Vodafone pressures suppliers over diversity and environment standards
Vodafone may refuse to work with a potential supplier if they fail to meet new standards on diversity and the environment.
The FTSE 100 company said policies on areas such as equal pay and climate change would count for a fifth of the criteria needed to land a new contract.
The benchmark will come into force next month, as Vodafone looks to halve its environmental impact and improve the lives of one billion people by 2025.
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone’s chief financial officer, said its supply chain should be “aligned with and support” the company’s “desire to build a resilient, sustainable and inclusive digital society”.
Activism surrounding racial equality and the environment is pressuring companies into shoring up their standards.
The government introduced rules last year that force companies to report their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
In February, the accountancy watchdog called on auditors to press companies over their climate change impact when reporting information about their businesses.
New Vodafone suppliers will have to demonstrate policies and procedures that support diversity in the workplace when it comes to gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age and disability.
It will also scrutinise equal pay and whether a supplier is meeting targets on the number of women in senior positions.
On the environment, Vodafone said it will assess areas such as carbon reduction, renewable energy and plastic reduction before giving a supplier the green light.
The move comes after Vodafone trialled the new criteria on large and small suppliers in July. In that instance, the companies with the highest diversity and environment standards came out on top.
