May 12, 2008

Westpac Demands Sustainability From Suppliers

Australian banking company Westpac will ask more than 10,000 of its suppliers to meet its new Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) code of conduct, which requires all suppliers to show they meet a set of minimum standards of regulatory compliance and responsible business practice, QBR reports.

Suppliers who cannot or will not meet these standards will be removed from the supply chain, Westpac said.

Other measures the company has introduced targeted at high-impact components of its supply chain, include:

• New purchasing standards for IT hardware, to ensure the environmental performance of Westpac’s laptops and PCs purchased in future will be Energy Star rated 4.0;
• A reduction of carbon emissions of Westpac’s car fleet with vehicles that emit less CO2 and air pollution than previous fleet choices, and extending the life of the company’s branded VW Beetles;
• A paper purchasing policy to ensure the paper Westpac purchases comes from sustainably managed forests; and
• The introduction of fair trade coffee as an option for all Westpac offices and branches.

Westpac Banking was on Corporate Knights’ and Innovest Strategic Value Advisors’ fourth annual list of the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.

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