly mistakes in your supply chain.

8. Keep up with new materials, technologies and processes: Significant work is being done to develop new approaches that can cost-effectively address the challenges and opportunities that green initiatives present. Stay up-to-date in your industry, participate in industry groups and do whatever it takes to maintain your competitive advantage and not be left behind.

9. Do the “easy stuff” first: You don’t need to overhaul your supply chain to see gains from sustainability efforts. Instead, identify “quick wins” such as simple improvements in energy efficiency that can both deliver bottom-line results and kick-start your green initiative.

10. Get everyone involved: As with any broad initiative, it is nearly impossible for just one functional area to have an impact on the entire organization through its efforts alone. To be effective, you need Engineering, Design, Sales, Finance, Operations and everyone else involved.

By acting on these 10 steps now, you can ensure that your organization will be well-positioned to limit risks and profit from the opportunities that green initiatives hold.

About the Authors: Kris Colby is a senior manager and David Fertal an engineering project manager in the Spend Management Services group at Ariba, Inc. www.ariba.com.

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14. September 2007 by admin.

Scoop: Making the public service more sustainable

NZ, Aust join to make public service more sustainable

The New Zealand and Australian governments today established the first trans-Tasman joint framework for sustainable government procurement to ensure that public sector organisations in both countries consider the environmental credentials of goods and services they buy.

Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel, as minister in charge of the New Zealand government’s procurement policy, met with her Australian counterparts in Melbourne today to launch the Australian and New Zealand Government Framework for Sustainable Procurement.

The move to work with the Australians on sustainable procurement follows the New Zealand government’s recent announcement on its own mandated environmental standards, guidelines and targets for the public service.

“New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the Australian state, territorial and federal governments through the Australian Procurement and Construction Council on this important issue. The threat of climate change has clearly demonstrated that the world must use its resources carefully. Governments in both countries are taking the lead to ensure that the purchase of goods and services by government are more sustainable,” Lianne Dalziel said.

The Framework provides a set of guiding principles and best practice examples for public sector organisations. It will encourage the sharing of experience between governments in both countries and ensure economic, environmental and social considerations are taken into account.

“The sustainability imperative means that we must emphasise the economic, environmental and social impacts of goods and services over their entire lifecycle as part of the value-for-money assessment. In addition, we drive the production of environmentally-friendly and sustainable goods and services. Sustainable procurement and innovation go hand in hand,” Lianne Dalziel said.

Participation in the joint Australia New Zealand Framework is part of New Zealand’s Sustainable Government Procurement Project, one of six government initiatives that will help lead New Zealand towards greater economic, environmental and social sustainability in its resource use and way of life.

To view the Framework, or for more information on sustainable procurement, please visit www.procurement.govt.nz.

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13. September 2007 by admin.

ARNnet - From the Top: Toshiba’s Mark Whittard - Mobile trends and green computing
Green computing is becoming a major industry concern. What is Toshiba doing to improve its carbon footprint?

MW: A lot of the government-based reports have been rightly focused on the trade-in and deployment end of the cycle. What they’re becoming more aware of, and where our focus is, is the entire lifecycle and there are five elements here. The first thing is component procurement and where materials for those come from. Toshiba is one of the few vendors that publishes strict green procurement guidelines. Additionally, we were the first to launch a fully Restriction of Hazardous Substances [RoHS] compliant computer in 2004.

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4. September 2007 by admin.

Green Procurement in Asia | Establish
Green Procurement in Asia
Supply Chain Management with Environmental Criteria
Environmentally responsible or ‘green’ procurement is the selection of products and services that minimize environmental impacts. It requires a company or organization to carry out an assessment of the environmental consequences of a product at all the various stages of its lifecycle. This means considering the costs of securing raw materials, and manufacturing, transporting, storing, handling, using and disposing of the product. (bsdglobal.com)

Companies sourcing in Asia are increasing their green procurement efforts. Green procurement activities can include:

* Focus on the environmental compliance status and practices of supplier operations.
* Joint development of new materials, processes or other solutions to environmental issues.

