Case study: How Autoneum promotes sustainability among its suppliers
Autoneum is the global market and technology leader in acoustic and thermal management solutions for vehicles and a partner for light vehicle manufacturers around the world. Autoneum is committed to continuously increasing the transparency of its supply chain Tweet This!, working together with suppliers on improving their environmental, social and ethical performance.
This case study is based on the 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report by Autoneum, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Autoneum pursues the same values and principles in its supply chain as it does within its own boundaries, seeking, by sourcing responsibly, to fulfill the expectations of both its customers and end consumers. In order to promote sustainability among its suppliers Autoneum took action to:
- implement a Code of Conduct for Suppliers
- assess suppliers
- promote material compliance
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Autoneum has identified;
- How Autoneum proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Autoneum to promote sustainability among its suppliers
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report Autoneum identified a range of material issues, such as economic performance, anti-corruption, effluents and waste, occupational health & safety, diversity & equal opportunity, socio-economic compliance. Among these, promoting sustainability among its suppliers stands out as a key material issue for Autoneum.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Autoneum engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics Autoneum engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees | · Dialog between employees and managers · Satisfaction surveys · Idea management · Intranet · Digital collaboration platforms |
| Customers | · Development process of products and services · In-house fairs at customer premises · Media · Social media |
| Financial community | · Shareholder meetings · Dialog with financial institutions and analysts |
| Research | · Cooperation with universities · Scientific lead or participation at conferences · Hosting of students on R&T projects |
| Media & public
| · Communication through media events · Publications · Advertising · Social media and websites |
| Local communities
| · Community engagement projects · Plant visits · Neighborhood dialog · Open door events · One-on-one dialog with local official representatives |
| Civil society
| · Inquiries · Collaboration projects · Memberships |
| Industry associations
| · Memberships in various organisations · Event hosting · Participation in working groups |
What actions were taken by Autoneum to promote sustainability among its suppliers?
In its 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report Autoneum reports that it took the following actions for promoting sustainability among its suppliers:
- Implementing a Code of Conduct for Suppliers
- Autoneum requires all suppliers to commit to and operate in accordance with its Code of Conduct for Suppliers, and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The Code of Conduct for Suppliers defines key principles in the following areas: human and labour rights, health and safety, the environment, material compliance and business ethics.
- Assessing suppliers
- In the case of its most business-critical suppliers, Autoneum conducts a Supplier Quality Assessment (SQA), an internal audit mechanism that assesses a variety of factors related to quality, health and safety, and the environment. As part of the commitments made in the Advance Sustainability Strategy 2025, Autoneum checks its procurement management framework annually against the requirements of the ISO 20 400 Guidance for Sustainable Procurement. Based on the results, Autoneum implements an action plan to close the identified gaps on an ongoing basis. Additionally, Autoneum has a sustainability risk analysis mechanism in place that focuses on its ten Global Material Families. According to this analysis, there is a potentially higher occurrence of environmental, social and ethical risks in the supply chains of five key materials. For these, Autoneum has identified the top suppliers in terms of business volume with Autoneum, totalling around 80 across all Business Groups. In 2020 these suppliers were invited, for the second consecutive year, to conduct a sustainability self-assessment via a supplier assurance platform, developed specifically for automotive supply chains. The assessment evaluates the environmental, social and compliance management system of suppliers based on a detailed questionnaire and attached evidence.
- Promoting material compliance
- Autoneum’s material compliance team is responsible for developing processes and tools that ensure the materials purchased and used in its products conform with both legal and customer requirements. Material compliance is essential to protect the health and safety of the end consumers who drive cars equipped with Autoneum components. Autoneum recorded no incidents concerning the health and safety impacts of its products during the reporting year and uses the best practice Compliance Process Manager tool to ensure supplier compliance with material specifications and thresholds defined by legal regulatory frameworks such as REACH10 and GADSL11, as well as those specified by automobile manufacturers. The tool allows Autoneum to maintain a comprehensive database of these requirements and helps it and its suppliers to monitor any changes in a single platform.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria
2) Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria
Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria does not correspond to any SDG.
Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality
- Targets: 5.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.8
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Targets: 16.1
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References:
This case study is based on published information by Autoneum, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
https://www.autoneum.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Autoneum_CR_Report_2020-1.pdf
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