Three major telecom operators select EcoVadis sustainable supply management solution

FRANCE: EcoVadis, a leading provider of sustainable supply management solutions, has been selected by three major telecom operators as part of a project led by the French Telecom Federation (Fédération Française des Télécoms).

The EcoVadis solution will now be used by Bouygues Telecom, France Telecom-Orange and SFR to assess CSR performance (Corporate Social Responsibility) among their suppliers worldwide. EcoVadis SP is a new solution offering businesses a platform for assessing and monitoring ethical, environmental and social performance among their key suppliers in over 120 countries.

Thanks to the EcoVadis solution, operators can access their suppliers’ evaluations for 21 environmental, social and ethical criteria, taking into account specific issues in 150 business sectors.

Companies in the French Telecom Federation have committed to contribute to French commitments in reducing environmental impact, which was expressed, in particular, through a charter signed on July 22th with Chantal Jouanno, Secretary of State for Ecology.

Operators are thereby committed to having an exemplary approach towards their partners and suppliers through the implementation of responsible buying policies. To that end, operators have decided to establish a common standard in terms of their suppliers’ CSR performance assessment, which will help provide reliable information and facilitate the work of their suppliers. The solution selected was EcoVadis.

“The development of sustainable buying policies shows there exists a genuine, substantial momentum. We have included a “CSR Suppliers” charter and clauses relating to sustainable development within our calls for tenders or contracts. But we want to go further still by supporting our suppliers and sub-contractors in an approach towards ongoing improvement in their Sustainable Development performance,” declared Richard Lalande, French Telecom Federation Sustainable Development Commission Chairman.

“The EcoVadis platform seemed to us to be an excellent solution in reinforcing this approach.”

EcoVadis Managing Director and co-founder Pierre-François Thaler adds: “This agreement with the FTF allows us to deploy our platform for all operators, and it demonstrates the relevance of our shared model. Such standardisation is key to fostering change in the practices used within supply chains. French operators have highly structured policies in terms of Sustainable Development, and we are proud to be part of this initiative.”