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You are here Home > Case Studies > Reed Elsevier |
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Reed Elsevier |
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Company: Reed Elsevier (a member of the UK Network)
Project: Supply Chain Management
| What Principles does this case study address? |
Principles:
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This case study addressses all ten principles of the Global Compact |
Reed Elsevier holds its suppliers to the same high standard of conduct it sets for itself. Suppliers must adhere to all laws, embody and promote best practice in business operations, treat employees well and respect the environment, as indicated in the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
All of Reed Elsevier’s suppliers, including pre-press, printers, paper manufacturers, data converters, media providers and freight forwarders, are bound by Reed Elsevier’s Supplier Code of Conduct. The Code contains standards on child labour, involuntary labour, wages, coercion and harassment, non-discrimination, freedom of association, and health & safety. In addition, the Supplier Code encourages suppliers to spread best practice through their own supply chains by requiring subcontractors to enter into a written commitment that they will also uphold the Reed Elsevier Code. The Supplier Code makes clear that where local industry standards are higher than applicable legal requirements, Reed Elsevier expects suppliers to meet the higher standards. Each supplier receives the Code and additional associated documents at the very beginning of negotiations with Reed Elsevier. Upon contract signing, suppliers are required to meet Code requirements and participate in monitoring activities as requested.
To manage this important area, Reed Elsevier has a Socially Responsible Supplier (SRS) programme, with a full-time manager, and involvement of employees with production and distribution expertise from across the company. The terms of reference for the SRS group include:
• Maintaining a master supplier database with comprehensive information including Code versioning/signing, initiative tracking, audit dates, remediation plans and compliance.
• Establishing policies and relevant initiatives including an annual Socially Responsible Supplier and paper survey.
• Setting and reviewing internal and external audit guidelines.
The master database contains data on over 300 key suppliers (key suppliers are those constituting $1 million in sales or 25% or greater of annual spend in a category). To track compliance with SRS initiatives, Reed Elsevier conducts an annual survey of paper providers and a Social Responsibility survey for all others. The 2007 surveys revealed that:
• 71% of key suppliers have a designated member of the board with responsibility for corporate responsibility
• 79% have a formal Environmental Management System in place
• 48% have set environmental reduction targets
• 49% have external certification for their operations
• 34% externally report their environmental impact
Reed Elsevier works collaboratively with suppliers to review key sustainability issues and they encourage suppliers to advance socially responsible activities in their own supply chains.
The audit guidelines stipulate that internal and independent external audits are performed on a regular basis to review suppliers’ environmental and other performance information. Reed Elsevier has developed an internal audit checklist for direct supplier visits. External audits, carried out by independent auditor ITS, occur on a rolling basis. In 2007 they carried out a number of internal audits and 23 independent external audits through ITS.
The SRS Group may identify suppliers as high risk if they operate in areas where human rights, labour, environmental, or other abuses have been known to occur. High risk suppliers are externally audited every two years. Suppliers with repeat violations of the Code of Conduct are audited annually. The external auditor, ITS produces a Corrective Action Plan Acknowledgement Report summarising audit findings and detailing corrective action plans – agreed by the auditor and factory manager to ensure compliance with the Code and local laws – as necessary. Remediation target dates are agreed and the Report is signed and dated by both parties. Follow-up audits are performed to ensure issues are resolved.
Although Reed Elsevier’s Supplier Code states that, “...failure to comply with any Reed Elsevier term, condition, requirement, policy or procedure... may result in the cancellation of all existing orders and termination of the business relationship between Reed Elsevier and Supplier,” disengagement is viewed as a last resort. For example, ITS helped supplier TnQ Books in India to improve its record keeping related to the ages of employees and to ensure overtime is paid in accordance with Tamil Nadu law, the jurisdiction covering the factory. In this way, Reed Elsevier retains a valuable supplier while promoting the ten principles of the Global Compact and TnQ Books continues to contribute to the community in which it operates.
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