Selected Public Sector References
Public procurement structures and service portfolios vary greatly from one country to another. This has a direct bearing on prevailing sustainability risks. Common challenges relate to cyber security and business continuity of critical infrastructure and the prevention of corruption. Importantly, more and more jurisdictions are raising the bar on sustainability compliance in public procurement.
IntegrityNext helps you manage the key sustainability risks and opportunities in your supply chain with minimal effort. Our solutions cover the topics most material to your industry and allow you to meet due diligence requirements and boost your sustainability performance:
Risks and Opportunities
The public sector can be highly diverse spanning activities from transport to healthcare, energy and water, military and defence, education and others. Supply chain sustainability risks are therefore equally varied, but some common challenges affect most actors. Many of the described services are considered to be part of a country’s critical infrastructure. As the public sector forges ahead with the digitalisation and streamlining of its systems and processes, it increasingly relies on a wide range of IT suppliers and services providers. As a result, data protection, cyber security and business continuity are gaining in importance and need to be addressed accordingly.
Given the financial interests at stake, transaction volumes and close interactions with the private sector, public procurement is highly susceptible to corruption, fraud, collusion and anti-competitive behaviour. Stringent due diligence requirements along the supply chain are thus vital. The same applies to sanctions compliance. The sheer magnitude of purchases made by public sector organisations also warrants compliance with internationally accepted human and labour rights, stipulations on conflict minerals and the use of hazardous substances in products.
Besides, public procurement should be guided by clear policies on decarbonisation, environmental protection and the circular economy, in accordance with state-level provisions and targets. Emission abatement efforts relating to raw material and commodity sourcing, energy generation and consumption are a key priority in that regard.
The public sector commonly strives to enhance the public good and consequently lends itself well to the promotion of sustainable development. This potential is reflected in SDG 12, among other things. Given that public procurement often contributes significantly to GDP, it is well-placed to foster the achievement of sustainability policy goals via green, circular and socially responsible procurement . By driving (eco-)innovation in the private sector and bolstering sustainable consumption and production patterns it can create vital spillover effects for the economy at large.
For more details on sector-specific risks please consult the respective industry profiles.
How IntegrityNext
can help
IntegrityNext provides a platform for comprehensive ESG supply chain risk management that allows you to meet due diligence requirements and improve your sustainability performance:
- Carry out a carbon footprint assessment and benefit from enhanced visibility into your suppliers’ emissions data, reduction efforts and targets.
- Analyse the most relevant environmental, social and governance risks as part of a five-step risk management process.
It includes an abstract country and industry risk analysis to deliver initial insights into your supply chain’s risk exposure. Based on more detailed pre-built assessments, which draw on authoritative international standards and conventions, you can monitor your suppliers with respect to the main ESG risks:
We help you identify suppliers with the most severe impacts so that you can develop a coherent strategy and target your preventive and remedial measures accordingly. The results gleaned from the assessments are synthesised in a GRI-certified report that can be readily used for your disclosures.
Kantonsspital Winterthur
New standards in public healthcare for supply chain sustainability
"At Kantonsspital Winterthur we’re driven by the medical requirements from our medical departments which we can only meet with high standards in quality and safety. IntegrityNext helps us to influence our choice of suppliers.”
Objective
Operating in the healthcare sector,
Kantonsspital Winterthur is led by longstanding values and high standards in terms of quality, traceability, sustainability and equal treatment. Quality is a key criteria when purchasing goods such as medical supplies.
The company was looking for a solution with which they could implement an automated supplier assessment process on the relevant ESG topics and embedd a responsible sourcing culture that takes industry standards and sustainability criteria into account.
How IntegrityNext helps
IntegrityNext enables KSW to monitor 100% of its direct spend regarding all relevant sustainability standards and quality aspects. As a next step, the company plans to integrate the IntegrityNext data directly into its P2P system to make sustainability criteria a natural part of the sourcing process.
KSW also uses the IntegrityNext platform to automatically control the actuality of the certificates of its medical devices.