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Safran engages its suppliers in a responsible approach
In a backdrop where regulations encourage businesses to adopt increasingly responsible behaviors, and where the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) issues are becoming increasingly intense, Safran has joined forces with the International Aerospace Environmental Group (IAEG) in an initiative aiming to assess the CSR practices of its suppliers, using the solution developed by EcoVadis.
EcoVadis, for a sustainable supply chain
The IAEG comprises 57 members, including Airbus, Boeing, Raytheon Technologies, Rolls-Royce, Thales, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, ATR and of course Safran. It covers 73% of total aerospace industry earnings and was created to cooperate and share innovative environmental initiatives. One of them involves a fundamental movement to certify the supply chain using the EcoVadis solution.
“As the leader in its sector, the EcoVadis assessment enables companies to measure their environmental, social and ethical impact based on ESG principles” explains Emmanuel Potier, CSR Director Group Purchasing. But in a sector where different ratings agencies exist, it was essential to determine a single, tried and tested, reliable reference system. This was the aim of the IAEG when it issued a call for proposals, and 12 members have now officially selected EcoVadis.
“Given the new European regulations and its own commitments to responsible procurement, Safran needed an effective supplier assessment and rating tool” continues Emmanuel Potier. “The benefit of this approach is that it addresses the entire value chain, with ESG assessments approved by participating members of the IAEG. It can therefore go beyond our tier 1 suppliers for Safran. Furthermore, it incorporates existing EcoVadis assessments and enables our suppliers to complete a single questionnaire, meaning no time-wasting!”
Assess and deploy action plans
With EcoVadis, the whole supply chain and value creation chain will be assessed based on a common reference framework as well as precise environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. In all there are 21, split into four themes: environment, human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. “The same assessment questionnaire is applied to all, differentiated solely based on the size, area of business, and location of the company assessed”, clarifies Emmanuel Potier.
Today, around 3,500 suppliers have been contacted by IAEG members and assessed by EcoVadis. The aim is to reach beyond 7,000 by the end of the year. After each assessment, EcoVadis provides the supplier with a score out of a hundred and proposes detailed feedback, enabling them to implement a corrective action plan. Over time, the EcoVadis CSR rating will become mandatory for all Safran suppliers and will be a selection and evaluation criterion.
EcoVadis offers us a robust, credible tool to assess our supplier performance on ESG criteria, and therefore to better identify and manage the related risks. This tool will make a positive contribution to our main objective, namely to build a more robust and sustainable supply chain,
The adoption of the EcoVadis solution represents significant progress for Safran in its CSR strategy, which includes the embodiment of responsibility with three commitments: observe the highest ethical standards, reinforce responsible practices across the supply chain and respect the environment. This is all done coherently across the aerospace sector using the strategy recommended by the IAEG (International Aerospace Environmental Group).
Key figure: 61*
61/100 is the EcoVadis rating for Safran following its assessment in 2023. This corresponds to the Silver level.
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