ESG in the management of the supply chain

Given the nature of our business, the Group’s supply chain does not involve the purchase of raw materials and is not particularly complex in terms of the impact of sustainability-related risks. However, we are committed to effectively managing these risks with the goal of collaborating with suppliers who share our values and high standards of business conduct.
When managing supplier relationships and purchasing policies, the Group aims to foster economic development that is sensitive to environmental protection and respect for human rights. It adopts uniform purchasing processes and approaches to align all its companies’ sourcing, regulatory oversight, qualification, and supplier monitoring activities with the principles of transparency and fairness established in the Code of Ethics and the ESG responsibility criteria shared by the Group.

When qualifying, signing or renewing their contracts, suppliers are required to commit to complying with the Supplier Code of Conduct for Responsible Procurement (“Code”) adopted at the end of 2018 and subsequently updated. 
With the introduction of the Code, the Group has defined clear environmental, social, and ethical expectations for its suppliers. Expectations are based on the principles of the United Nations Global Compact and ISO 20400 and focus on corporate governance (fight against corruption, any forms of money laundering, and anti-competitive behaviour), human and workers’ rights (including the elimination of child labour), and environmental protection. 
The Code – among other aspects – provides for the right of Unipol to monitor the supplier’s processes and structures in order to verify compliance and implement penalty mechanisms in the event that the supplier persists in its non-compliance with the Code.
With its adoption, Unipol intends to leverage its influence as a major purchaser of goods and services by accelerating the adoption of sustainable business practices among suppliers.

The Supplier Portal is the tool used for suppliers to be registered, screened and monitored, with an integrated viewpoint that takes economic-financial and technical-organisational characteristics into consideration along with information to ensure regulatory-legal compliance and in-depth information on how it monitors ESG issues and their commitment to sustainability.

The Vendor Management system is the foundation for conducting negotiations based on fairness and competitive engagement, as it ensures continuous and timely monitoring of all positions considered, helping to make control and due diligence activities more effective.

Unipol has the right to control the supplier’s processes and divisions to ensure compliance, along with the right to take sanctioning measures if the supplier continues to fail to comply with the Supplier Code of Conduct or other corporate policies.

With the goal of creating shared value through partnership, Unipol requests its suppliers to complete a self-assessment questionnaire to evaluate their performance as part of the risk monitoring measures adopted by the Group. If the questionnaire identifies areas where the Group’s expectations are not being met, again with a collaborative approach, suppliers are encouraged to adopt positive changes in their operations and products for the benefit of society as a whole and the environment.