Commitments
Sustainable Procurement
Building a fairer, safer, greener supply chain
In the face of rapid urbanisation and growing pollution, we all deserve a greener, fairer, safer future. That’s why, as a sustainable mobility leader, Alstom is fully committed to reducing environmental, social and ethical risks at each link in its supply chain.
What exactly is sustainable procurement?
Alstom develops complex and integrated projects that require a strong and trustworthy ecosystem in order to succeed. Indeed, this means developing close partnerships with approximately 23,000 suppliers and contractors in more than 88 countries. They represent 60% of the global spend and cover a wide range of activities such as: train metallic and interior, electrical & propulsion, digital mobility solutions, infrastructure, maintenance and modernisation activities to guarantee the highest safety and quality standards. To achieve this, Alstom has created a dedicated Sustainable Procurement Policy, including an Ethics and Sustainable Development Charter for Alstom’s Suppliers and Contractors. Alstom has set the objective that all its suppliers and contractors commit to respecting this Charter.
On 31 March 2022, 96% of purchase amount were covered by the referenced suppliers having signed the Ethics and Sustainable Development Charter, above the target of 95% for 2021/22.
Unwavering commitment
(the information below is non-exhaustive)
As part of the United Nations Global Compact initiative, Alstom promotes, and asks its suppliers to support, core values and international standards of:
- Labour standards
e.g. eliminate discrimination and forced labour; comply with regulations for working hours and wages.
- Ethics
e.g. comply with fair competition and anti-corruption regulations; avoid conflicts of interest.
- Environment
e.g. limit use of hazardous substances; promote environmentally friendly technologies and recycling.
- Occupational health & safety
e.g. foster a proactive attitude towards health issues; continuously improve safety for all employees and customers.
- Products and services
e.g. integrate eco-design principles in product development; ensure compliance with hazardous substance regulations.
To ensure suppliers meet these environmental, social and ethical criteria, Alstom works with EcoVadis to carry out sustainable development performance evaluations based on the United Nations Global Compact and ISO 26000 standard.
As part of this process, Alstom supports suppliers in implementing action plans to target specific areas for improvement. In this frame, for fiscal year 2021/22, screenings, online assessments and onsite audits cover 62% of the total purchase volume. As part of the Group’s strategy Alstom In Motion (AIM) 2025, in order to act as a responsible business partner, the Sustainable Procurement objective is to monitor or evaluate 100% of the suppliers on CSR and Ethics & Compliance standards as per their level of risk, by April 2025.
At the rail industry level, Alstom has also founded, in collaboration with SNCF, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), DB and Knorr-Bremse, an initiative called Railsponsible. CAF, CFL, NMBS, RFI, SBB, Schindler, Siemens, SKF, ÖBB and WABTEC have joined the Railsponsible committee subsequently. Focused on sustainable sourcing, this initiative aims at improving the CSR practices of the whole supply chain through a common approach, field collaboration and the sharing of best practices, tools and processes. Under this framework, the members of Railsponsible use the same supplier evaluation platform in order to measure their CSR performance.
Driving change
To create a more sustainable procurement culture, Alstom is keen to involve all key players within the procurement and supplier quality communities. By offering a dedicated communication and training program, Alstom aims to provide deep insights into its sustainable procurement approach.
In order to provide its Customers with high quality and cost-efficient solutions in a competitive railway market, Alstom proactively cooperates with its strategic Partners via the Alliance program. The core of Alstom Alliance is to establish long-term, win-win partnerships with valued suppliers - as of today, 24 partners have joined a dedicated steering committee, driving business development and international expansion, industrial excellence, and innovation.
