Case study: How the Intercos Group promotes sustainability among its suppliers
The Intercos Group, born in 1972 from the passion and ambition of its founder Dario Ferrari, is today one of the leading business to business (“B2B”) operators for the ideation, production and marketing of cosmetic and skin-care products at the global level. The Intercos Group is committed to encouraging its suppliers to join the Group’s commitment to respecting the environment and society, along its entire value chain.
This case study is based on the 2020 Sustainability Report by the Intercos Group, 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
The selection and monitoring of suppliers’ performance according to sustainability criteria, is a top priority for the Intercos Group. Tweet This! In order to promote sustainability among its suppliers the Intercos Group took action to:
- implement a Corporate Policy for Sustainable Procurement
- promote human rights
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) the Intercos Group has identified;
- How the Intercos Group proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by the Intercos Group to promote sustainability among its suppliers
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 Sustainability Report the Intercos Group identified a range of material issues, such as occupational health and safety, waste management and pollution, energy and climate change, employees’ welfare and wellbeing. Among these, promoting sustainability among its suppliers stands out as a key material issue for the Intercos Group.
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 the Intercos Group engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics the Intercos Group engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Shareholders, capital provides and financial community
| · Shareholders annual meeting · Update meetings with Shareholders (quarterly) · Periodical meetings with banks during the year · Consolidated Balance published every three months · Website, social media, press releases, newsletter |
| Public Administration and Authorities, local communities, NGOs and multistakeholder associations | · Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) · EcoVadis questionnaire · Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) · Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI)
|
| Suppliers
| · Sector exhibitions · Selection and qualification processes · Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) · Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI) |
| Trade unions
| · Union meetings with internal and external representatives · Plenary assemblies with workforce |
| Universities and Research centres
| · Recruiting and employer branding activities (Career days) · Social media |
| Workforce | · Training sessions |
| Public opinion, competitors, environment | · Sector exhibitions · Website, social media, press releases, newsletter
|
| Clients and final consumers
| · Periodical business reviews on sustainability topics · Sector exhibitions · Webinars on specific topics |
What actions were taken by the Intercos Group to promote sustainability among its suppliers?
In its 2020 Sustainability Report the Intercos Group reports that it took the following actions for promoting sustainability among its suppliers:
- Implementing a Corporate Policy for Sustainable Procurement
- The Intercos Group defines the social and environmental principles and criteria to be applied when selecting and qualifying its suppliers in its Corporate Policy for Sustainable Procurement. With this Policy, the Intercos Group commits to pursue the development of a sustainable supply chain, relying on the principles of the international standards SA 8000, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 (now ISO 45001) for the qualification of suppliers, providing, in particular, the respect for human rights, the fight against discrimination, the respect for workers’ rights, the protection against child labour and the pledge for a safe and healthy working environment.
- Promoting human rights
- The Intercos Group is committed to ensuring the respect for human and labour rights along its supply chain. When selecting new suppliers and monitoring the performance of existing suppliers, the Intercos Group, in addition to considering commercial and product quality criteria, also focuses on their ethical performance (safety, environment, human rights, compliance with local legislation) and evaluates them through on-site visits, the completion of a questionnaire and any other specific measures based on current needs. Moreover, the Intercos Group requires its suppliers to sign, together with the signing of the commercial contract, the Group’s Codes of Ethics and Conduct. The Intercos Group specifically monitors the aspects related to human rights also outside the organisation, in particular in China where the largest part (60%) of the Group’s procured packaging is generated, and where legislation is acknowledged to be more flexible regarding those very topics. The evaluation of Chinese suppliers is performed through the compilation of a detailed Check List (which contains about 250 questions, of which more than 30 are dedicated to social responsibility) and the audits at the suppliers’ facilities. Since 2017, the function that manages the selection and monitoring of the performance of raw material and packaging suppliers is centralised at Group level and supported by a local team to carry out audits in China.
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 the Intercos Group, 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.intercos.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Intercos-Group_2020-Sustainability-Report.pdf
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