Declaration of Commitment

In a joint initiative, the Procurement Office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BeschA) and Bitkom have agreed on purchasing conditions for the socially sustainable procurement of ICT products and ICT services.  

The declaration of commitment extends the obligations of suppliers of ICT products and ICT services to observe fair working conditions. The ILO core labor standards, such as the prohibition of child and slave labor, the prohibition of discrimination and the right to collective bargaining, have long had to be observed in production. Since 2019, additional standards have applied to occupational health and safety and the use of chemical substances, minimum wages, limits on weekly working hours and social security. Verification requirements for companies will also become stricter. Government purchasers at the federal, state and local levels can convince themselves of actual compliance with the standards by means of audit evidence or other documents to be submitted and by visiting production sites. 

To support the contracting authorities and the bidders, the BeschA has created a handout in cooperation with Bitkom. This document contains basic information on the declaration of commitment, valuable information on embedding it in the invitation to tender, and the necessary measures for bidders to participate in invitations to tender with the declaration of commitment. In addition, an FAQ module answers important questions about the use of the declaration of commitment.