Nottingham Trent University is one of the most sustainable universities in the UK, having ranked in the top 5 in People & Planet's University League in 2015. It is now adding to its reputation by becoming a founding member of Electronics Watch.

Sant Boi City Council has been involved with the Electronics Watch project since 2014, as an active member of the Advisory Group that supported the creation of the foundation. They join other two other catalan institutions, the City of Barcelona and the University of Barcelona, which also have formally affiliated to Electronics Watch in 2016.

Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen has this week become the first Dutch institution of higher education to affiliate to Electronics Watch. In 2011, Hanze was the first Fairtrade certified university in the Netherlands, and presents itself as a socially responsible educational institution, with a heart for sustainability.

Pauline Overeem of SOMO, and member of the Electronics Watch Board of Trustees, said: "It is wonderful that Hanze University of Applied Sciences has taken this step. More educational institutions and other organisations in the Netherlands should now follow this good example. The public sector has considerable purchasing power which they can apply to protect workers' rights in their supply chains Each new affiliate will enable Electronics Watch to more effectively exert influence on the market and work towards sustainable improvements of working conditions in the workplace."

With a growing number of affiliates sharing information about their supply chains and including the Electronics Watch clauses in their contracts with suppliers of electronics devices, the potential for improving working conditions in the industry grows.

If you are a public sector buyer, affiliate to Electronics Watch and help protect the rights of electronics workers around the world.