We at London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC) are very pleased this week to be following the example set by our colleagues at the University of Edinburgh by becoming a founder member of Electronics Watch.
Some might wonder why LUPC's board has taken this step, to commit time, effort and money to a cause like this during a time of austerity when our members – London's universities and colleges – are feeling the pinch.
Well, we believe that procurement can be a very compelling instrument of social change. We want to get the very best value for money for our members, not just in IT but in the whole range of commodities and services.
We know our own power and we know how to wield it to good effect. But it also means that we can use that power to further our members' values, values that we all share.
Take three important facts:
• Firstly, LUPC members care about responsible supply chains. We are all not-for-profit organisations – higher and further education, research and other institutions in the arts, sciences and cultural sectors. We believe in having a socially responsible attitude to the way we do business – our environmental and socio-economic footprint.
• Secondly, LUPC leads the £100m pa national framework agreement for desktop PCs and notebooks, the largest in the UK higher education sector. We are best practice leaders in the whole-life costing and environmental performance of the technology we buy.
• Thirdly, we needed to do something about conditions for workers manufacturing electronic goods in low-cost countries.
At our successful one-day conference on 1 April, ENT surgeon and procurement campaigner Mahmood Bhutta of BMA Fair Medical Trade gave an impassioned, inspirational speech about the responsibility we all have toward people throughout the world who manufacture and supply the goods we consume. After that, our board felt that it was simply down to us to make the next move.
The result? LUPC is proud to become one of 25 founder members of Electronics Watch, the part EU-funded campaign to press the IT multinationals to improve conditions for workers in their supply chains.
We will add our voice to the call to end the abuse of people manufacturing electronics in low-cost countries. And Electronics Watch will show us how we can improve our own practice even further to maximise the impact of our purchasing power.
We hope that our members will follow our lead by supporting and contributing to Electronics Watch's work, monitoring and auditing our supply chains in low-cost countries and calling the major IT multinationals to account.
As a sector, we have the power and influence to make a real difference to people's lives and help put a stop to the abuse, and now, through Electronics Watch, we have the means to make it happen.
Andy Davies is director of LUPC.
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