Electronics Watch Welcomes New Affiliates in Sweden and UK
The Greater London Authority (GLA), a strategic regional authority in the United Kingdom, affiliated to Electronics Watch at the end of 2018. The GLA is responsible for delivering transport, policing, economic development, fire and emergency planning services, and consists of five functional bodies — Transport for London (a founding member of Electronics Watch), London Fire Commissioner, Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime and the Metropolitan Police Service, London Legacy Development Corporation and Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation. Another large consortium, "Sustainable Public Procurement," a national collaboration between the Swedish County Councils and Regions, has also affiliated.
Responsible for health care, dental care, and public transportation, since 2010 these 21 county councils have identified and prioritised eight risk areas for socially responsible public procurement, of which ICT is one. At the same time another Swedish body, SKL Kommentus, which creates framework agreements for the 'Kommuner' (cities) has affiliated. Peter Nohrstedt, sustainability manager said: "We have affiliated to Electronics Watch as we see the advantages to do joint monitoring, both from a resource- and an impact perspective along with the unique monitoring method that Electronics Watch is using."
Tim Rudin, Head of Responsible Procurement at Greater London Authority, said: "The Greater London Authority Group is very pleased to be affiliating to Electronics Watch. Transport of London is a founding member of Electronics Watch, and expanding this to include the other Functional Bodies of the GLA Group – London Fire Commissioner, Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime, London Legacy Development Corporation, and Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation – will further support us in meeting the ethical sourcing commitments within the Mayor's Responsible Procurement Policy. Electronics Watch gives us eyes and ears on the ground in electronics production regions, and capacity to verify that suppliers meet the labour rights standards in our contracts, or to proactively work with them to improve working conditions where further development is needed."
Three UK universities: University of Sheffield, Manchester Metropolitan University and University of Winchester, have also affiliated in recent months, bringing the total number of Electronics Watch affiliates to 306.
"We are delighted that more public buyers, large and small, are choosing to use Electronics Watch worker-driven monitoring to follow up on contractual requirements and verify compliance with labour standards in their electronics supply chains. Each new affiliate strengthens public buyer demand for decent working conditions and benefits workers." said Björn Claeson, Director of Electronics Watch.