By making the right choices about how, where and with whom we do business, we can shoulder our responsibility for how our products and services are marketed and used, in line with our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ambitions. To create a solid basis for this, we fully revised our 'Supplier Code of Conduct’ in 2023.

Revised Supplier Code of Conduct

“We are committed to building an environmentally and socially responsible supply chain in line with the Kramp purpose and values, but we can only do so with the full involvement and commitment of our suppliers,” says Erik-Jan Smit, CSR Manager. “Our Supplier Code of Conduct forms the basis for this by outlining our expectations and ways of working. To reflect our ambition of remaining a CSR forerunner in the coming decade and beyond, we spent considerable effort on revising the document. Now, it clearly states our vision on social and environmental topics, our expectations of suppliers, and is in line with all relevant international regulations.”

“We have shared our Supplier Code of Conduct with 100% of our supplier base and the feedback has been very positive”

Erik-Jan Smit

Supplier visits

“We have shared the code of conduct with 100% of our supplier base and the feedback has been very positive. In addition to this, as part of our process to gain better insights into potential risks on people and planet, the procurement department and CSR team visited a total of 28 suppliers across Asia in the course of 2023,” he continues.

“Our discussions touched on the whole spectrum of social and environmental issues: from collective negotiations, to workplace safety and the use of chemicals. Although this was a new approach for many of the suppliers, they were open and willing to develop.”

Openness to improvements

In fact, a number of those suppliers have already implemented some improvements, according to Erik-Jan: “We have seen changes made to machine safety, the introduction of personal protective equipment and safer storage of chemicals, for example. And in India, one supplier has actually broken with local tradition and hired women for the first time. The efficiency and atmosphere in the factory have improved so much that he wishes he had done it earlier!”

Supplier engagement programme

Kramp became our industry’s first member of the social compliance platform called Sedex in 2023. “By increasing transparency and supporting risk management, this supplier engagement programme can help us to include ‘People’ and ‘Planet’ in our category plans and develop a sustainable assortment. Therefore, we will be focusing heavily on this in 2024 and asking suppliers of the Kramp private-label brands to participate in this programme,” states Erik-Jan.

“As an added advantage, once suppliers have joined this programme, the audits apply for all their customers. So besides taking Kramp’s own CSR performance to the next level, we’re helping to raise supplier awareness of these issues for the benefit of the industry as a whole,” he concludes.

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