SUPPLY CHAIN

We bear a great responsibility in our global supply chains. We are aware of this and act accordingly – we also expect this commitment from our business partners. Our goal is to develop a common understanding of human rights, environmental protection and the fight against child labor.

To supply our customers as reliably as possible in times of uncertain supply chains, BENTELER continues to rely on long-term supplier relationships. In line with the strategic principle “Local for Local,” we source raw materials, goods and services predominantly from regions where the production takes place. To ensure this, we use a range of targeted measures to select new business partners and manage the risks of our supplier network.

In 2022, the approach of building local supplier relationships close to customers was further pursued. BENTELER locations close to customers to shorten transport routes have also proved advantageous in the past. Around 39 locations of the Automotive Division are located directly at or in close proximity to customers. Within a continent, the localization share, i.e. the proportion of spending on local suppliers, was 82% in 2022 (previous year: 85.6%).

The BENTELER Supplier Code of Conduct specifies our standards of social, ethical and ecological responsibility. Our business partners must acknowledge these requirements and also commit to address them within their own business relationships. After the complete revision of the Supplier Code of Conduct in 2022, the core requirements on the topics of work (including the ban on child labour, respect for human rights and the ban on discrimination), health and safety, the environment, market behavior and ethics and responsibility within the supply chain will be formulated in six chapters.

The BENTELER Supplier Code of Conduct is mandatory for all business partners. Since 2023, this also applies to the procurement of indirect materials/ services, machines and spare parts. The Supplier Code of Conduct is reviewed annually to determine whether it needs to be updated.

A risk management tool was implemented at the end of 2022 for the targeted monitoring of corporate due diligence (for sustainability) in the supply chain. This will be rolled out globally in the BENTELER Group in 2023. Monitoring has been carried out since the beginning of 2023 using two different approaches to identify negative impacts and derive ad hoc or other measures in the long term. On the one hand, there is incident tracking that provides 24/7 real-time warnings for all focused branches of business partners. On the other hand, a risk assessment is carried out using international sustainability criteria via an annual score (country-based). To date, no incidents or recognizable violations have been recorded in this regard (as of May 2023).