Here is a list of actions that you can ask your contractors and/or suppliers to carry out.

A socially responsible company should look at environmental and social issues that reach beyond the company itself, and make sure that parties providing them with products and services are also socially responsible. In short, you can outsource your operations, but not your responsibilities.

Here are some suggestions for requirements you could impose on your contractors and suppliers to ensure that, when providing your company with products and services, their actions are not harmful to the environment:

Ask your contractors and suppliers to provide you with the following:

Information about discharge licenses, waste producers/disposal licenses, noise permits - check the validity, scope (eg types of waste covered) and the discharge limits Monitoring records, especially of legally regulated pollution parameters Waste generation, reduction, and disposal records - also ask for supporting evidence of waste disposal according to legal requirements (eg trip tickets for chemical waste) Details of environmental prosecutions, warnings, etc received previously Chemical content of materials and components used. If you are a manufacturer or exporter, check if the supplies contain toxic substances such as brominated flame retardants, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (eg PCBs), and banned azodyes - these substances are already or will soon be banned in most export markets Eco-friendliness of materials used (eg make sure detergents used by the cleansing contractors are biodegradable) Potential hazards in materials used or supplied (eg high levels of volatile organic compounds, harmful effects from chronic or acute exposure) Material safety data sheets (MSDS) of chemicals used or supplied (eg lubricants)

Encourage them to develop the following management practices, and provide evidence where appropriate:

Take back packaging materials such as boxes, pallets, empty containers Use or provide eco-friendly alternatives (eg biodegradable detergents for cleansing contractors, lead-free solder for suppliers of electronic components) Develop environmental practice guidelines and provide regular training for their employees. Carry out regular site inspections or environmental audits. Develop environmental improvement programmes - give them deadlines and insist that they report on the progress Develop environmental performance requirements for their own contractors and suppliers.