Supply chain sustainability
Fortum aims for open and effective collaboration with suppliers to manage social and environmental sustainability and ethical business behaviour in the supply chain. We expect our business partners to comply with the requirements in our Supplier Code of Conduct and assess the sustainability performance of our business partners with supplier qualification and supplier audits.
Managing supply chain sustainability
Fortum's Supplier Code of Conduct outlines the requirements for suppliers and business partners. The Supplier Code of conduct is based on the ten principles of the UN Global Compact and addresses issues such as business principles, human rights, fundamental rights at work and environment.
Supplier qualification and Know your counterparty process are Fortum’s processes for evaluating suppliers’ sustainability practices and monitoring that the requirements are met when selecting suppliers. In the qualification process, Fortum determines and assesses, among other things, the supplier’s possible operations in risk countries, certified management systems and the occupational safety performance of the contractors. Fortum also pays special attention to practices related to anti-corruption, human and labour rights and environment.
Fortum also conducts audits to assess supplier’s compliance with the requirements in the Supplier Code of Conduct. The risk-based audits are conducted on-site, and include site inspections, management and employee interviews, and reviews of documents. If non-compliances are found, the supplier makes a plan for corrective actions, and we monitor their implementation. The most common non-compliances identified in the audits are related to occupational safety and overtime working hours.
We welcome industry collaboration in improving human rights in supply chains. For example, we are an active member of the Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI), which seeks to improve traceability and sustainability in solar supply chains.