As a provider of insurance services, our business activities have lower impacts on the environment than other industries. Through our selection of suppliers and based on specifications for the production process used by our suppliers, we are nevertheless able to influence labour practices or emissions generated in the manufacturing of preliminary products, such as paper, IT products or food items for the canteens.

Supplier management is therefore an approach that we consider important and essential, in the first place with a view to monitoring our procurement costs and reducing them wherever possible and, secondly, because we are able to ensure observance of our compliance principles and mitigate associated ESG risks.

At the Hannover location three different areas are responsible for the procurement of a diverse range of products and services: Facility Management (FM), Information Technology (IT) and the group consisting of the various specialist units. Goods are purchased either directly from the manufacturer or through distributors. In this context a Code of Conduct for Suppliers safeguards adherence to environmental and social standards. We carry out a corresponding evaluation of our suppliers at regular intervals. All new and existing core suppliers are required to sign our Code of Conduct for Suppliers. We evaluate our suppliers based on self-reporting and using an application-supported process; those that are assessed critically in an ESG risk category are assigned to a blacklist, as a consequence of which no further orders are placed with them. In this way we seek to minimise the risk of commissioning suppliers that cause adverse social impacts. No suppliers were identified as critical in the year under review.

Altogether, we procure goods for IT, the operation of our premises and the conduct of our business from some 360 active suppliers. Roughly two-thirds of these suppliers are from Germany or indeed the Greater Hannover region. In addition, we purchase IT products from primarily the EU and the United States. A mere 3% of our suppliers are based in Ukraine, Bahrain, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Belarus and Bermuda.

By engaging in an active dialogue we are able to build sustainable and robust relationships with our suppliers. Furthermore, the ongoing professionalisation of our procurement assures our competitiveness. We are currently taking steps to give greater consideration to cost/benefit aspects, improvement of service quality and the standardisation of services and conditions. Not only that, through consolidation of the portfolio of IT service providers we are also able to reduce our costs. Our systematic supplier management brings about efficient and transparent processes and serves to accelerate procurement.