Socially responsible business is not an empty slogan for Indaver and the same applies to our sustainable procurement policy. From now on we intend to highlight this to an even greater extent

We have been imposing stringent requirements in terms of safety and the environment in our procurement contracts for many years and we expect social responsibility from our suppliers.

‘Demonstrating concern for people, safety and the environment’ is one of our core values after all.
In recent years our sales staff have been receiving requests increasingly from our customers who wish to see sustainability confirmed in our procurement policy. This pressure from customers was the signal for Indaver to set out this sustainable procurement policy in more explicit terms. From now on our procurement department will be stipulating concrete requirements on socially responsible business in quotation requests for suppliers.

Some recent examples

In the quotation request for the new work clothing to be introduced in 2013 throughout the group, Indaver has stated expressly that it requires certificates in respect of child labour and clean clothes. This means that these clothes must not be made by children’s hands, in poor working conditions or for starvation wages. Suppliers must be able to prove this in their quotations.
When selecting a new company to provide maintenance of the administrative buildings Indaver asked potential suppliers to make it clear how they limit their impact on the environment by working with maintenance products that have minimal environmental impact. They must offer decent working conditions and teach Dutch to employees who need it. This is taken into account in the quarterly assessment of the cleaning company.

Commitment

In addition to this wish list for socially responsible business in the quotation request, in the longer term Indaver intends to include a separate chapter in the contract to cover this. Accordingly, suppliers will not be able to make do with a standard reply. They will be required systematically to demonstrate how they achieve this for Indaver and Indaver will also take this into account in evaluating the contract.

This commitment after all is very close to the hearts of Indaver colleagues and to mine. “Demonstrating concern for people, safety and the environment” is one of Indaver’s core values. Our socially responsible procurement policy is adding to its fulfilment.

Rob Kruitwagen
Regional Manager Indaver Belgium

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