A strategic priority
As a signatory of the UN Global Compact and in our support of Sustainable Development Goal 12, we work with stakeholders to drive continuous improvement in the areas of human rights, labour standards and environment, and to act against corruption.
Responsible sourcing is a strategic objective for our procurement organisations. This means that it is incorporated into key performance and individual objectives across all our regions and has an assurance system integrated into our Corporate Governance Framework.
Our expectations
We require our suppliers to comply with our Code of Business Conduct for Suppliers (the Supplier Code), which sets out our expectations based on the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact. We also encourage suppliers to strive for continuous improvement by investing in their sustainability agenda to meet or exceed global best practices.
The Supplier Code is considered an integral part of any agreement that regulates the relationship between Tetra Pak and a supplier. All new suppliers must endorse the Supplier Code before we start any business with them and maintain their commitment throughout the relationship. During 2024, we plan to update the Supplier Code to strengthen our requirements in line with our overall sustainability strategy.
Supplier engagement
We use Sedex, the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, to coordinate the performance and follow-up of the annual self-assessments of selected suppliers. In case of specific concerns, we ask suppliers to conduct on-site audits using the SMETA methodology (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit) and implement corrective actions within an agreed timeframe.
We also work with EcoVadis to help our procurement teams better monitor environmental, social and governance issues in the supply chain. We are ranked in the top 1 per cent of companies by EcoVadis for Environment and Sustainable Procurement.
In 2019, we enhanced our partnerships with third parties, such as Sedex and EcoVadis, to optimise the coverage of assessments across our supplier base using a risk-based approach. We also selected a new supply chain risk management system that integrates third-party data, such as from EcoVadis, with artificial intelligence and media screening. This allows continuous monitoring, strengthening our responsible sourcing and supplier risk management activities.
Moreover, as part of the transformation of our Supplier Management organisation, we created a central governance function, working alongside purchasing categories to set strategies and provide expert support in sustainability, compliance and risk management.
1By positive impact, we mean driving better outcomes for our workforce, workers and communities in our supply chain, workers in collection and recycling and people in our value chain affected by climate change and the transition to net-zero in the areas of labour, discrimination, hazardous working conditions and sustainable income, among others