Cutting down on resource consumption and upholding human rights throughout our supply chains
On this page:
As a responisble company, we are committed to cutting down on resource consumption and upholding human rights throughout our supply chains.
We ensure transparency regarding measures to reduce resource consumption and risks, set clear standards, and continue to develop these together with our suppliers.
A global value chain connects many people, companies, and sites. Raw materials, components, and services often travel long distances before they become part of a finished product. This is associated with different requirements for business practices.
Our responsibility therefore does not end at our own sites. We also consider the supply chain to be part of our corporate responsibility and work to better understand relevant risks and areas for action. Transparency, clear requirements, and continuous exchange with our suppliers form an important basis for this.
This is not about reaching a one-time status, but about continuous development. We review requirements, assess developments, and work together with our partners to further develop existing processes.
Responsibility begins with clear standards
Shared requirements create orientation
Responsible supply chains require clear expectations and understandable rules. Only when requirements are clearly defined can they be taken into account and further developed across different markets, countries, and partnerships.
Our requirements for suppliers include, among other things, the responsible use of resources, respect for human rights and labor standards, and compliance with relevant legal and ethical requirements.
These standards create a shared framework for cooperation and form a basis for taking defined environmental and human rights criteria into account in procurement and supplier onboarding processes.
Creating transparency regarding risks and resources
Data helps improve understanding of interdependencies
The more global and complex supply networks become, the more important it is to have as clear a picture as possible of their structures and risks. Information on suppliers, materials, processes, and relevant sustainability topics provides an important basis for decisions.
Digital systems and AI support the structured capture, consolidation, and evaluation of information. This can make relevant developments easier to understand and help focus attention more specifically on areas for action.
Transparency also provides an important basis with regard to resource consumption. It helps track measures and developments over a longer period and identify opportunities for improvement together with suppliers.
Taking human rights into account in the supply chain
Responsibility for people along the value chain
Global supply chains connect Wilo with many companies and workers across different countries and markets. This increases the importance of a systematic consideration of human rights risks.
We work to identify, assess, and derive appropriate measures from relevant risks within our supply chains. Defined standards and structured processes form the basis for cooperation with our suppliers.
The aim is to identify possible risks at an early stage and work together with the partners concerned on suitable measures and improvements.
Making sustainability performance understandable
External assessments create additional transparency
Sustainability in supply chains can only be meaningfully developed further if progress and requirements can be understood. In addition to our own assessment and review processes, established external assessment frameworks can also provide an additional perspective.
Practical example: EcoVadis
The external EcoVadis rating provides a framework for assessing the sustainability performance of companies. Wilo uses this assessment as one building block for taking a structured approach to sustainability and making developments understandable.
The involvement of suppliers in corresponding assessment and development processes also creates additional transparency and can help strengthen sustainability requirements within the supply chain.
Developing suppliers together
Sustainability develops through dialogue
A supply chain is shaped by long-term business relationships and shared processes. Many challenges therefore cannot be addressed through requirements or audits alone. Continuous exchange with partners is also essential.
We work with our suppliers to improve understanding of requirements, exchange experience, and further develop suitable measures. Training, discussions, assessments, and joint improvement processes can create different starting points for this.
