Sustainable Supply Chain Policy updated to meet today’s requirements

The new policy will replace the previous one and will be used in the approval process of a new supplier in the future.

"This is the first update to the policy which was first launched in 2014 to set our requirements related to sustainability to our suppliers globally. Now we have updated the policy with the goal of meeting our customers' as well as other stakeholders' sustainability expectations and requirements better. The more condensed text, the removal of overlapping parts and the widening of the human rights requirements all support this goal," explains Laura Puustjärvi, Valmet's Head of Sustainability.

"Compliance with and signing of the policy is the starting point for any kind of business relationship with Valmet. Signing the policy is compulsory for all new suppliers as part of approval process. No action is needed from existing suppliers that have signed the previous version of the policy. However, the updated version of the policy is recommended to be included in a contract when updating our agreements with existing suppliers," says Jukka Koponen, Vice President of Procurement at Valmet.

What has changed?

The policy continues to address Valmet's requirements for all suppliers globally regarding business ethics, compliance, human rights and labor rights, occupational health and safety, environmental management and safe products and services. The policy also acts as a basis for supplier evaluations, supplier self-assessments and sustainability audits.

The text in the updated policy has been made more readable by shortening parts of the text and using more bullet points. The updated version still contains the same amount of sections, but some have been slightly renamed. For example, Human Rights and Labor Rights section has been shortened to Human and Labor Rights. Furhtermore, Business Ethics and Compliance sections have been merged and a new General Requirements section has been added. General Requirements section includes requirements related to remediation processes, reporting of violations and auditing.

Content-wise the update includes a more comprehensive approach to human and labor rights reflecting the global developments and our customers' requirements. New text parts include e.g. a more specific definition of our requirements towards our suppliers regarding the use of underage workforce. Comprehensive changes were also made to the Products and Services section where the focus is now shifted stronger to product safety.

A wide group of internal experts have influenced the update by commenting and editing the updated policy. The group of experts has included professionals from different functions, such as procurement, HSE, legal, HR and internal audit functions.

"The input of these functions has been essential in giving valuable feedback about what’s important to require from our suppliers in terms of sustainability," Puustjärvi concludes.