These days IT procurement is more than just buying computers. Organizations are shifting to a category management approach, which means IT procurement departments now bear responsibility for the entire life cycle – from setting purchasing criteria to dealing with products at their end of life. All this can be overwhelming and leave you wondering where to start.
Adding to this complexity is how to integrate not only environmental but also IT supply chain responsibility into every purchasing decision. With ESG becoming more top of mind, you need to know that you can reduce risk and be sure that the products you buy meet a broader set of criteria, that also address working conditions in the supply chain. And of course, compliance needs to be independently verified, too!
If you’re wondering how your hardware choices can have an impact, TCO Certified helps you start out right.
Specifying TCO Certified in your procurement is a free and easy way to make sure your vendors deliver computers and other IT products that are verified to meet our tough set of environmental and supply chain sustainability criteria. For industry, achieving TCO Certified is difficult, but asking for it isn’t!
What’s different about TCO Certified and what do you get?
IT is one of the most complex product categories around – and it comes with a wide variety of environmental and supply chain risks – from hazardous material content to working conditions in the supply chain and toxic e-waste. IT product design and manufacturing simply allows for too many loopholes and shortcuts – so don’t leave this to chance. Choose a certification that includes a combination of robust criteria and a comprehensive system of independent verification.
When you specify TCO Certified in your procurement, here’s what you get:
- Products that meet a broad set of up to date sustainability criteria that cover both environmental and supply chain responsibility.
- Products that are verified to meet all criteria in the certification.
- Mandatory independent verification of the product and the supply chain working conditions where it’s manufactured. Verification is required for all certified product models.
- An ongoing system of product and factory monitoring and industry accountability connected to certified models and their supply chains.
Our free guide helps you get sustainable IT procurement right
A good place to start is by using our guide to Sustainable IT Purchasing with TCO Certified. Our guide walks you through the basics of what TCO Certified includes as well as four fundamental steps of setting up a sustainable IT procurement plan, from building your team, through criteria setting and making sure that your vendors deliver proof that the products you buy meet the criteria.
The guide will help you put a program in place that helps you reduce risk and that drives IT industry progress toward greater sustainability. It’s free to download at our website and a great way to get to know what TCO Certified is all about, what’s included and how it makes sustainable IT choices a whole lot easier.
Clare Hobby is our Americas regional lead and occasionally writes for the TCO Certified Blog. Clare is a wonderful mix of Australia, Sweden and the US. Clare is also an excellent chef and mediocre golf player.
