Sustainability of ICT hardware procurement in Switzerland

Abstract

Sustainable procurement requires organizations to align their purchasing behavior with regard to broader goals linked to resource efficiency, climate change, social responsibility and other sustainability criteria. The level of sustainability in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hardware procurement is analyzed for two reasons: First, ICT hardware belongs to the six key product groups in sustainable procurement. Second, ICT in general is expected to be an important enabler for low-carbon economies, providing solutions to reduce GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions. While the advantages of sustainable procurement are obvious, certain barriers hinder the adoption in day-today procurement. This case study on ICT hardware discusses the three important barriers "lack of clear definitions per product group", "missing market intelligence about sustainable products" and "inflexible procedures and attitudes as barriers for innovative approaches" based on an in-depth analysis of sustainable procurement of ICT hardware by the public sector in Switzerland. To this end, tender data published on the national procurement platform simap.ch is screened for sustainability criteria using the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) nomenclature to identify relevant ICT projects. The results reveal to which extent such criteria as well as their determinants are currently included in public tenders. Using two different approaches, only a small number of tenders were found containing sustainability criteria of a wide range from basic to comprehensive. The overall performance of Swiss public procurement is benchmarked by comparing the identified sustainability criteria with available criteria from international key actors in sustainable procurement. Thus, this analysis provides novel insights on how public agencies today take sustainability into account when procuring ICT hardware. CCS CONCEPTS • Social and professional topics~Professional topics~Computing industry~Sustainability • Hardware~Power and energy~Impact on the environment • Information systems~Data management systems~Data structures~Data access methods~Data scans • Hardware~Power and energy~Power estimation and optimization~Enterprise level and data centers power issues • Social and professional topics~User characteristics~Geographic characteristics • Computing methodologies~Machine learning • Information systems~Data management systems~Database design and models

How life cycle–based science and practice support the transition towards a sustainable economy

“…Applying the above mentioned approach for Swiss public procurement conditions, an in-depth-analysis on ICT hardware procurement was performed (Welz and Stuermer 2020).…”

Indikator Pengadaan Barang / Jasa Berkelanjutan Pada Pembangunan Bendungan

“…Pada tahap pertama, daftar panjang ratusan indikator diidentifikasi berdasarkan tinjauan literatur (Ugwu et. al, 2006;Saparauskas dan Turkis, 2006;Sanchez dan Lopez, 2010;Sherif, 2011;Litman, 2015;Paintsil, 2015;Lawalata, 2017;Faith, 2005;Lawalata, 2019;Mosgaard, 2013;Neto, 2017;Rainville, 2016;Testa, 2015;Fuentes-Bargues, 2018;Soto, 2020, Braulio-Gonzalo, 2020Welz, 2020;Knebel, 2021). Selain itu, sebanyak 21 regulasi terkait PPB juga telah teridentifikasi.…”