Rettferdig naturstein i norske gater

The industry constantly imports natural stone for use in outdoor areas. There is a very large area of use for natural stone, and thus the demand is just as great. We have a long history of using natural stone that stretches far back in time, all the way to the first civilizations in human history. Natural stone is an important raw material for outdoor areas both in Norway and around the world. The topic of this thesis is about ethical trade in public procurement of natural stone. There are various reasons why we import natural stone from abroad, even though we have access to good quarries and plenty of natural stone in Norway. It is mostly about the price, but there are also other factors that are important for the import culture. When the stone is imported from low-cost countries, it happens that basic human rights are violated during production. Working conditions are generally poor where the price of production is lower. Therefore, it is important for the industry to be more aware and take social responsibility by following up the suppliers who deliver natural stone to Norway. It is not enough to just make demands. What is important is to follow it up and be sure that the requirements are complied with. Different actors have different relationships to ethical trade. Large public buyers such as the state, Oslo municipality and other private developers have a role as a buyer and have a responsibility to procure goods and services that are produced under conditions that are not in conflict with international conventions and national laws. Suppliers have a responsibility as a customer to follow up their supply chains and ensure that ethical requirements are maintained. However, it is different how different suppliers relate to ethical trade. The industry is still evolving, and ethical trading is starting to get more attention. Nevertheless, the industry is not mature enough to make ethical requirements and follow it up well enough. With this assignment, I want to guide the reader through the importance of natural stone for outdoor areas in Norway, why ethical requirements are set, what requirements are set and how municipalities and suppliers relate to ethical trade.