{"id":1956,"date":"2026-10-07T09:19:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T07:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ikwilcirculairinkopen.nl\/en\/?p=1956"},"modified":"2026-10-07T09:19:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T07:19:49","slug":"circular-procurement-at-eurofiber-start-where-your-impact-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ikwilcirculairinkopen.nl\/en\/circular-procurement-at-eurofiber-start-where-your-impact-is\/","title":{"rendered":"Circular procurement at Eurofiber: start where your impact is"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
A fibre optic tube that goes into the ground today will still be there in forty years. You procure it once. After that, that choice lies in the ground for decades. Becoming less dependent on scarcity and retaining materials: that is what circular procurement is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Eurofiber, 97% of emissions are with our suppliers. Procurement is not a side issue here, but the most important lever. We spoke with Norian Wasch, Group Director Procurement and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) at Eurofiber, about how you use that lever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Who actually determines your footprint?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Eurofiber manages more than 77,500 km of fibre optic network in the Benelux, France, and Germany, and 8 data centres. Our customers include governments, hospitals, and telecom companies. Since 2019, the network in the Netherlands has been designated as vital infrastructure: bridges, locks, and traffic lights run on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“ESG is often housed in finance or governance at companies,” says Wasch. “For us, the combination with procurement is logical because that is precisely where we make a lot of impact. Our scope 1 and 2 combined is approximately 3%. The other 97% is scope 3, and that is entirely the chain with our suppliers and investments. Scope 1 and 2 are about Eurofiber\u2019s own emissions and purchased energy. Together, those form approximately 3% of our CO2<\/sub> footprint. The remaining 97% is in scope 3: emissions in the chain, especially from suppliers, contractors, materials as well as purchased products and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That changes your role. You do not only select suppliers and conclude contracts, you are a driver of change in the chain. With every procurement decision, you choose how you handle energy consumption and circularity. So not solving a problem afterwards, but ensuring beforehand that it goes right immediately.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where do you start?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“When we talked about sustainability a few years ago, the conversation quickly turned to coffee cups or mugs,” says Wasch. “Those are in that 3%. I am not saying it is unimportant, because in 2040 everything must go to zero. But it is not where we should begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaining insight with data is the first step. Then you know where you make an impact and where you do not. In addition, since 2022 we have followed ISO 20400, the guideline for sustainable procurement. With that, you walk through every step of your procurement process, from your requirements to the contract and discussions about performance. That makes the conversation easier at all levels.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do you get 1,600 suppliers on board?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Eurofiber and the Eurofiber Group spend more than 200 million euros annually across approximately 1,600 suppliers. Sixty of those are strategic: contractors, material suppliers, and suppliers of network equipment. That is where it started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“In 2022, we started with a Supplier Manifesto,” says Wasch. “That is an annex to our agreements that states our long-term goals, with the message: we will only achieve this with you. In addition, every year we organise a Supplier Event about sustainability, with an award for the supplier who contributes the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We see differences in maturity, per supplier and per country. So we do not say: you are too late, so you are out. And we do not just push it down the chain. We engage in dialogue about what they can do. As long as parties hold that conversation and we take steps together, we continue. If someone is not willing to do that, then we look for an alternative.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
How do you make circularity measurable?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In 2030, everything new that goes into the network must be circular. But how do you compare four suppliers with each other then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“A clear method did not exist yet,” says Wasch. “That is why we work with the Circular Transition Indicators, which express what portion of your procurement consists of reused material. We have received the first figures from a number of suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For , we ran into the same thing. For our sector, there were no Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) yet\u2014environmental declarations that show per product how much impact is in it. Together with trade association NLconnect and our cable manufacturer, we drew one up for cables. That has been approved and is now proudly available worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From suppliers, we now also ask for LCA\u2019s: life cycle analyses of the products we procure. For contractors, that does not work, because they deliver services. There we look at their own emissions and extract our share from that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
“Circularity for us is not a waste processing programme. It is about designing our network in such a way that it retains value for longer.”<\/p>\nNorian Wasch<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
What does that deliver?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The fibre optic tube shows most clearly what that dialogue delivers. It was previously made entirely of new plastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Now we have a tube of which 95% consists of recycled material,” says Wasch. “Just under 100%, because a coloured line runs through it. By that, we can see during excavation that it is our tube, and with recycled material, you cannot guarantee that colour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quality remains the prerequisite. The network is vital and we do not want to risk anything. So we cannot just test whether a tube holds up. All eight airports in the Netherlands are connected to our network via Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL). You do not want Schiphol going down because of a tube. Having said that, in reality, Eurofiber has connected Schiphol fourfold redundantly to prevent this from happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it is never finished. The recycled material currently comes from the manufacturer’s own production loss. That was previously thrown away, so that is a gain. But we want to move toward plastic from other production processes. Only then do you truly apply recycling.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where does Eurofiber stand on the R-ladder?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ikwilcirculairinkopen.nl\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/NKM_Veldwerk_februari2018-242-1024x684.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ikwilcirculairinkopen.nl\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/EUROFIBER_Netwerk_NewMade_Still004-1536x864-1-1024x576.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![](\"https:\/\/ikwilcirculairinkopen.nl\/5e1a2cd9-d005-4781-8411-5332fcbbf98a\")
, we ran into the same thing. For our sector, there were no Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) yet\u2014environmental declarations that show per product how much impact is in it. Together with trade association NLconnect and our cable manufacturer, we drew one up for cables. That has been approved and is now proudly available worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ikwilcirculairinkopen.nl\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/12-15-2022-eurofiber0bb563-1536x1255-1-1024x837.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ikwilcirculairinkopen.nl\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/Eurofiber-NKM-underground-work-cables-16-1-1024x776-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n