Responsible supply chain

GRI:[

102-9
102-10
308-1
414-1

]

ESG:[

ESG: E – Environment
ESG: S – Society

]

SDG:

Santander Bank Polska cooperates with a number of suppliers, and the Contract and Procurement Management Department is responsible for the related tasks. When selecting suppliers with whom we cooperate, we take into account social and environmental criteria.

GRI:
102-9 Description of the supply chain
102-10 Significant changes during the reporting period regarding size, structure, ownership, or value chain
308-1 Percentage of new suppliers assessed against environmental criteria
414-1 Percentage of new suppliers assessed against social criteria

ESG: E – Environment Our approach to the environment
ESG: S – Society Our approach to Social Responsibility

Policies governing the management of the supply chain area

Purchasing Policy of Santander Bank Polska
Supplier Selection Procedure of Santander Bank Polska

Policy of cooperation with suppliers and outsourcing in Santander Bank Polska
Supplier management and outsourcing procedure of Santander Bank Polska

In 2020, we updated all four documents. The Cooperation policy and the Supplier Management procedure have been aligned with the guidelines of the European Banking Authority (EBA). The CSR principles, however, remained unchanged.

The principles of cooperation with suppliers are also reflected in the Sustainability Policy and the Human Rights Policy.

Our objectives for 2020

In 2020, we focused on achieving the objectives of:

adopting, as part of the supplier selection process, best market practices and those set out in the Banco Santander Group model;
adapting the regulations to the changes in the bank and in supplier markets;
ensuring a transparent and objective supplier selection process.

As a result, in addition to updating the documents governing the principles of cooperation with suppliers, we have sealed the purchasing process and simplified low-value purchases.

We have also conducted a pilot survey on ESG activities on 66 Polish suppliers. Its conclusions allow us to better plan our activities in the coming years.

Supplier selection process

Our supplier management process is aligned with the international standards of the Santander Group and is continuously developed by us and adapted to the changing business and social realities. We apply appropriate policies and procedures when selecting suppliers to work with. All suppliers are covered by uniform selection rules that take into account social criteria, employment practices, human rights, environmental commitments and much more.

Qualifying suppliers for cooperation with the bank:

we check that they diversify their income and do not become dependent on the bank;
we verify that they hold certifications, e.g. environmental, labour relations;
we make sure they apply CSR principles, have codes of ethics, conduct and an anti-corruption programme and publish reports;
we examine ethical approaches to finance: we check the payment of employee contributions, taxes and possible debts to contractors.

The information obtained has a direct impact on the cooperation with the supplier.

All purchases, including those made within the framework agreements concluded, are subject to the provisions of the „Santander Bank Polska Purchasing Policy” and must be carried out in cooperation with the Purchasing Office. The supplier of a product or service involved in the purchasing process is obliged to provide documentation in the B-ZONE system. One of such documents is a CSR questionnaire, which includes information about activities in the area of social responsibility, fulfilment of criteria concerning employment practices and respect for human rights, as well as compliance with environmental criteria (the impact of goods and services on the environment). The level of social responsibility of suppliers assessed on the basis of the questionnaire is taken into account when evaluating offers and selecting the bank’s supplier, and may be decisive.

We recommend that all of our business units apply best purchasing practices when making purchases, such as maintaining objectivity and the highest ethical standards in the supplier selection process, negotiating the terms of the offer made by the supplier, verifying that the products, services and invoices delivered conform to the negotiated terms, and creating and maintaining records of the supplier selection process.

Distinctive features of Santander Bank Polska

Newly signed contracts with our suppliers include mandatory corporate social responsibility clauses which oblige suppliers to comply with the 10 principles of the Global Compact established at the UN meeting in Davos in January 1999.

Each of the bank’s suppliers with a turnover in excess of PLN 1 million (the turnover for the previous and current year are taken into account, including the planned purchase) is assigned a billing limit at the beginning of the qualification process in order to make sure they do not become too dependent on the bank and that they diversify their revenue sources. Suppliers subject to qualification and providing critical services to the bank are asked about their sustainability activities. Their answers are taken into account in the final approval of cooperation with the supplier.

The requirement to complete a CSR survey imposed on all suppliers invited to take part in tenders is for some companies the first opportunity to become familiar with the topic of social responsibility. This means that the survey has an educational effect.

Our suppliers in 2020 in numbers

1,579

suppliers with annual turnover exceeding PLN 50,000
1,147

suppliers with turnover > PLN 50,000 subject to qualification
441

procurement processes carried out by the bank
93.8%

the bank's suppliers are Polish companies or have their registered offices or branches in Poland
100%

suppliers completed CSR surveys in the B-ZONE system
1,377

suppliers who have been verified for CSR and environmental requirements

Our plans for 2021

Our main objective is to become the market leader in responsible business. We are continually aligning our operations with the international CSR standards of the Santander Group and to this end Santander Group is currently developing Guidelines. Work is also underway on an ESG questionnaire that will be addressed to our suppliers. Later in 2021, we also plan to conduct an information campaign among suppliers and collect ESG information.