Electronics Watch

What is credible evidence 🔎 and why does it matter for socially responsible public procurement? Cindy Berman ran an in-person taster workshop in Barcelona, Spain, yesterday as part of Electronics Watch’s #KnowledgeBuildingSeries, highlighting different types of information from suppliers, and how much to trust it. Exploring certifications, audits, self-assessments, ESG risk providers and worker voice tools, it generated a lot of good conversation and debate about what public authorities could do differently.   Thank you to Carla Canal Rosich, Barcelona City Council and all the participants who joined us to learn about our impact model and our ICT work from Marisol Bernal Corredor, and our low emission vehicle work with Rocio Paniagua. Want to know more about the Knowledge Building Series for public buyers? Have a look here: https://lnkd.in/gMkppzz7 #reponsibleprocurement #publicprocurement #supplychains #ICT #electronics #lowemissionvehicles #humanrights #workersrights #duediligence #HRDD #ESG

Trade Unions and Civil Society Organisations join forces in Asia to promote worker driven remedy! IndustriALL, UNISON, Electronics Watch and many others including BWI, EIEU, Cividep, SPA, LRF, NSI... all of us are fit for purpose to embrace new HRDD and CBA opportunities for systemic change and better conditions for workers including migrants.

Over 1500 public sector organisations from across Europe and Australia are affiliated to Electronics Watch, including city councils, central governments, universities, state purchasing agencies and public transport agencies. Learn more about them, and how they use their leverage to drive improvements for workers in their supply chains, in our "Meet the affiliates" series. In this interview from 2023, Victor Torrents Castells, Head of Contract Monitoring at the Catalan Association of Municipalities | ACM - Associació Catalana de Municipis (Spain), talks about how affiliation supports their socially responsible procurement goals, the impact it has had, and plans to take advantage of our monitoring programme for the manufacture of electric batteries to procure 🚎 electric and hybrid vehicles. Find out more and browse more affiliate profiles at https://lnkd.in/dz4HMFWP #responsibleprocurement #procurement #supplychains #workersrights #humanrights #electricvehicles #LEV #electronics #ICT #humanrightsduediligence #HRDD

💡 At LUPC, we aim to inspire a Responsible Procurement movement among our suppliers and members, across consortia, the broader public sector in the UK and globally. As we do this, we are mindful of what we can achieve on our own, as an organisation, and where it is important to collaborate and work with affiliates and partners who have specialist expertise to widen our reach. When it comes to monitoring supply chains and facilitating worker-centred remedy, we are especially appreciative of the work our affiliates Electronics Watch do globally in the Tech sector. We are pleased to extend our collaboration beyond electronics, to other sectors within UK borders, via our affiliation with Unseen UK, who run UK's Modern Slavery Helpline. #UKModernSlaveryHelpline On the Responsible Procurement page of LUPC’s website we have uploaded our Human and Labour Rights Policy, which acknowledges our responsibility to respect human rights, including avoiding infringements on the rights of others and addressing adverse human rights impacts where these might occur, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights. We have also provided a button linking to the UK Modern Slavery Helpline which includes a webform and the helpline telephone number for reporting concerns about a potential instance of modern slavery. This is a confidential and independent service operated by Unseen UK, providing advice and guidance to anyone concerned about modern slavery. More info below! 👇 https://lnkd.in/ecDSFjnz

💡 Are you interested in socially responsible public procurement and labour rights? Then join us to learn and exchange ideas at the public sessions of the Electronics Watch Annual Conference in Brussels. 👉 It brings together public buyers from Europe and Australia with Electronics Watch monitoring partners from production and mining regions, highlighting the challenges workers face, and how these can be addressed through public procurement. Taking place from 🗓 6-7 November, the event is co-hosted by the Flemish Agency for Facility Operations ( Het Facilitair Bedrijf - Vlaamse overheid) with support from the Flemish Government. The public sessions of will be held on 6 November from 9am - 1pm, followed by a 🥪 networking lunch.    The first session will delve into the evolving regulatory landscape, focusing on leveraging effective human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) through public procurement to safeguard workers' rights. The second will address accountability for business harms, featuring compelling stories from workers' rights defenders in mineral mines and electronics factories. Register here for the public sessions ➡ https://lnkd.in/dCQQDV6u Already an Electronics Watch affiliate? Log in to the intranet, check your inbox or contact the Electronics Watch team to register for the whole event. #workersrights #humanrights #publicprocurement #duediligence #HRDD #accountability #supplychains #electronics Judith Kirton-Darling, industriAll Europe, Bart Devos, Responsible Business Alliance, Nienke Berger, Hamburger Hochbahn AG, Dongfang Han, China Labour Bulletin, Lennon Ying-Da Wang, Jesús Alberto Rea Campos, Linda Szabó, Periféria Policy and Research Center

