SUSTAINABILITY
TÜV NORD GROUP ’ S SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT SERVICES
CERA 4in1 is TÜV NORD GROUP ’ s latest service in this area of sustainable procurement .
It ’ s the first , and so far only , sustainability certification concept that covers all minerals along the entire value chain up to the final product .
“ Standards such as CERA 4in1 are necessary to establish reliable and sustainable supply chains within the critical raw materials sector ,” says Sandra . “ Despite the growing demand for higher transparency , no universal metric or methodology exists to guarantee the ethical and sustainable extraction , supply and use of raw materials .
“ This is where CERA 4in1 comes in and will streamline certification processes and , at the same time , create more transparency for customers along entire supply chains . The standard has already been used in some projects , for example in the certification of a cobalt supplier in the Democratic Republic of Congo .” Click right to read about safeguarding
Congo ’ s cobalt miners in our sister publication ,
Mining Digital
Harnessing technology to make procurement activities more sustainable Historically , sustainable procurement is difficult for companies to achieve due to the sheer size of their supply chains and how diversified they can be , with multiple tiers of suppliers .
While this is an ongoing challenge , firms with complex supply chains are striving to improve their sustainability performance .
“ For example ,” Sandra continues , “ special departments are being set up to advise the purchasing department on
84 March 2025