Fair and Green Procurement

TNI follows its Procurement Policy, which privileges small suppliers that share our values, with this being the primary criterion used in procuring supplies and (technical) services. This includes demonstrable commitments to ecological sustainability, fair trade and employment practices, and cooperative ownership structures.

Some examples of how TNI puts its values into practice in this regard, include:

  • A worker-owned cooperative is contracted for cleaning services.
  • An informal network of artisans and small companies with strong affinity for TNI’s values are contracted for building maintenance.
  • We use auditing and financial administration companies specifically dedicated to serving the non-profit sector.
  • We use a non-profit travel agency specifically dedicated to supporting humanitarian organisations.
  • We use local small companies for our catering purposes.
  • We source organic and fair trade products as far as possible.
  • We publish under a Creative Commons licence.
  • We use open source software as our default option.

There were no procurements over Euro 30,000 in 2023 that would require a tender process under TNI’s Procurement Policy.

Choice of banks

TNI uses the services of three banks in the Netherlands. In making our choices, we have followed the guidance offered by the Dutch ethical bank guide as well as practical considerations.

The best rated ethical bank is the Volksbank, which includes ASN Bank, where we deposit part of our savings. We also keep savings with Triodos Bank, another highly rated ethical bank. Triodos also holds our mortgage. Indeed, in 2005, it was the only bank prepared to lend us what we needed to buy our offices, seeing support for non-profits with a public interest mission – like TNI – as part of its raison d’etre.

We use ABN AMRO as our current account, mainly out of practical considerations. The bank is not rated as highly in the ethical bank guide, but it is able to offer the facilities we require as an organisation that does high volumes of primarily international transactions. Recently, TNI has come under the portfolio of the bank’s NGO section, which offers a personalised service from staff who do seem to have a strong affinity for our values and mission. As part of a prudent policy to spread risk, following the 2008 financial crisis, we deposit part of our savings with ABN AMRO too.