CorpComms Magazine

All suppliers to BT must now sign up to a new Climate Change procurement standard as the telecommunications giant tries to encourage energy efficiency and carbon reduction.

The procurement standard, which is one of the first of the kind in the UK, will include three minimum expectations to be undertaken by all contacted suppliers.

Going forward, suppliers should have a policy to address the challenge of climate change. They should also actively measure and report carbon, as well as other relevant greenhouse gas emissions, and have set challenging targets to reduce emissions and report on progress.

BT spends more than £12 billion every year with thousands of suppliers and believes its new procurement standard will have a huge impact, particularly as it may link the awarding of new contracts to specific targets to reduce carbon emissions.

Liz Cross, head of CSR strategy and policy for procurement at BT, said: 'This is not something that we're legally obliged to do, but we see this as key to delivering on our commitments to carbon reduction.

BT, which set its first carbon reduction target in 1992, has held a series of one-day workshops to educate suppliers, such as OgilvyOne and Pace, on ways to reduce carbon emissions.

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