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Our Responsible Supply Chain Vision
Our supply chain will create value-for-money on a whole-life basis, generating benefits to both Fidelity International and broader society, through running ethically, socially and environmentally responsible procurement practices and supplier management.
Fidelity International is a firm which takes a long-term view. Our mission is to build better financial futures for our stakeholders, and we do this by working with clients to align their investments with their beliefs over the long-term. Sustainability is one of our core investment themes, so it is only correct that we hold ourselves to the same standards that we apply when assessing other companies.
The social, ethical and environmental footprint of our business partly reflects the business practices of our supply partners*. Our clients and employees expect us to behave responsibly and consider our impacts on society, and increasingly regulators do too.
We want to ensure that our supply partners* are clear on our commitment to sustainability, and to ensure that our good intent is backed up by action.
Our sustainability goals are supported by 3 pillars:
- Opportunity (Social) - we will improve the diversity of our supply chain, by providing equal opportunities for diverse suppliers to compete for Fidelity International business (directly, and as partners of our key suppliers),
- Fairness (Governance)- we will demonstrate fair treatment of our suppliers through consistent prompt payment and streamlined processes,
- Transparency (Environment) - we will monitor supply chain sustainability, focusing on environment, labour & human rights, and sustainable procurement practices.
* For the purpose of our corporate sustainability goals relating to our operational supply chain, we do not include non-supplier third parties such as counterparties in our investment management business, fund providers, employee expenses, Purchasing Card (P-Card) purchases, distribution partners, external speakers, independent contractors, inter-company transactions, fund providers, charities, property purchases, artwork, tax authorities, governmental bodies, regulators.
Opportunity (Social)
As we are committed to build an inclusive and diverse culture at Fidelity International, we are also committed to significantly increase our spend with diverse suppliers to ensure diversity of thought, foster innovation and deliver social value to local communities. By providing people, systems and/or processes, our suppliers are an extension of our teams. We want our supply chain to uphold the same standards and values as our business.
Our supplier diversity programme aims at widening the pool of potential suppliers able to meet our requirements and support our strategy. Promoting competition in the supply base improves product/service quality and drives costs down. Inclusiveness makes our supply chain more resilient and agile.
We consider a supplier to be diverse when it is at least 51% owned and operated by an individual or group that is part of a traditionally underrepresented or underserved group (woman, ethnic minority, LGBTQ+, veteran and disabled), as well as social enterprises. As far as the Supplier Diversity programme is concerned, we consider businesses holding a diversity third-party certification only. We also include small and medium sized businesses in our diverse supplier definition.
As part of our ongoing commitment to digital innovation, we are the first asset manager to sign Fintech Pledge. Diverse suppliers operating in the technology industry are invited to embrace the opportunity and partner with us to incorporate technological innovations for our clients.
Our partners:
Fairness (Governance)
We want to ensure our suppliers are treated fairly and paid as per the terms of the contract, with net 30 days being the longest permitted payment term.
Our No Po No Pay guidelines outlines our invoicing requirements to ensure invoices received by the Accounts Payable team can be processed efficiently to minimise delay to suppliers.
Our procurement processes are currently being modernised and streamlined to deliver a better user and supplier experience while meeting our regulatory, financial and operational obligations.
Transparency (Environment)
Since April 2019, our suppliers are expected to comply with our Supplier Code of Conduct which sets out our standards, values and principles. Sustainability-related questions are included in all our tenders and have a bearing on the overall scoring and selection process.
In order to align our procurement practices with our commitment to sustainability, Fidelity International has chosen EcoVadis, a global CSR rating company based on international standards, to conduct individual sustainability performance assessments on our key suppliers.
Our supply chain is an extension of our business, and, as such, we need transparency on our supplier’s sustainability management systems.
Participation in the assessment is now a key factor in our management of our supply chain. We view this initial assessment as a great starting point for sustainable, long-term business relationships. In order to manage the ESG risks and impacts in our supply chain, we need to be aware of them first. We cannot manage what we cannot see. As a result, supplier participation in the programme is essential.
To find out more about our rationale for monitoring our supply chain using EcoVadis and to understand the costs associated with assessment for your company, please look at our Supplier EcoVadis Overview Rationale and Process PDF.
Frequently Asked Questions have been answered below for your convenience, but please do not hesitate to reach out via our dedicated FIL - Responsible Procurement mailbox if you have any questions on our company’s sustainability strategy.
We value our suppliers. This is the future of procurement and we encourage your active partnership.
Our partner:
