We promote labour standards and environmental protection deep into our supply chain.

We spent nearly £3.8 billion buying the products and services we needed in 2007.

Our aim is to award business solely on merit and without favouritism, and we seek the best overall value for money from our suppliers. Our ethical and environmental standards are integral to our strategic sourcing process.

We continued to explore the impact of our business via our supply chain. This is a vital area for us. Unacceptable or unlawful practices in our supply chain can rapidly and adversely affect our brand and reputation.

We look to be assured that at no point in our supply chain any supplier contravenes our:

• Labour standards.
• Health and safety standards.
• Business ethics.
• Environmental practices.

Our approach includes:

• Implementing our ethical and environmental procurement policies,  which includes gaining commitment from suppliers to our Business Principles.
• Carrying out ethical audits with suppliers in higher risk purchasing categories.
• Developing joint initiatives with other ICT companies through the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI).
• Encouraging suppliers to spread best practice to companies they contract with.

  We cannot hope to assess all of our 7,000+ suppliers so we conduct enquiries based on ‘risk’ potential. We use self-assessment questionnaires in the first instance and then conduct on-site audits where necessary. If appropriate, we require suppliers to take corrective actions.