European public authorities together with ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability share how to leverage procurement processes to improve working conditions across the electronics supply-chain during this years’ Mobile Social Congress. 

In a panel discussion moderated by Mercé Corretja Torrens, General Director of Public Procurement for the Government of Catalonia, Carla Canal, Barcelona City Council together with Michael McLaughlin, Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges, Scotland and our colleague Josefine Hintz, ICLEI Europe, depicted  the power of socially responsible public procurement. The discussion focussed on how the public sector applies social clauses in its purchase of ICT products and in monitoring contracts as well as how procurement can address gender inequalities in the supply chain of the electronics industry.

The electronics industry is one of the most important and dynamic sectors in the global economy. Public authorities have the power to use procurement to create better working conditions and protect the rights of workers and communities by purchasing products that have been procured in a socially responsible manner.

During her presentation, Josefine Hintz explored possible leverage points that can be applied by public authorities to promote gender equity across the supply chain such as to lower market access barriers for a more diverse range of businesses i.e. women-owned SMEs, to highlight the systematic vulnerability women are under when working with suppliers on social responsibility, integrate gender equality as a strategic part of a city’s ethical trade programme or to conduct due diligence and supply chain mapping with a gender lens. 

In its’ 5th edition, the Mobile Social Congress focussed on the violations of human rights and the environmental impacts that result from the electronics industry’s current model of production and consumption in both the Global North and the Global South.

Learn more about Procura+ Participants Barcelona City Council, APUC Scotland, Government of Catalonia. 

Explore more about the Mobile Social Congress here.