March 5, 2013
Only half of businesses vet suppliers for Bribery Act compliance
Under half of British firms are failing to vet suppliers for compliance with the Bribery Act, and only 6 per cent would re-tender if they discovered their suppliers didn’t comply. A poll of procurement managers and directors by Ernst & Young found that only 48 per cent of firms carry out third- party due diligence. The study found that even though 60 per cent of firms with a turnover of £5m to £50m vet suppliers to assess if their practices comply with the Bribery Act, 16 per cent of midmarket firms would ‘do nothing’ if their suppliers failed to comply. The research also revealed that only 40 per cent of firms with a turnover of more than £50 million would remove suppliers from their supply chain if they fail to comply.
March 5, 2013
Challenge for Ecobuild is reducing greenwash and white noise
by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Environment, Facilities management, Workplace design
Today is the first day of Ecobuild, which claims to be the world’s largest exhibition dedicated to sustainable construction and fit-out. Some 1,500 organisations are taking part in the event in East London which last year attracted 58,000 visitors from around the world. While undoubtedly successful, influential, with great intellectual content and a showcase for some truly innovative and effective products, the approach of Ecobuild invariably begs the question: in a world in which every supplier claims to be environmentally friendly, how are their customers expected to make the right choices?
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