Legrand's responsible purchasing approach is one of the structuring elements of its social responsibility.
To ensure sustainable development of its activities, the Group expects its suppliers and subcontractors to meet the same standards of social and environmental responsibility that it imposes on itself. Legrand engages with them and supports them with a progress-oriented approach.
Group Chief Procurement Officer
Our responsible purchasing strategy focuses on fostering and developing collaboration with the partners and suppliers who support us in our approach, in order to build lasting, balanced and mutually beneficial relationships with them.
The Group Purchasing Policy establishes sustainable, balanced, and mutually beneficial principles with suppliers who respect Legrand's values. This Purchasing policy is implemented by an ISO 9001-certified (Quality Management System) Purchasing Department.
It is applied internationally by a Purchasing function that is present in the Group's entities. Within the Purchasing Department, a Purchasing Manager monitors and implements the responsible purchasing rules.
Behaving towards suppliers with fairness, transparency and impartiality, maintaining confidentiality, creating a contractual framework, observing business ethics, etc. these are the guidelines for the relationship Legrand intends to have with its suppliers.
These topics and the behaviour to adopt are clearly set out in the code of ethics for supplier relationships deployed in the Purchasing Department, particularly in the context of the Group's compliance programme.
As a stakeholder in responsible supplier relations, Legrand helped to draw up the “Ten Commitments for Sustainable Purchasing Charter” in 2009 through the CDAF (Conseil National des Achats). It was one of the first signatories of this charter, which is now known as the “Responsible Supplier Relations Charter”.
In 2012, Legrand was one of the first four companies in France to receive this certification. The certification was renewed in late 2016, confirming Legrand's commitment and its responsible purchasing practices with its suppliers. One of the Charter's and the certification's good practices is to have balanced General Purchasing Terms and Conditions.
Legrand established a supplier mediation process in its General Purchasing Terms and Conditions back in 2010. In the event of a dispute, this process uses an internal mediator who is independent from the Purchasing function.
Faced with the globalisation of business and markets, Legrand is working with suppliers from many different countries and cultures, with highly contrasting social and environmental practices.
Legrand's responsible purchasing initiative is based on the principle that the Group's ethical, environmental, and social rules also apply to its suppliers and subcontractors, who are chosen and managed in accordance with these rules.
Legrand's Purchasing specifications have therefore integrated Legrand's requirements in terms of the environment, health and safety at work, respect for human rights and compliance with labour law.
Likewise, the supplier contracts incorporate a paragraph dedicated to supplier social, societal, and environmental responsibility.
Legrand thus expects its suppliers to observe the same standards of responsibility as it does. For example, Group suppliers, who are major players in their market and key partners of Legrand, are encouraged to comply with the principles of the Global Compact, to be consistent with Legrand's membership of it.
Because of its activity, Legrand is never in a situation where it directly purchases any minerals in their primary form, and remains minimally affected by the problem of conflict minerals.
Nevertheless, as a responsible player, the Group supports OECD initiatives by following the recommendations of the "OECD's due diligence guidance for responsible supply chains of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas", and is gradually putting together an initiative to identify and evaluate the risks related to its supply chain.
Conflict Minerals Reporting (CMRT)
Extended Minerals Reporting Template (EMRT)
Matters concerning hazardous substances and the eco-design capabilities of suppliers are, however, covered in the supplier evaluation questionnaire.
REACh (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) regulations and the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive 2002/95/EC RoHS are specifically mentioned therein.
Suppliers must, for example, state their position on the presence of RoHS Directive substances in the products they deliver to Legrand.
More information on 2023 Universal registration document (p 160)
