Boskalis CSR report 2017

Business Conduct CSR 2017 – BOSKALIS 62 BLUESCAN: CO-CREATING SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT The role of procurement in the maritime sector is constantly evolving. While the expected lifetime of a product is becoming shorter, supply chains are becoming less transparent. Simultaneously, increasing globalization forces us to look further than cost factors only. Key is to generate sustained profitability on an economic, social and environmental level. In 2016, Boskalis, Heerema Marine Contractors, Pon Power BV, Royal IHC, 80/20 and Theunissen Technical Trading joined forces to make procurement more sustainable. This resulted in the launch of the so-called BlueScan tool, enabling companies throughout the maritime sector to execute assessments of the sustainability level of their suppliers.

“It had always baffled me, why in the maritime sector, everybody was auditing using their own methods: we were auditing suppliers right down the supply chain and our suppliers were doing the same on their part,” remarks Joost Rijnsdorp, General Manager Corporate Procurement & Logistics at Boskalis. “Just imagine the amount of time and effort it requires from a supplier who has to comply with all the different auditing methods and requirements of his clients. At an MVO Netherlands (Maritime Cluster) event, I took the opportunity to pitch my idea to come to one auditing tool for the entire maritime sector. Together with a number of leading maritime partners, MVO Netherlands decided to support the development of such a tool. Prerequisite was that it would be in line with international standards: first and foremost ISO 26000 and ISO 20400.”