IBM has had a longstanding commitment to doing business with environmentally responsible suppliers and was an early leader in providing requirements addressing this topic in the company's global environmental management system.
- 1972: IBM established a corporate directive requiring the environmental evaluation of suppliers of hazardous waste services
- 1980: IBM expanded its environmental evaluations of suppliers by establishing a second corporate directive which required the environmental evaluation of certain production-related suppliers
The objective of these corporate directives was to prevent the transfer of responsibility for environmentally sensitive operations to any company lacking the commitment or capability to manage them properly. The driver behind this objective was two-fold: to minimize IBM's environmental risk and to conduct our operations consistent with good corporate citizenship.
- 1991: IBM further expanded its environmental evaluations of suppliers, adding a requirement that its product recycling and product disposal suppliers be evaluated
The aim of all these environmental evaluations is to assess whether the suppliers have a strong focus on environmental management, including complying with laws and regulations and sound management practices.
The supplier evaluations include on-site assessments. The evaluations are required prior to IBM approving a supplier for use. To verify that their environmental operations remain satisfactory, suppliers are reevaluated periodically. Any concern arising during evaluations is addressed with the supplier and must be resolved to IBM's satisfaction. IBM's conformance with these evaluation programs is part of its comprehensive audit program.
In 2002, nongovernmental organizations raised a concern about electronic waste being exported to some non-OECD countries. Though IBM confirmed that it was not shipping electronic waste products to non-OECD countries, the company again expanded its environmental evaluations of product recycling and disposal suppliers. IBM added a requirement to assess its suppliers and certain subcontractors they may use to handle recycling and/or disposal operations in non-OECD countries.
The above described environmental evaluations are over and above the environmental requirements and audits that are associated with IBM's Supplier Conduct Principles.