BUILDINGS, MAINTENANCE & REFURBISHMENT
Quality and best value; what do we really mean? J
ohn Ruskin, nineteenth century art critic and writer said: “There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person’s lawful prey. It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little…”
We know that the lowest price alone doesn’t necessarily represent the best deal, and we should be able to gain a wider understanding of who our suppliers are and how they impact their communities and supply chains.
Comment by RICHARD AYLEN Technical Manager, Junckers Ltd
The education sector is a major procurer of buildings and services and along with other types of Government procurement is often looked upon as a leading light on matters such as choosing sustainable and ethical suppliers. It is possible to find out how our suppliers interact with their suppliers. What effect does their supply chain have upon the communities near their factories, and where their raw materials are extracted? What are working conditions like, and can you be sure there is no slavery, corruption or other abuses of human rights within the supply chain?
Drawing upon my experience of the hardwood flooring industry I know these issues are treated seriously by most of the UK’s larger construction companies, who closely examine their approved suppliers. This is largely because their own clients want to direct their capital expenditure into areas that are not socially and environmentally damaging. To qualify as an approved supplier a company may
have to provide broad-ranging information that could include details such as local community or charitable projects they have been involved with. This topic is closely linked to sustainability, but some distinctly separate areas of interest have emerged. This is perhaps embodied most fully in a Corporate Social Responsibility Report (CSR) which is essentially a document in which companies elect to publish their policies on social issues such as modern slavery, anti-corruption, employee welfare and safety. Organisations also have to opportunity to document their sustainable practices in a transparent way using standards such as ISO 14001.
I believe matters of social responsibility will become more deeply embedded in our working lives. In the longer term it may actually become harder for companies with a poor social and environmental record to achieve the lowest price because non-sustainable products and processes may become more expensive through punitive taxation, tariffs and other policies, as governments try to force companies to switch to more responsible practices and customers become more aware of what they are buying, and from whom. For the present, any company or organisation that is actively trying to make a difference for good will publicise the fact. You should be able to easily locate a CSR, ISO 14001 certificate and independent third party verified evidence on their website. If it’s not there, then it probably doesn’t exist so move on, and buy from someone else!
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