En rekke europeiske innkjøpsorganer 𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗸𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗸𝘆𝗺𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘁𝘀𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗱𝗱 𝗶 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱ø𝗿𝗸𝗷𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗸𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝘂𝘁𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗿. -Risikoer for menneskerettighetsbrudd i IKT-sektoren er systematiske og vanskelige å overvåke på grunn av den komplekse strukturen i leverandørkjedene. Derfor går nå stadig flere offentlige innkjøpsorganer sammen om å stille selskapene mer til ansvar, heter det i en felles uttalelse fra blant annet Sykehusinnkjøp HF, Oslo kommune og Statens innkjøpssenter/DFØ. Byrådene i Barcelona og København, Stockholms landsting og flere innkjøpsorganer i utdanningssektoren i Storbritannia og Nederland er også blant avsenderne. Oppropet nevner fem tiltak med mål om at bransjen tar i bruk FNs prinsipper for interngransking på menneskerettighetsfeltet (HRDD). Blant dem er: 🔹Åpne for innsikt i forsyningskjeder med høy risiko for ulovlige arbeidsforhold. 🔹Støtte ansattes egne initiativer for å avdekke, vurdere og håndtere risikoområder i produksjonsleddene. 🔹Sikre effektiv rettshjelp for ofre for menneskerettighetsbrudd, samt forhindre at arbeidstakere utsettes for gjengjeldelser.

Did you know that you could be fired without compensation if you get pregnant or married? Today, in several Asian countries, women are obliged to make a pregnancy test before getting a job! This is one of the several discussions that took place last week at the UN Forum on Business and Human rights in Bangkok. The state obligation is to protect, the company must respect…and remedy should take workers on board. Human Rights due diligence may become a game changer when legislators and suppliers do not protect women’s right to become a mother or to marry the one they love. In Bangkok, I have met many people who see HRDD as a great business opportunity unfortunately… at the service of business, of foreign investors,…. Fortunately, we were many more wonderful, committed Electronics Watch friends and colleagues from Somo, CLB, LRF, CDI, NSI, trade unionists from Cambodia, South Korea, ILO Officials, Human Rights Insitutions… and even some company leaders who believe that together we can makes things change for the better. 

Why is Electronics Watch interested in bananas? ➡ Because we are launching an Innovation Pilot 💡 to strengthen and expand our impact model, beginning with Knowledge Building webinars 💻 https://lnkd.in/gMkppzz7 on specific high-risk sectors - including bananas. 🍌 In this upcoming webinar, we are pleased to welcome Holly Woodward-Davey and Alistair Smith from Banana Link to share their insights, expertise and advice for public buyers. We will unpack the banana supply chain, exploring how the banana industry works and the rights violations banana workers face. We will also explain certifications such as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and organic, and how they operate. Bananas are the most traded and one of the most consumed fruits in the world. Public buyers spend millions in purchasing bananas for schools, hospitals, care facilities, municipalities and other facilities. But the men and women who work on banana plantations, and who pack and transport bananas, are amongst the most exploited workers in the world. Join us on 1 October to learn more. Register here ➡ https://lnkd.in/dHY8vGZE #supplychains #bananas #humanrights #workersrights #responsibleprocurement #publicprocurement #knowledgebuilding

Electronics Watch is pleased to welcome Tarragona City Council (Ajuntament de Tarragona) as a new affiliate! Tarragona City Council first became a consortium affiliate of Electronics Watch through the Catalan Association of Municipalities ( ACM - Associació Catalana de Municipis) in 2018, benefiting from framework contracts that incorporate Electronics Watch clauses. As part of a proactive commitment to ethical procurement, Tarragona has now pursued direct affiliation. This move allows the city council to leverage the full spectrum of support offered by Electronics Watch, including comprehensive Monitoring Status Reports, and bespoke one-on-one guidance. Learn more about them ➡ https://lnkd.in/dGYFuDFm #responsibleprocurement #publicprocurement #humanrights #workersrights #supplychains #electronics

Electronics Watch Annual Conference 2024: our affiliates will meet in Brussels from 6-7 November to build knowledge about the issues faced by supply chain workers, and how these can be addressed through the procurement process. Browse the full programme and speakers list below. Not registered yet? Sign up by September 30 to learn from other Electronics Watch affiliates and monitoring partners in production regions! Confirmed speakers include Anna Cavazzini MEP, Judith Kirton-Darling, IndustriALL Global Union , Bart Devos, Responsible Business Alliance, Shigeru Tanaka, PARC, Dongfang Han, China Labour Bulletin , Lennon Ying-Da Wang, SPA, Jesús Alberto Rea Campos, CISEP, Linda Szabó, Periféria Policy and Research Center, Mike Kilner, LUPC (London Universities Purchasing Consortium), Michael Van Mol, Het Facilitair Bedrijf - Vlaamse overheid, Alexander Ivanou, industriAll Europe, Karen Amber, Alyson Brett, NHS Commercial Solutions, Emil Birk, Københavns Kommune, An Dinh Ha, CDI, Pradeepan Ravi, Cividep India To register, affiliates can: 🎯 Log in to https://lnkd.in/dGx_BvVd for the registration link 📩 Check your inbox for last week's email Not an affiliate but interested in joining the public sessions? 👩🔧👨⚖️ Ask any of the Electronics Watch team or contact us at info@electronicswatch.org #publicprocurement #responsibleprocurement #HRDD #workersrights #humanrights #supplychains #electronics #mining