The risks of environmental damage or human rights violations is not the same for every product or service ordered. Therefore, SBB continuously identifies the social and ecological risks for different goods and services and integrates them into its procurement strategies.

SBB follows the stipulations for tendering procedures for public procurement. It defines and weights sustainability criteria in tenders. These criteria may include the following: 

• Maximise proportion of recycled material in the finished product
• Maximise proportion of the product which can be recycled
• Environmentally friendly transport as far as possible
• Maximise proportion of packaging which is reusable
• Maximise proportion of renewable energy sources

SBB also works with globally active partners and companies who have complex supply chains. To minimise environmental and social risks, SBB requires transparency in the supply chain. SBB cares about getting to know suppliers, subcontractors and their production sites. So for some tenders, suppliers are required to provide information about their own supply chain.

SBB aims to evaluate suppliers. Where risk is high, assessments of suppliers and/or audits at production sites should be carried out to provide clarity. If necessary, SBB requires that suppliers develop their approach to ecological and social issues. 

Since 2017, SBB has been using EcoVadis. 

EcoVadis evaluates suppliers using a sustainability questionnaire and makes the result accessible to all connected purchasers by producing a score card. The topics the questionnaire covers are the environment, social issues, ethics and the value chain. Sustainability experts from EcoVadis then evaluate the questionnaire results. The evaluation is repeated every year. SBB also orders an assessment of its own organisation by EcoVadis and shares the results with important partners. And together with EcoVadis, SBB assesses its suppliers’ commitment to sustainability.

SBB is a member of amfori BSCI.

amfori BSCI is an initiative for companies committed to improving working conditions and occupational safety in global supply chains. Amfori provides its members with instruments for managing and improving the social and ecological sustainability of their supply chains. By signing the amfori BSCI code of conduct, companies commit to following the BSCI principles. If the production of a product takes place in a country where risks are high, the purchaser may ask for a social audit from the producer. The producers audited are visible to all members on the amfori platform. SBB uses amfori BSCI in tenders for example as an exclusionary or attribution criterion. 

Since 2017, SBB has been a member of Railsponsible, a sectoral sustainable procurement initiative. The aim of the initiative is to continuously improve sustainability in the rail industry supply chain. To achieve this, rail operators, suppliers and subcontractors exchange information about sustainable procurement and define common goals. 

Moreover, sustainable procurement is part of internal staff training. These training sessions exist to continuously increase awareness of the importance of sustainable procurement among procurement staff.