Green ethics in business: Case study on sustainable Procurement in ICT

Bc. Khaled Omari

Master's thesis

Abstract:

This diploma thesis selected the Company BES, a global leader in enterprise software solutions, to explore the concept of green ethics in business, specifically focusing on sustainable procurement practices in the category of Technical Services and IT Solutions. The practical part consists of detailed analysis of Company BES's procurement processes and supplier relationships, this research highlights the company's commitment to reducing greenhouse gases that are accumulated by their internal sustainable contracts management process, which saves one tree for every 8,000 paper sheets signed digitally, with a cost of 2,16 US Dollars per contract. The thesis also analysis the costs of the company’s practices with measuring the carbon footprint of their external suppliers, using a third party provider with costs counting for 310,00$ in 2021. The result of this evaluation showed that Microsoft is the supplier with the highest total Carbon emissions standing at 73.43 million kilograms of GHG in that same year, but with a relatively low GHG per 1 US Dollar, couniting for 0.161 which is below the average of the top 100 supplier by spend, Demonstrating a proactive approach by the company to environmental responsibility. In addition, the result of the analysis shows Company BES's sustainability initiatives is the Procurement with Purpose strategy is proofed to be emphasizing diversity, social inclusion, and responsible resource utilization within its supplier network. With indicators that investments in such tools do not result in direct returns on investment, the results proof that the spend on measuring GHG provides critical insights for informed decision-making, particularly in large-scale procurement endeavors such as procuring personal laptops for its global 400,000 employees workforce.

Keywords

Carbon Footprint, Cost, Co2 Emissions, Ecological Footprint, Goods, Green, Ethics, Procurement, Services, Sustainability, Suppliers

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 1. 4. 2024

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 4. 6. 2024
• Supervisor: Ing. Jiří Mach, Ph.D.
• Reader: Šimon Dušek, externi

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Economics and Management

Master programme:
Informatics