Procurement & supply chain

BOBST is committed to driving operations and overseeing its supply base in a manner that minimizes environmental effects and enables a positive social impact. In this context, sustainability becomes a priority business decision factor, along with risk management, quality, cost, and delivery performance. We have chosen to apply a risk-based approach to the riskiest suppliers, which includes documentary material, on-site assessments, and the EcoVadis partnership to secure the mitigation plan.

BOBST’s sustainability team developed a due-diligence process with a risk-based approach to meeting the Swiss Ordinance on Due Diligence and Transparency in relation to Minerals and Metals from Conflict-Affected Areas and Child Labor. It’s part of the requirements for non-financial transparency for Swiss companies that entered into force in 2022 (as a counterproposal to the Responsible Business Initiative (RBI) adopted by the Swiss Federal Council). After approbation by the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Committee, the Chief Procurement Officer and the Head of Corporate Sustainability followed it up with a quarterly steering committee. The sustainable-procurement vision and policy were set in 2022 to enforce the corporate sustainability strategy throughout the purchasing community and its related supply chain.

Suppliers not fulfilling the due diligence will be downgraded to new-business hold status, as per standard sourcing process-performance management. The business relationship will be terminated if a supplier fails to comply with the Supplier Code of Conduct and does not improve on the other performance criteria.

An integrity line is available for internal and external stakeholders to report any deviations.

After a strategy and vision workshop in 2022, all new suppliers were onboarded in the sustainability due-diligence process. Under the responsibility of Group Purchasing, each new supplier was requested to sign the Supplier Code of Conduct, while the BOBST purchasing staff completed a supplier risk assessment. EcoVadis, with which BOBST entered into partnership, further performed an assessment of suppliers, in accordance with our risk-based sample of 276 suppliers.

For existing suppliers, BOBST’s due-diligence process can be summarized by this four-step approach, with the aim to have at least 50% of the spend done:

• STEP 1 – Compliance with Supplier Code of Conduct: subtarget 83% of the spend; 85% done;
• STEP 2 – Supplier Risk Assessment (SRA): 694 suppliers; 72% of the spend done;
• STEP 3 – EcoVadis assessment with a minimum rating of 25/100; 493 suppliers; 52% done;
• STEP 4 – Full assessment for suppliers of sustainability risks: 100% of cases are targeted; one supplier was identified as being “at risk” through our Supplier Risk Assessment or EcoVadis.

BOBST achieved a 50,8% compliance rating.

BOBST has investigated, and confirms itself to be below the limit of import and processing quantities with regards to section 2, art. 3-4, related to minerals and metals from conflict and high-risk areas from the Ordinance.

To execute our vision and drive our supply chain transformation, BOBST has committed to awarding 63% of its spend to sustainable suppliers. As a first step, qualifying as a sustainable supplier means that a Supplier Code of Conduct has been signed, Supplier Risk Assessment established, and an EcoVadis rating equal to or above 31 has been provided (raised from 25 to 31). The global purchasing department has been incentivized accordingly and will be monitored from 2024 onwards to meet this ambitious target.

The new supplier selection process enforced in 2022 added sustainability chapters, including social criteria such as child labor, conflict minerals and business ethics. In 2022, in line with this deployment phase and as per purchasing process in place, 76% of new suppliers have been audited using such criteria. None of those audits have evidenced risks on human rights.

For existing suppliers, sustainability and social criteria are considered through our Supplier Risk Assessment audit. For suppliers considered “at risk,” the related actions are tracked and followed on a quarterly basis.

Selected suppliers are also assessed by our partner EcoVadis, and actions are tracked and followed along with the Supplier Risk Assessment process previously mentioned.

In our sustainable procurement policy, we require our suppliers to take action to improve environmental and social impacts and share results through a third-party assessment body.