Case study: How the Talanx Group promotes sustainability among its suppliers
The Talanx Group is a multi-brand provider in the insurance and financial services sector, operating with subsidiaries and branches on five continents and through cooperations in more than 150 countries. Although it considers the risk of human rights abuses and of significant negative environmental impacts in its supply chain to be minor, the Talanx Group takes care when selecting suppliers to make sure that they comply with national legislation on environmental protection and human rights Tweet This!, and with its Talanx Values.
This case study is based on the 2020 Sustainability Report by the Talanx 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 Talanx Group’s sustainability strategy aims to design its day-to-day operations and purchasing activities for sustainability, making a significant contribution to sustainable development by integrating sustainability criteria into purchasing operations. In order to promote sustainability among its suppliers the Talanx Group took action to:
- implement a Code of Conduct for Business Partners
- promote compliance with labour practices and respect for human rights among suppliers
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) the Talanx Group has identified;
- How the Talanx Group proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by the Talanx 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 c identified a range of material issues, such as
climate change, compliance, data protection and cybersecurity, responsibility to customers, ESG in asset management. Among these, promoting sustainability among its suppliers stands out as a key material issue for the Talanx 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 Talanx Group engages with:
| Stakeholder Group |
| Employees |
| Customers |
| Business partners |
| Investors and analysts |
| NGOs |
| Academia |
| Associations |
| Media |
| Politics |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics the Talanx Group engaged with its stakeholders through stakeholder surveys among both internal and external stakeholders.
What actions were taken by the Talanx Group to promote sustainability among its suppliers?
In its 2020 Sustainability Report the Talanx Group reports that it took the following actions for promoting sustainability among its suppliers:
- Implementing a Code of Conduct for Business Partners
- The Talanx Group has developed a uniform Groupwide Code of Conduct for Business Partners in order to underscore its commitment to national environmental legislation on environmental protection and respect for human rights, and to upholding its Talanx Values, and to be able to exert a positive influence over and above the legal requirements. The document covers both IT and Non-IT Purchasing and sets out binding rules, which the Talanx Group applies systematically when selecting suppliers, on the following topics: anti-corruption and bribery matters, respect for human rights, environmental, social and other employee matters, data protection and the protection of business secrets.
- Promoting compliance with labour practices and respect for human rights among suppliers
- The Talanx Group’s Non-IT Purchasing unit largely uses domestic suppliers. As such, they are subject to German jurisdiction, and in particular to German employment laws. Consequently, Talanx has not performed a separate review to date to determine whether its suppliers comply with labour practices, whether they violate or endanger the right to freedom of association, collective bargaining or human rights, whether they pose the risk of child, forced and compulsory labour or whether they impact on society. Equally, it is not expected that existing supplier relationships in the area of IT procurement violate or endanger these aspects. Moreover, the Talanx Group’s Code of Conduct for IT Contractors, which covers labour practices, human rights, environmental protection and ethical standards, applies to these relationships. The Talanx Group’s Group-wide Code of Conduct, which is available in nine languages, is also an effective way of making the Group’s commitment to complying with the applicable laws transparent.
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 308-2 Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and actions taken
3) Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria
4) Disclosure 414-2 Negative social impacts in the supply chain and actions taken
Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria does not correspond to any SDG.
Disclosure 308-2 Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and actions taken 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
Disclosure 414-2 Negative social impacts in the supply chain and actions taken 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 Talanx 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:
Note to the Talanx Group: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.