Council passes an ethical purchasing policy
Byron Shire Council has passed an ethical purchasing policy, the Echo carried the news on the front page.
This is a significant step forward in making sure that council tenders are not only judged on price, but also on the business practices of the companies tendering.
I addressedaddressed council regarding this policy at the February 2006 meeting where it was proposed, and made a submissionon the draftthat went on public exhibition. The two most important proposals I made, in that submission, made it into the final policy, i.e. extending the requirement for disclosure to companies in the same group, and allowing council to extend the matters requiring disclosure as it sees fit. My remaining suggestions related to specific matters I believed needed disclosure, but they can, where necessary be added in now.
I don't know if anyone else from Byron SVN made submissions, but it is good to see that emailed submissions can have an impact and effect policy outcomes.
Echo: Front Page: 1 Jan 2008: Byron Shire Council has adopted a new Business Ethics Policy which will act as a guide for Council and all its partners.
The new policy will require ten derers to make a statement of ethical conduct, which includes identifying any criminal convic tions against the tenderer or any associated persons or entities within the last fi ve years, compli ance with international labour standards, submission of a corpo rate social responsibility report if available, and anything else Coun cil thinks worthy of disclosure on ethical grounds.
The policy was an initiative of the Mayor, Cr Jan Barham, in a notice of motion to Council in February 2006. This was after the widely publicised incident when Council approved a tender to KBR, a subsidiary of Haliburton. It was seen by many members of the community as an inappropriate action by Council given Halibur ton’s involvement in the Iraq war.
The Department of Local Gov ernment also recommended that Council develop a Statement of Business Ethics, as part of its ‘Pro moting Better Practice’ review of Byron Shire Council.
‘The policy will set a new stand ard of ethical conduct expected of companies that conduct business with Council,’ Mayor Barham said.
‘It will encourage transparency and accountability in all Council dealings including lending, con tracting, supply of goods and serv ice and business partnerships. ‘I am pleased that we have been able to consider the new area of Corporate Social Responsibility and encourage businesses to pro vide information about their broader activities,’ Cr Barham said.
The policy, which has now completed 28 days of public exhibition, is available on Council’s website: www.byron.nsw.gov.au/Policies
Posted by mitra at January 4, 2008 9:56 AM
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