SCA’s success depends on its ability to build and maintain trust in all its business relationships. The group does business and sells products on the merits of price, quality and service and not through illegal or unethical business practices.
With SCA’s growth and expansion into new areas and countries and an extensive list of raw materials required to manufacture and market its products, the Group’s supply chain is becoming increasingly global in nature. As a consequence, the risks related to environmental performance, human rights, child labor, corruption, etc. have increased and SCA’s work on supply chain assurance has become increasingly complex.
While suppliers in many different parts of the world appear to face many of the same sustainability challenges, SCA believes that individual/local solutions are key to encouraging sustainability in its supply chain. Thus, SCA aims through ongoing dialogue, to develop strong relations with its suppliers to help ensure that the goods and services purchased are sustainable.
"SCA has been working since 2005 to establish routines in its businesses to manage supply chain risks."
SCA believes that strong relations go beyond the purely commercial and enable SCA businesses to work together with suppliers to encourage and support them to maintain sustainability standards similar to those SCA expects of its own businesses. SCA has thus been working since 2005 to establish routines in its businesses to manage supply chain risks.
Responsibility for choice of suppliers rests with the individual SCA business groups. Thus, practical implementation of supply chain assurance can differ between the groups but the overall direction is common regardless of where in the world the SCA Group conducts its business. All SCA business groups undertake direct monitoring of supplier performance through the use of self-assessment questionnaires as well as regular on-site supplier assessments and audits by SCA procurement specialists. Environmental assessments are based on the principles in the international environmental standard ISO 14001. Other requirements are based on international and local directives and regulations.
"In 2007 the Group continued its work to fully integrate the requirements in the SCA Code of Conduct into the business groups’ systems for supplier assessment."
In 2007 the Group continued its work to fully integrate the requirements in the SCA Code of Conduct into the business groups’ systems for supplier assessment. SCA’s goal is that new suppliers are subject to an initial assessment to check that they can comply with SCA’s requirements with regards to quality, hygiene, environmental performance and to ensure that their business is conducted in accordance with the requirements in the SCA Code of Conduct. The results of the self-assessment questionnaires and on-site assessments are communicated to suppliers to form the basis for further improvements.