3. Third-party CSR assessment: in 2015, the Group’s Procurement Department introduced a systematic CSR assessment for all strategic suppliers. Publicis Groupe works with the Ecovadis platform and invites its strategic partners to be assessed by an external third party.
In 2015, these assessments were done for 40% of the volume of purchases from strategic suppliers; in 2019, they were done for more than 69% of the volume (33% of global providers assessed); the objective being to conduct assessments for 100% of central purchasing volume.
The CSR assessment is worth 20% of the final rating awarded to tenders submitted by suppliers.
Suppliers must comply with Group standards on various issues that are subject to additional assessment:
- data protection: under the European GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Directive, suppliers are now obliged to comply with the Group’s DPA (Data Processing Addendum). Critical reviews are carried out by the Global Data Privacy Office (GDPO) on data protection and the processes put in place;
- security of information systems: Group Security Office (GSO) teams conduct a technical review combined with tests (due diligence) on the security of suppliers’ systems in order to validate their compliance and security. They validate proposed business continuity plans;
- environmental impacts: as the Group decided in early 2020 to follow the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) in respect of the 1.5° scenario, suppliers will be questioned about their actions and objectives in terms of reducing environmental impacts. Refusal to engage with an environmental action plan will constitute a non-selection criterion.
The Group and agencies’ procurement policy is proactive in terms of eco-responsible, eco-designed products from the circular economy or that have been responsibly sourced or have a recognized environmental certification.
In recent years the Group’s agencies in the United Kingdom have made voluntary commitments to combat modern slavery (2015 Modern Slavery Act) and all forms of human trafficking.
Supplier Diversity
Challenges relating to diversity issues in the supply chain are monitored internally with specialist Procurement Department teams. In Chicago in the United States, Leo Burnett has spent decades working with a portfolio of around 400 suppliers who are accredited as diverse suppliers, 50% of which are women-owned and 20% minority-owned. Other agencies rely on external experts who are specialists in Supplier diversity.
This proactive approach has also been taken in the United Kingdom, India and South Africa, to name but a few of the countries involved. In France, the Group is working with social and solidarity economy companies or sheltered-workshop organizations and companies (ESAT and EA).
Within the context of the Women’s Forum and Daring Circle Women & Business, the Group continued its specific work to promote female entrepreneurs, with the aim of increasing their access to markets and new clients, enabling them to grow their businesses. This commitment is reliant on supplier monitoring so that companies headed up by women can be used, in partnership with WEConnect International, and UN Women via the We Empower program in G7 countries.
In terms of subcontracting, the agencies endeavor to anticipate as best they can their clients’ major constraints, notably concerning the time needed to carry out certain projects during peak activity periods.
Finally, in all the countries where it operates, the Group ensures that suppliers and partners are paid promptly.