Holland's big companies pledge to improve sustainable sourcing

Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) from some of Holland’s biggest companies have signed a manifesto in a bid to improve sustainable sourcing.

The group of 17, which includes Heineken, Phillips and the Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM), have committed to promoting sustainability across their companies.

The group have committed to the manifesto in hope that it will spur on the market as it tries to become more sustainable as well as boost each company’s corporate social responsibility performance and set a benchmark for other to reach.

All signatories have pledged to ensure that potential bid parties and suppliers are informed that environmental and social criteria will be, “part of the decision whether or not to procure a product or service”. In addition, the firms will either conform to a pre-existing code of environmental and social practice or construct their own.

Participants also committed to challenge “suppliers to join forces in coming up with alternatives for the existing products and services” that comply with environmental and social criteria.

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