Dell is calling for European governments to have a more sustainable approach to procuring technology.
The company said that by encouraging governments to be better at considering sustainability when making purchasing decisions, they will be able to influence the wider business world.
Although the EU Public Procurement Directive of 2014 states that businesses must consider how sustainable their IT choices are, rather than focusing on pricing, research has found that contracts with the lowest prices tend to get awarded by the public sector, which somewhat undermines the sustainability missive.
"As demand for technology increases globally, there will be a need for more partnerships within and outside of the IT industry to improve standards and practices and strive for a more sustainable future," said Aongus Hegarty, EMEA President of Dell EMC's commercial business arm.
"Public procurement provides just one example of an important untapped opportunity to drive sustainability at scale, in alignment with international standards and industry best-practice. That's why we have chosen to advocate actively on this with key stakeholders and are launching our call to action today."
The major parts of Dell's mission are to encourage the European Commission to get rid of sector-specific guidelines for implementation of social and environmental sustainability in public procurement so everyone has the same guidelines.
It wants member state governments to lead by example and adopt sustainability by default, while also building frameworks and support tools for public procurers and lead the IT industry to share best practice to enhance the IT life cycle.
Dell suggested businesses work with the Responsible Business Alliance to develop formal requirements for supply chain sustainability.
"Dell Technologies has seen first-hand the business and environmental benefits of a circular approach; it's a win-win, reducing energy demand, costs and environmental footprint at the same time," said Louise Koch, corporate sustainability director at Dell EMEA.
"By working in close partnership with the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) and European governments and businesses, we can accelerate efforts to address increasingly critical issues, including the fight to address climate change."
