The study conducted by the sustainable development consultancy Utopies© in 2021 on the socio-economic impacts of VINCI’s activities in France found that direct Tier 1 suppliers make up the bulk of the supply chain for the Group’s Energy and Construction businesses as well as its Concessions business. For instance, in France, 59% of VINCI’s suppliers are Tier 1 for all categories of purchases combined, with this figure rising to 90% for suppliers in the building and public works sector.
At Group level, and on each of its projects, VINCI also promotes a partnership-based approach with its suppliers and develops close relationships with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Utopies© study found that 49% of purchases across the Group and its business lines are done with micro-businesses and SMEs. Concerning the key categories of purchases for Group companies’ activities, such as temporary employment agencies or construction equipment hire firms, the Group’s strategy is based on approving a large number of local and regional partners in order to build a strong nationwide network and work with businesses that are deeply rooted in local economies. In its selection and bidding processes, the Group prefers suppliers with strong roots in their regions. Currently, 65% of the Group’s approved suppliers in France are SMEs with a nationwide footprint, and this is true for the Group’s network of local companies as well.
VINCI is committed to developing strong collaboration with its strategic partners. In 2021, the Group developed closer links with its equipment hire suppliers to carry out an initial analysis of the traceability and provenance of this equipment. In 2022, a further investigation looking at the countries where this equipment is manufactured confirmed that it was not produced in any countries that involve any risks concerning respect for human rights. Alongside this, from an environmental perspective, VINCI is working with its suppliers to consolidate the CO₂ emissions generated by its equipment hire with a view to testing new equipment and reducing its impact. The Group believes that collaborative industry or branch-level initiatives are vital for establishing more virtuous and sustainable supply chains.
VINCI is also committed to taking into account and working with social integration structures, social enterprises, sheltered workshops and other organisations that specifically employ people with disabilities. In 2022, 44% of VINCI’s approved temporary employment agencies were companies based throughout France whose mission includes promoting integration through temporary jobs. According to the socio-economic study carried out by Utopies©, VINCI places €40 million of purchases with organisations from the social and solidarity economy (SSE) in France, supporting social enterprises, integration organisations, regional employers’ groups formed throughout France to promote social integration through work and qualifications, etc. Alongside this, VINCI Insertion Emploi (ViE) has developed a new support service for the VINCI Autoroutes entities (programme management departments of Escota and ASF) to help with their socially responsible purchasing. This is a voluntary initiative by these subsidiaries, which take social commitments into account when they place their contracts (purchasing supplies, work, etc.), especially in terms of selecting partners or working with people on integration programmes, helping promote collaboration with SSE organisations in each region.
Lastly, this commitment to balanced, constructive and long-lasting relationships with suppliers and subcontractors is also reflected in the economic dependence indicator set up to ensure that suppliers are not put at risk by VINCI accounting for too high a percentage of their revenues. This indicator is reviewed each year, and special attention is paid to SMEs. If a supplier seems to be too dependent, a progress plan is put in place to encourage them to diversify their customer portfolio. More specifically, this indicator is monitored in cases when a contract is not renewed or when businesses are consulted for a new tender. Various actions are developed and the suppliers concerned are provided with support to help them find equivalent solutions and ensure their economic independence.
To define responsible purchases, VINCI considers that respect for human rights and international labour standards within its supply chain is essential. The Group also tends to look for innovative solutions that support the environment, address climate change and facilitate the energy transition with a view to not only preventing risks, but also further strengthening the environmental performance of its purchases. To achieve this, social and environmental criteria are incorporated into specifications and framework agreements at Group level, and factored in when selecting suppliers and products. They take into account the environmental impact of products and services, the workforce-related arrangements for producing or providing them, and the social commitments made by suppliers. For the categories of purchases that are most strategic, due to their volume or potential risks, specific analyses are carried out in order to assess suppliers based on their issues and stakes.
The Group Purchasing Coordination unit conducts supplier assessments that factor in social and environmental performance, and the Group’s buyers have an individual target for including these criteria in each contract they negotiate. A dedicated committee with representatives from the teams focused on non-financial aspects and from the sustainable purchasing team works on each tender in order to carry out an in-depth analysis of the specific features of each category of purchases concerned, to map its risks and to assess suppliers through a specific sustainability questionnaire that is adapted to the issues involved and added to the general questionnaire covering all types of purchases. In 2022, this was reviewed in order to take into account feedback from users. Depending on the results of their sustainability assessment, suppliers may be excluded from the tender process or may be given a progress plan and action plan. Audits or checks are carried out to verify the implementation of these plans. The business lines and divisions have also adopted this approach to assess their suppliers. VINCI Construction’s Building France and Civil Engineering France divisions worked on several tenders (shoring, securing, cleaning and consulting services) incorporating non-financial aspects, representing an annual purchasing budget of around €100 million.
To take a more in-depth look at the overall strategy and the actions to be taken, the social and environmental risks were mapped for purchases made by the Group’s six core business lines in France (VINCI Construction’s Building France, Civil Engineering France and Road France divisions, VINCI Energies France, VINCI Autoroutes and VINCI Airports) at the end of 2022. Supported by an external partner (EY), this mapping was carried out with a collaborative approach, working with a large number of business, environmental and social experts and various operational teams. The rating methodology was developed based on a standard scale for all the business lines following workshops and interviews with the various experts for each category of purchases. This mapping process helped identify the 20 main social and environmental risk factors for around 60 strategic categories of purchases for each business line, covering 75% of the Group’s overall expenditure in France. The Group intends to use these results to prioritise risk mitigation measures and formalise action plans for each business line, covering the different categories of purchases. At Group level, four categories of purchases were identified with the highest levels of criticality and social and environmental risks: subcontracting; services with drivers (freight, site machines); temporary employment; and aggregates, sand and clay.