The methods companies use to work with their suppliers can include:

* Requiring suppliers to implement, and possibly certify, environmental management systems.
* Educating suppliers about materials use, pollution prevention, design for disassembly or other issues and tools of interest to the customer company.
* Enlisting suppliers’ help in developing new materials, parts or processes to address environmental concerns.
* Auditing suppliers’ compliance status. (Source: Green Business Network 2001)

Below are two examples of companies implementing green sourcing practices in Asia.

Fujitsu’s Green Life 21 – Making Everything Green Concept

Fujitsu’s “Green Life 21 – Making Everything Green” is the key theme for their environmental efforts in every business area, including procurement of parts and materials. “In December 2003, Fujitsu established a center known as the EMC (Ecology Management Center) in Taiwan and Hong Kong (China) specializing in RoHS compliance and using the Fujitsu Green Procurement Direction as a reference. The main role of the EMC is to ensure that suppliers’ operations promote environmental protection and procured parts are free from harmful substances and chemicals stipulated in the Fujitsu Green Procurement Direction.” (Source:http://www.fujitsu.com/)

Konica Minolta Business Technologies Implementing Green Partner Program Covering RoHS Requirements

Konica Minolta Business Technologies selects suppliers on the basis of quality, cost and delivery time, plus environment standards. Paying particular attention to the environmental aspect of procurement activities, in fiscal 2006 the company decided to launch a Green Partner program, which honors suppliers promoting Green Procurement in conformance with RoHS and other environmental regulations. They have developed a survey format, manuals and reference materials in Chinese for their Chinese suppliers and successfully initiated full-scale operations in April 2005. Operation of a verification system began in July 2005. (Source: http://konicaminolta.com/)

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4. September 2007 by admin.

Scoop: Eco-systems die while Government Fiddles.
Eco-systems die while Government Fiddles.

Press Release: Green Party
Ancient eco-systems of Pacific and SE Asia die while Govt. fiddles

New government rules aimed at helping to slow widespread devastation of ancient “paradise forests” in South East Asia and the Pacific only go part way, says Greens Co-Leader Russel Norman.

He says the Green Party welcomes the Government’s new “sustainable procurement guidelines” just released but is disappointed they will still allow government departments to purchase tropical timber products from a source that the procurement policy itself defines as unsustainable.

“The new sustainable procurement policy is welcome and makes progress in many areas,” Dr Norman says.

“However, it is absurd that the government guide to sustainable procurement endorses the Malaysian Timber Certification Council MTCC scheme as meeting all the `legal sourcing and sustainably managed requirements p.12 when the table on the very next page reveals that the MTCC scheme certifies timber that is not sustainable and only legal under certain conditions. See the pdf of the document here.

“The Government’s own report says MTCC certified timber is not sustainable and not always legal, so why does MTCC certified timber get the tick of approval for sustainable procurement?”

Dr Norman says it is important to get these government guidelines right because they may be used as a guideline for all New Zealanders trying to avoid purchases of tropical timbers such as kwila. New Zealands trade in kwila often entails human rights abuses and destruction of rare eco-systems and unique wildlife in West Papua and Papua New Guinea, where Malaysian loggers are prominent.

“The Norwegian Government banned the use of all tropical timber in their sustainable procurement policy released just two months ago because of the difficulties in ascertaining whether any tropical timber is legal and sustainable. Yet here is the New Zealand Government not only allowing the use of questionable tropical timber but actually endorsing one of the guaranteed unsustainable sources of tropical timber, MTCC certified timber.

“Malaysian logging companies have a long record of illegal and unsustainable clearing of rainforests throughout Asia and the Pacific. Many reports, including from the World Bank, have linked the Malaysian logging company Rimbunan Hijau to illegal and unsustainable logging and the human rights abuses of those indigenous people who dared to stand up against Rimbunan, including in PNG and West Papua where most of our kwila is thought to come from.

“For the New Zealand Government to endorse the sustainability of the Malaysian logging is an affront to all those people who have fought Malaysia’s rapacious loggers. The sustainable procurement policy should ban the use of all tropical timber in government projects until we have some idea that the timber is genuinely sustainable and legal, just as the Norwegian Government has done.”

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