Sofidel obtains UNI ISO 20400 declaration of conformity for sustainable procurement

Sofidel, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tissue paper for hygienic and domestic use, has obtained a declaration of conformity with the international UNI ISO 20400:2017 standard on sustainable procurement. Sofidel is one of the first Italian companies to meet the requirements of the standard, which is designed to make supply chains more sustainable and increase quality through the implementation of suitable procurement policies.

The declaration of conformity with UNI ISO 20400 represents an independent certification that legislative guidelines are being applied correctly and enables Sofidel to reduce the risk of potential reputational and economic damage deriving from the poor performance of its suppliers in terms of sustainability. It also contributes to making Sofidel’s supply chain ever more efficient.

In order to achieve this, Sofidel identified the main risk categories for each individual supplier and assessed their performance against parameters such as working conditions, human rights, environmental protection and anti-corruption measures. The model is based on the TenP – Sustainable Supply Chain Self-Assessment Platform, developed by the Global Compact Network Italy (GCNI) Foundation, which sets out a pre-assessment system for suppliers. Sofidel supplemented this with a rating system which enables the company to allocate each supplier with a category based on pre-qualification assessments.

As of 2018, over four out of five of Sofidel suppliers ranked sustainable (82%), while a significant proportion (44%) achieved levels of particular excellence. The figures show a slight increase on 2016, when 78% of the suppliers were ranked sustainable and 41% were described as “excellent suppliers”.

The adoption of sustainability measures by Sofidel suppliers is often closely linked to the size of the company: two-thirds (67%) of companies with revenues in excess of €20 million were rated excellent, but only 22.5% of companies with revenues below €5 million achieved this rating. Sofidel’s short-term objective is, therefore, to further reduce the possible risks deriving from its supply chain, promoting the sustainable development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with revenues below €20 million, also through online training and dedicated helpdesk services.

Sofidel’s leadership in raising awareness among its network of suppliers and engaging with them to take action against climate change was also recognised in early 2019 by CDP, an international non-profit organisation which provides a global measuring and reporting system that enables companies, cities, states and regions to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information.

Sofidel was included in a list of 130 companies around the world who were deemed worthy of inclusion in the annual Supplier Engagement leader board. Sofidel is among the 3% of organizations – of the total number of companies assessed – to be recognized for its actions to reduce emissions and lower climate-related risks in the supply chain. The leader board is released in “Cascading commitments: Driving upstream action through supply chain engagement”, CDP’s Global Supply Chain Report 2019, written by CDP and Carbon Trust.