A new investigative report, which includes field research in South Korea, points out at severe violations of labour rights in the electronics industry, particularly regarding health and safety issues, and freedom of association restrictions.

The edition of EcoProcura 2014 took place in Ghent, Belgium on 24-26 September organised by ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) and the City of Ghent. Procurers from different levels, policy-makers, suppliers and representatives from several organisations and initiatives gathered in Ghent to discuss and promote a number of topics related to sustainable public procurement. The event had over 350 participants, including representatives from Electronics Watch.

Coinciding with the World Day for Decent Work, a new report published by the Electronics Watch Consortium has been released. The new report examines the complex production system of the ICT sector, maps extensively its key stakeholders and producer countries, and analyses the leverage of public buyers to change the abusive labour conditions in the industry.

Electronics Watch is glad to present Björn Skorpen Claeson as its new Affiliations and Fundraising Coordinator, who will work from his base in Sweden for Electronics Watch. He brings years of experience and expertise in protecting workers rights’ around the world through socially responsible public procurement initiatives.

Electronics Watch is now recruiting dedicated Trustees to lead and guide this exciting new organisation through its first years. Nine Trustees will be selected in total. Within the composition of the Board, we are looking to achieve a diverse and vibrant mix of age, gender, ethnic and cultural background, as well as professional experience and expertise within areas of relevance to Electronics Watch.

Electronics Watch is delighted to have its first founding members - Edinburgh University, Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges and London Universities Purchasing Consortium. With these three important public bodies joining within weeks of each other, and with others across Europe currently competing to be one of the Founding Members, the campaign looks unstoppable.

On the 4th of April Electronics Watch organises a training of trainers that will equip partners to organise workshops for journalists on sustainable public procurement in their respective countries. The overall aim is to get more stories about sustainable public procurement in the media.

The Mobile World Congress, the world's greatest mobile event, has recently been celebrated in Barcelona (Spain) and it has focused on showing innovations in the electronics industry. Given the clear interest and motivation of the Government of Catalonia and Barcelona City Council - co-hosts of the congress - in the area of socially responsible procurement, Electronics Watch would be delighted to see, in future editions, spaces for discussion around the huge impact of the electronics industry on people and the environment.

The revision procedure initiated three years ago has finally come to a conclusion. The new public procurement Directives approved recently by the European Parliament should allow public authorities across Europe to spend taxpayer's money more responsibly.

On Thursday 14 November, the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam was the setting for the first international Electronics Watch conference, hosted by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO). It brought together nearly thirty participants from over ten different countries to discuss socially responsible public procurement of ICT hardware.