For certain activities, such as security and cleaning, which are carried out by very small local businesses, the Groupe makes sure that it regularly assesses its local suppliers regarding their respect of human rights, and all social and societal criteria. In several countries, the Groupe has signed specific commitments, such as the Modern Slavery Act as in the United Kingdom or Australia; or has certifications such as the BBBEE - level 1 (Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment) in South Africa, which requires specific local compliance on certain human rights issues such as the fight against human trafficking. or related to labor law such as the fight against all forms of discrimination.
This diagram shows the responsible procurement program
The pre-contract
The pre-contract is annexed to the publicis Groupe CSR for Business Guidelines and also includes the 5 areas of Due Diligence:
- Risk analysis & Financial analysis
- Anti-Corruption & Bribery
- Data protection
- Information System Security
- CSR: Social & Environmental
The CSR
The CSR is subject to a Self-assessment via the P.A.S.S platform and to an external assessment by a third party.
The post-contract
The post-contract includes the Vendor Management Program of the various tiers, in accordance with the 5 areas of Due Diligence. The post-contract is subject to regular Business Review (incl. Reputational checks).
4.2.7.2 CSR assessment
This is structured as follows:
- CSR assessment by an external independent and internationally-recognized third party (EcoVadis, Refinitiv, Sedex, CDP or others): this approach is the preferred approach. Since 2015, the Groupe Procurement Department has introduced a systematic CSR assessment for all its 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 represented 40% of the volume of expenditures from strategic suppliers, reaching 98% in 2022; almost the 100% objective set for 2025. The scope of this level of strategic suppliers was therefore extended in 2022 to other partners at this level. In 2022, Publicis Groupe had 166 suppliers assessed by EcoVadis (average score: 60/100, up 8 points);
- CSR self-assessment via P.A.S.S (Publicis Groupe Platformfor Providers’ Assessment for a Sustainable Supply chain).This Groupe proprietary platform was created for SMEs(small and medium-size companies) which are less familiar with CSR assessment processes by third parties. It allows the Groupe’s local buyers and agencies to ask their critical suppliers to carry out a free self-assessment that commits them. This self-assessment is then validated on the basis of documented compliance criteria by the Groupe CSR Department, thus acting as a trusted and neutral third-party expert. This transparent self-assessment based on around 50 key questions makes it possible to confirm whether the supplier meets the criteria and priorities set by the Groupe regarding human rights, ethics (anti-corruption, data protection and security) and environmental impacts. 70 new suppliers (China, India, Vietnam, Hong Kong, United States, France, United Kingdom, Germany, etc.) were assessed on P.A.S.S in 2022, each of whom received individualized support (average score: 42/100). This reduced number compared to 2021 is due to the technical work in progress with a view to a more complete integration with other supplier information systems;
- complementary sectoral CSR self-assessment via P.A.S.S.:the Groupe’s production and events activities can assess their suppliers on appropriate complementary aspects in relation to the characteristics of certain sectors. Additional question modules in P.A.S.S. are enabled for these suppliers. 2022 was devoted to informing these suppliers by the teams concerned.