Purchasing procedures

To generate a long-lasting competitive advantage in terms of service, quality, costs and social and environmental responsibility, we aim to foster a system of efficient management of purchasing procedures.

Accordingly, we identify and use the most reliable suppliers that can provide high quality products and services to the Group within the constraints imposed by  Generali’s social and environmental guidelines.

We identify and select suppliers worldwide through a series of clear, precise and non-discriminatory procedures, using criteria that are objective, well-documented and transparent, based on the quality of the products and services offered. In doing so, we also are very attentive to comply with the international ethical principles on labor and human rights, as well as the environmental impact of approaches to production and supply.

 SUPPLIER QUALIFICATION

The qualification of our suppliers in the main countries in which we operate takes place through an online platform, the One Procurement Tool. This process allows suppliers to enter their business information at first and to view and acknowledge Generali Group documents.
At a later stage, we ask suppliers to answer questionnaires and to upload some documents. The requested information includes among others whether the supplier is in possession of an environmental and social certification, and whether it has an environmental policy or participates in initiatives focused on environmental safeguarding and protection.
We also leverage on external international Infoproviders that provide us with specific data on the financial and economic status of a Company and also on reputational and third party related risks. We constantly monitor all these elements and track any changes in order to manage possible issues or negative scorings/hits received from the Infoprovider. According to the severity of the issue detected an escalation process shall be activated, involving the Group relevant functions and the Supplier.

During the selection process and in a bid to encourage suppliers to adopt socially responsible & sustainable behavior, we perform an ESG assessment of our Suppliers through specialized Info Providers. In particular, the evaluation of environmental factors in the assessment of our suppliers is in line with the objectives set out in the Sustainability Group Policy and in the Climate Change Strategy.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion have been increasingly recognized as Group priority. The importance is such that it forms a foundation to the company strategy, which supports a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace. We believe that that cooperation between people with different ethnicities, ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, cultures, experiences, skills, personalities and perspectives is fundamental to enabling business growth and innovation as well as to attracting and retaining talent. We strongly promote a fair and supportive environment where everyone is encouraged to speak up. Everyone is responsible for creating and promoting a welcoming, safe and supportive environment, where integrity, respect, cooperation, diversity, equity and inclusion are effectively pursued to enhance empowerment and engagement, thus contributing to the success of our Group.

We attribute to each of our suppliers a qualification score and, where necessary, we evaluate them also on the quality of the service. Qualified suppliers  can participate in the procurement process and can be selected to provide their services or goods to the Group.

We follow Green Procurement standards when buying goods and services, choosing those that have a lower impact on human health and on the environment when compared to other peer products and services.

To promote green purchasing behavior across all the countries in which we operate, we have launched a process involving all our main suppliers with the aim of:

  • providing guidelines and methodological support for the introduction of green procurement criteria
  • promoting a ESG assessment which we take into account during a tender
  • promoting the Code of Conduct to guarantee fairness and transparency in relationships with our Suppliers
  • recognizing efforts made and results achieved, encouraging the adoption of further sustainable practices

In addition, in some cases during the supplier selection process and when making purchasing decisions, we favor whenever it’s possible cooperatives or organizations with a social purpose, in order to support their mission and their effort in providing assistance to disadvantaged people.