Case study: How Bulten promotes sustainability across its supply chain
Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, Bulten has since developed into one of the largest suppliers of fasteners to the international automotive industry, with around 1,600 employees worldwide. As part of its sustainability strategy, Bulten assumes responsibility for its entire value chain, as its suppliers follow its code of conduct and share its values. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2020 Annual Report with Sustainability Report by Bulten, 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
Bulten continuously develops its sustainability assessments of suppliers of direct materials, transportation and packaging materials, to make sure that its supply chain lives up to its demands and expectations, also introducing a supplier ranking system which forms the basis for future decisions. In order to promote sustainability across its supply chain Bulten took action to:
- promote compliance
- monitor suppliers
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Bulten has identified;
- How Bulten proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Bulten to promote sustainability across its supply chain
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 Annual Report with Sustainability Report Bulten identified a range of material issues, such as business ethics and corporate social responsibility, Health and Safety, recruitment, employee turnover. Among these, promoting sustainability across its supply chain stands out as a key material issue for Bulten.
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 Bulten engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics Bulten engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Customers
| · Meetings with customers · Sustainability assessments · Customers’ sustainability seminars |
| Employees and their representatives
| · Global employee survey · Regular dialogue with union representatives and employee talks in Bulten’s so called annual development dialogue |
| Business partners (JV partners, suppliers, etc.)
| · Bulten’s process for selecting suppliers · JV board meetings · Dialogue in connection with audits · Supplier meetings |
| Owners, investors, analysts, etc.
| · Board meetings · Capital markets day · Investor meetings · Interviews · Quarterly reports · Annual General Meeting |
| Local community (residents, local management and authorities, etc.)
| · Student fairs · Collaboration groups locally with other companies · Collaboration with college / university · Dialogue and exchange in connection with the establishment of new operations, permit processes, etc. |
| Governments, legislators, authorities
| · Direct contacts in connection with establishment and permit processes, as well as via information from interest and industry organisations |
What actions were taken by Bulten to promote sustainability across its supply chain?
In its 2020 Annual Report with Sustainability Report Bulten reports that it took the following actions for promoting sustainability across its supply chain:
- Promoting compliance
- All Bulten suppliers should be certified to ISO 9001 (IATF 16949) as well as ISO 14001 and they all have requirements for an implemented code of conduct to make sure that they share the same values with Bulten when it comes to its requirements on business ethics, health and safety, environmental requirements and social responsibility. To ensure compliance, the code of conduct is included in Bulten’s agreement templates and is managed via its Supplier Relationship Management, or SRM, system.
- Monitoring suppliers
- Over the years Bulten has established working methods to monitor and audit its main suppliers, and potential and new suppliers are carefully evaluated based on its code of conduct, including human rights, employment and working conditions, and health and safety. If it decides to proceed, an audit is performed by Bulten on site which, for example, includes the management system, financial status, the purchasing process and flow of goods, as well as the supplier’s follow-up systems. With its existing suppliers, Bulten conducts regular assessments, and has dedicated employees who work with quality assurance and supplier development.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria
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 Bulten, 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://mb.cision.com/Main/405/3323465/1400027.pdf
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