Sustainability pays off. Always. Because choosing sustainability means having a strategy oriented to the future and centered on growth and development.
Perini Journal
That is why for Sofidel sustainability is not a momentary fad, but a constitutional element in the creation of value: a concrete approach to attaining business goals. Particularly for what concerns the environment. This translates, for example, in a firm commitment to identify and implement measures to reduce the production of climate-changing gases. Or in responsible raw material supply policies. Or in the optimization of the use of water resources pursued by applying particularly efficient technologies and processes.
WITH THE NEW SUPPLIERS SUSTAINABILITY AWARD, INSTITUTED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE COMPANY’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY, Sofidel takes a further step forward, strengthening its business role and acting as a stimulus and awareness builder within its own supply chain. The new award acknowledges those suppliers to the Group who have performed actions that respect the environment and the social sphere. An initiative that intends enhancing the value and visibility of their best practices. We spoke about it with Andrea Piazzolla, Chief Purchasing Officer at Sofidel, who helped us understand the meaning and motivations behind the project.
PJL: How was the Award born? Andrea Piazzolla: A few years ago, Sofidel began a pre-qualification process of its suppliers, participating as founding member and promoter of the Global Compact Network Italia (GCNI) Foundation, an extension of the United Nations Global Compact, the initiative born to promote business responsibility on a global scale. An on-line platform called TenP was created through which companies part of the project ask their suppliers to answer a self-assessment questionnaire on four macro-areas concerning sustainability: human rights, work, the environment and the fight against corruption. Based on the answers given, each supplier receives a score to compare its performance with that of other suppliers part of the platform and develop potential improvement actions in one area or another. At Sofidel, we further broke down our supplier base according to their performance in order to make a qualitative analysis so that we can better understand their position in the four macro-areas and provide indications useful to those companies that have not obtained a satisfactory assessment on the TenP platform. This way, we promote the establishment of a sustainable supply chain through focused growth programs.
PJL: How will the participants be divided? Andrea Piazzolla: 3 categories have been set up: “The Best Supplier”, “The Best Improver” and “The Best Sustainable Project”. In the first case, recognition is assigned to companies that have attained the best score on the TenP platform. In the second, reward goes to those companies that from 2014 to 2016 have noticeably incremented their score by adopting specific procedures and/or actions. The third category rewards the company that has set up a particularly effective corporate plan.
PJL: How will the different projects be assessed? Andrea Piazzolla: “The Best Supplier” award, as I mentioned, is assigned based exclusively on the score obtained upon filling out the questionnaire of the TenP platform. For “The Best Improver” award, two assessment criteria are used: the increment in the score obtained in the TenP questionnaire and the documentation delivered as proof of the improvement actions accomplished. For “The Best Sustainability Project”, open to all suppliers, even to those who did not take part in the TenP platform, the project presented is assessed. To participate though, the form found on the specific section of Sofidel’s website must be filled out. As concerns assessments, for the first two (strictly connected to the questionnaire), the company SGS will help us by auditing eligible suppliers. The third category will instead be assessed by a special technical committee comprised of SGS, WWF, Fondazione Sodalitas and Fondazione Global Compact Network Italia, that will work completely autonomously. If retained necessary, the committee may also request further in-depth information and documentation to support the candidacies.
PJL: What is the frequency of the award? Andrea Piazzolla: The Suppliers’ Sustainability Award is annual. This first edition thus marks the start of a long-term project aimed at spurring our partners and offering them support, guaranteeing them also visibility, and perhaps building collaborations with them on some specific topic. We are witnessing constant changes in society and in the market and we know very well that the young generations show greater sensitivity to these themes compared to previous generations. In this sense, the Suppliers’ Sustainability Award also represents a challenge for keeping abreast of the future. *