Sustainable purchasing may be a less visible aspect of our corporate responsibility, but that doesn’t make it any the less important. What we choose to buy from our suppliers has a far-reaching impact on the environment and the community. And Fortis aims to have a positive impact in this regard.

Our Central Purchase Organisation (CPO) drew up its CPO Sustainability Policy in 2005. The primary aim of this group-wide policy is to gradually reduce the environmental impact of the goods and services we procure and to ensure that human rights are observed at all stages of our suppliers’ production process. All new purchasing contracts and contract renewals over EUR 125,000 include requirements relating to environmental standards, child labour and other human rights standards. We also reserve the right to have suppliers audited.

In 2007, a Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire was developed as a joint effort between CPO, CSR and an external consultant. Herewith the supplier is asked to provide Fortis with information and verification on the extent to which sustainability is incorporated from corporate commitments and policies to sustainability performance and transparency. As part of our CPO Sustainability policy, our supplier code of conduct(link to pdf) was adapted and is compliant with our Environmental -and Human Rights Statement. The Questionnaire and the Supplier Code of Conduct will be applied in all Fortis purchasing tenders.