Keep an Eye on Your Supply Chain

Questioning supply chains

Our checklist informs you about the ethical and ecological criteria to be observed when extracting raw materials, transport and production. With our checklist, you can make structured and critical enquiries with every manufacturer of building products, weigh up the criteria and prioritise them yourself.

Manufacturer certificates and product labels

Manufacturer certificates and product labels for construction products, which take into account ethical and ecological criteria for raw material extraction, transport and production, provide important guidance. They help to ensure consistent compliance with defined environmental and social standards, even in a globalised world.

Influencing supply chains actively is possible

It has been proven that consumer behaviour can positively influence the decisions of market participants, manufacturers and their suppliers. Architects should therefore become active and critically scrutinise the often widely ramified and non-transparent supply chains and their social and ecological impact.
Clean supply chains in the construction of buildings concern everyone. They are an important global issue. And fully in line with Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 12: Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) and Sustainable Consumption and Production (SDG 12).

Consumer behaviour in the construction of buildings entails

• Avoiding certain products
• purchasing decisions in favour of products with certificates that ensure ecological and social standards in the supply chain
• Critically questioning manufacturers to signal what else is important to customers apart from quality and price

If we use products in buildings and their outdoor facilities whose environmental and social impacts are transparent along the value chain and whose raw material extraction and processing meet recognised environmental and social standards, we support the goals of SDGs 8 and 12.

In addition, improved transparency and higher standards help to make the knowledge of responsible resource extraction accessible to those involved in the value chain. In the producing countries in particular, expertise on sustainable and socio-ecologically acceptable raw material extraction can be further expanded and disseminated more widely. This in turn counteracts ecological and social issues.

Certificates communicate "hidden attributes"

Standards, implemented in certificates, can credibly communicate and assure the processor/end user of complex information about the building material. They can help to harmonise and enforce clear regulations and requirements on the international market.
Standards support the communication of " hidden attributes" of raw materials and serve as a clear guideline for the companies involved with regard to different aspects of resource extraction. "Hidden attributes" can be, for example, social or ecological effects that the processor and/or end consumer cannot recognise from the building material: compliance with human rights during the extraction of raw materials, the risk to groundwater during extraction due to the chemicals used and others

In the case of certificates (or labels), the ecological requirements should aim to reduce negative environmental impacts in the area of raw material extraction and processing.

The following topics should be addressed:

• Protection and preservation of biodiversity (diversity of species)
• Ensuring the continued existence and protection of ecosystems (diversity of habitats) - Natural areas should be restored to a condition at least equivalent to their original state. The prohibition of deterioration applies.
• Preservation of protective functions of ecosystems (flood protection, drinking water, avalanches, etc.)
• Preservation of soils and landscapes by reducing land use
• Preservation of soil quality by avoiding biological, chemical and physical soil degradation (e.g. soil compaction, soil erosion, soil contamination through the use of chemicals that are harmful to the environment, health and hazardous)
• Preservation of the natural water cycle
• Reduction of water consumption and avoidance of impacts on surface water and/or groundwater levels and their quality
• Avoiding water pollution (e.g. avoiding the impact of waste water on water quality)
• Prevention of waste, especially toxic waste
• Maintaining air quality by avoiding harmful emissions
• Reducing the environmental impact of transport (e.g. by utilising local/regional sources of raw materials)

Social standards

The aim of social requirements is to prevent negative social impacts from the extraction and processing of raw materials. The requirements in the area of social issues are based, among other things, on the Human Rights Convention and the labour standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the ISEAL Assurance Code and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.

The following topics are to be addressed:

• Prohibition of child and forced labour in accordance with ILO conventions
• Compliance with fundamental ILO core labour standards and occupational health and safety measures (prevention of occupational accidents/protection of workers from sources of danger) across the entire supply and value chain
• Compliance with labour rights (e.g. assurance of a written employment contract in accordance with legal requirements), which also applies to subcontractors
• Compliance with the right to freedom of association, protection of the right to organise and collective bargaining in accordance with ILO Conventions 87 and 98
• Payment of equal wages and non-discrimination in the workplace in accordance with ILO Conventions 100 and 111
• Preserving cultural values and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and the local population. Avoiding conflicts of use and jeopardising the livelihoods of the local population through possible negative effects of raw material extraction, processing or manufacturing of products (land evictions, forced resettlement and impairment of food security)
• Implementation of "ethical business practices" (e.g. prevention of corruption, implementation of fair business practices, compliance with laws)

Clean supply chains in the construction of buildings are an important global issue. If architects actively scrutinise the often widely ramified and non-transparent supply chains and their social and ecological impact, this can have a positive influence on the decisions made by manufacturers and dealers. The transparency of supply chains and standardised manufacturer certificates/product labels help in the selection of building materials and building products. The earlier their origin and degradation conditions are taken into account by the planner and discussed with the client, the better. You can find practical support with our checklist.