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Prysmian Group – 2015 Sustainability Report
Supply Chain
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assessing and qualifying suppliers. The objective is to purchase raw materials from suppliers that have clear
policies for the safeguarding of environmental and social matters.
As an integral part of the “Supplier Quality Assurance” Operating Procedure, this questionnaire asks
suppliers to certify the existence of a company policy on sustainability matters, the mechanisms in place to
guarantee its implementation and any third-party certifications obtained. With regard to the environmental,
health and safety aspects, the questionnaire checks for the existence of certifications, or certification work in
progress, that cover strictly environmental matters (ISO 14001, EMS), as well as the system for managing
the risks and hazards associated with production processes, and the actions taken to reduce their impact
(OHSMS). The replies received to each questionnaire are used to check the alignment of the supplier's
policies with those of the Group and, therefore, to select suppliers that guarantee full compliance with and
implementation of the Group's sustainability systems.
In addition, as part of the vendor management of metal suppliers, Prysmian decided during 2015 to map fully
all suppliers of wire rod to the Group. Prysmian in fact believes that the most significant environmental
impact is probably generated by the production cycle used by the suppliers of base metals, from extraction to
the greenhouse gases emissions, and from the consumption of energy at the refining stage, through to the
production of rod.
Alongside this mapping, all suppliers were classified with reference to their awareness of sustainability and
the attention dedicated to the issues by them. The results will be considered when Prysmian makes
purchasing decisions, giving preference where possible to suppliers with the highest sustainability ratings.
The Group therefore devised and sent a self-assessment questionnaire to 47 suppliers of wire rod,
representing almost the entire rod supply chain external to Prysmian and about 80% of the total volume of
the metal suppliers. The questionnaire investigated the following aspects of their business behaviour:
integrity: fair trade, conflicts of interest, gifts and entertainment, bribery and corruption
human and workers' rights: under-age working, health and safety, non-discrimination
environment: use of raw materials, use of energy and carbon dioxide emissions, water
consumption and associated risks
conflict minerals, resettlement, closure plans and sustainable use of land
The replies to the self-assessment questionnaire were analysed by an external agency specialised in
sustainability audits. This agency prepared evaluation forms for each supplier, highlighting any areas for
improvement that Prysmian then discussed directly during the usual negotiation meetings. In this way, the
Group's supply chain has become much more aware of the importance that Prysmian attaches to
sustainability as a criterion for the selections of suppliers and the assignment of contracts. Based on the
information and data collected, there are no sustainability issues with any of the main base metal suppliers
used by Prysmian in 2016.
Lastly, management of potential risks in the business relationship includes supplier approval of Prysmian's
Code of Ethics. Whenever a contract is awarded, the supplier must accept and sign the Group's Code of
Ethics, in full awareness of the related rights and obligations.