July 22, 2008 - Baosteel, China's largest iron and steel conglomerate, has pledged to source its operational materials from suppliers that have been certified under the ISO 140001 environmental management system.

Baosteel says the new purchasing plan, which will apply to everything from plate coatings to cleaning agents, is designed to promote environmental conservation, energy efficiency, and materials recycling while enabling the company to continue to expand.

The company says it will introduce a set of corporate standards to encourage environmentally friendly procurement practices and will require all suppliers to have achieved the ISO certification by 2012.

A state-owned company, Baosteel says it will also work to promote environmental protection on a larger scale. It will develop and implement an action plan to promote the benefits of recycling and energy conservation throughout the supply chain.