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• Who is accountable for environmental performance? Is it just the supplier’s
environmental staff, or is it all employees?
• Does the supplier comply with federal, state, and local environmental laws?
• Is the supplier willing to understand and work with your environmental goals?
• Has the supplier made efforts to design and manufacture products with the
environment in mind?
• How efficient is the supplier in using resources, materials, and energy, as well as
recycling and pollution prevention?
• Will the supplier reclaim its products or packaging at the end of their useful lives?

Not every supplier will knock the ball out of the park in answering these questions,
although suppliers tend to be pretty black and white when it comes to being green. However,
it will give you an indication as to how well that supplier will be in meeting your own green
sourcing needs and how well they align with your corporate culture.
Communicate with Your Suppliers
Hit the ground running by setting clear expectations of your supply base during the
sourcing process and monitor compliance and progress. This gets you off to a good start
and helps smooth out any wrinkles that might appear as you start green sourcing.
Make sure your suppliers know what they need to provide and how they will be measured.
This ensures that they are providing what you want and are putting in place the processes
to achieve compliance.

What We Expect of Suppliers:
Easily disassembled equipment.
Lead-free solder. Supplier informed of
Packing material pickup. expectations
No toxins in products.
Recyclable products that are
labeled.

How We’ll Measure Suppliers’ Supplier
Compliance:
Product inspection.
Parts listing required.
Disclosure of chemicals used.

For example, this can include detailing how suppliers are to recycle discarded materials,
that they need to use less-toxic chemicals, and that they create products which are easily
disassembled for less waste and easier recycling.