Sustainability of ICT hardware procurement in Switzerland -- A status-quo analysis of the public procurement sector
Tobias Welz, Matthias Stuermer

TL;DR
This study analyzes the current state of sustainable ICT hardware procurement in Switzerland's public sector, identifying barriers and benchmarking practices against international standards to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
Contribution
It provides a detailed case study on Swiss public ICT procurement, highlighting barriers and benchmarking sustainability criteria against international standards.
Findings
Few tenders include sustainability criteria.
Barriers include lack of clear definitions and market intelligence.
Current practices are below international benchmarks.
Abstract
Sustainable procurement requires organizations to align their purchasing behavior with regard to broader goals linked to resource efficiency, climate change, social responsibility and other sustainability criteria. The level of sustainability in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hardware procurement is analyzed for two reasons: First, ICT hardware belongs to the six key product groups in sustainable procurement. Second, ICT in general is expected to be an important enabler for low-carbon economies, providing solutions to reduce Green-House Gas (GHG) emissions. While the advantages of sustainable procurement are obvious, certain barriers hinder the adoption in day-to-day procurement. This case study on ICT hardware discusses the three important barriers "lack of clear definitions per product group", "missing market intelligence about sustainable products" and "inflexible…
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Taxonomy
TopicsPublic Procurement and Policy · Sustainable Supply Chain Management · Recycling and Waste Management Techniques
