The Bel - visit site - Bel Group

can help defi ne action plans that take the
farm’s specifi c environment into account,
while providing guidance for a continuous
improvement process.
CSR at the heart of discussions
with suppliers
Bel seeks to promote sustainable
development principles among all its
suppliers, and to get them involved in
continuous improvement actions with
respect to the social and environmental
challenges facing their activities.
To that end, it drafted a Sustainable
Purchasing Charter, which spells out
the Group’s expectations vis-à-vis
its suppliers.
The charter is presented to current
suppliers and to new ones during bids
or at the beginning of business relations,
to ensure compliance.
These expectations are expressed
in several areas:
Environmental: Practicing the
precautionary principle, minimizing
environmental impact, complying
with safety standards.
Human rights and labor standards:
Banning child labor, eliminating forced
or compulsory labor, creating an
environment conducive to health, safety
and employee development.
Business ethics: Complying with laws
and regulations, respecting intellectual
property rights and fighting corruption.
A charter compliance clause has
been progressively integrated into
all purchasing contracts. Depending
on the sector, additional demands
may also be included.
Goal:
Assess 350 suppliers
according to CSR criteria
by end 2012
Assessment of 350 suppliers
by end-2012
The Sustainable Purchasing Charter
is the cornerstone of a global program
by the purchasing department that
covers three other areas, including
training for Group buyers, assessing
supplier CSR performance and raising
awareness among business partners.
In 2011, the buyer training program
Sustainable
Purchasing
Charter
was expanded from headquarters
to all local buyers.
For supplier evaluations, Bel’s goal
is to have assessed the 350 suppliers
considered to be the most strategic,
or whose activity carries potential CSR
risk, by end 2012. At end 2011, nearly
300 suppliers, representing 30% of
purchases, excluding milk collection,
had been evaluated. Some of the
assessments revealed the need for
corrective action plans, which were
prepared jointly with Bel teams.
Since the effort was launched, a quarter
of the suppliers have been reassessed,
with over half of them showing
improvement. The results prove that
Bel’s CSR effort can have a true ripple
effect, and its results can be extended
thanks to the involvement of the
Group’s partners.
Bel Group 2011 • 33