Two and a half billion people use smartphones daily. Did you know that smartphones are connected to conflicts and violence because of minerals such as tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold? These minerals are often called conflict minerals since they are mined in conflict-affected areas where human rights abuses are common.
2.5 billion people are smartphone users today. Still, smartphones are lagging behind computers in terms of sustainability. Why, and how can this be addressed? Join us on March 21 for a learning webinar where we’ll discuss the current status of sustainability for smartphones. We will cover social and environmental sustainability issues throughout the product life cycle.
Listen to our first webinar of the year where we discussed our supply chain responsibility findings from 2017 and what they mean for you as an IT purchaser.
At the City of Vetlanda, Sweden, environmental, social and ethical criteria are an important part of our purchasing program. These priorities are reflected in our current purchasing policies. In our latest Chromebook tender, we decided to use TCO Certified to bridge the gap between our limited resources as a public entity and the expertise required to set relevant criteria and verify IT product compliance.
For many years, we’ve been purchasing TCO Certified monitors. And now, we’ve decided that other IT equipment we purchase, such as computers, should also be certified.
On Tuesday, May 9 the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council presented TCO Development with an Outstanding Case Study Award. The case study outlined achievements in improved social responsibility in the IT manufacturing supply chain where certified products are made, making it easier for IT purchasers to make more sustainable choices.
On February 28 we released our 2016 progress report on environmental and social responsibility in the IT industry. Watch our webinar and learn more.
The report, Impacts and Insights, measures the most recent effects of the latest generation TCO Certified. The criteria focus on increased brand owner responsibility for supply chain working conditions and conflict minerals initiatives along with a new approach to identifying safer flame retardant chemicals. The current generation of TCO Certified, launched in November 2015, places greater overall responsibility for product and factory compliance on brand owners.
In the fifth installment of our 2016 Sustainable IT webinar series, we make a deep dive into circular economy and IT-products with Annachiara Torciano and Louise Koch. We take a closer look at the current state of circular economy policy approaches, and what it means for the development of more sustainable IT products.
In the fourth webinar of our 2016 Sustainable IT series, we welcomed Christina Macken, Director of Programs for the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council in the USA, who provided a preview of their upcoming Guidance for Leadership in Sustainable Purchasing – IT Hardware – version 2.0.