The Feralpi Group, European leader in the production of steels for the construction industry, has joined the Ten-P - Sustainable Supply Chain Self-Assessment Platform active since 2016 and managed by Global Compact Network Italy.
The Ten-P Platform works as a monitoring and evaluation tool to support companies’ commitment to ethical and sustainable management of their own supply chains.
Together with the Feralpi Group, the partners of Ten-P are: A2A, Acea, Edison and the Sofidel Group.
1. Feralpi's motto is “Producing and growing while respecting man and the environment”. Can you tell us where does the company's commitment to sustainable development originate and in what values and objectives is it expressed today?
Our mission stems from this principle which promotes understanding and harmony between individuals, technology and nature: today, as in the past, we aim at sustainable growth for the Group through a production process that respects the environment, the development of quality products and increasingly better working conditions. In doing so, we seek to develop a relationship of trust with all our stakeholders, people, groups, organizations and institutions that are essential for us to carry out our business. Suppliers are one of them.
2. Feralpi supports the United Nations’ Global Agenda for Sustainable Development. SDG No. 12, which is part of the Agenda, sets the adoption of responsible production models, also through responsible and sustainable management of the supply chain, as one of the objectives to be achieved by 2030. Through which policies and measures does Feralpi ensure the ethical management of its suppliers?
First of all, there is a principle of non-discrimination towards our suppliers: equal opportunities are the key to a relationship based on trust. It is essential for us to ensure that there is enough competition in each negotiation and that no possible supplier is excluded, provided, of course, that they meet the necessary requirements. In order to pursue corporate sustainability and the ethical principles adopted, we are committed to introducing, for particular supplies, environmental and/or social requirements (for example, the presence of an environmental management system or the protection of the rights of workers in the upstream supply chain).
3. Speaking of Sustainable Supply Chain Management, Feralpi recently joined the Ten-P Platform as a Partner. How did the synergy with Global Compact Network Italy - the organization that manages the Platform - start and why did the Company choose to adopt this new sustainability tool and with what expectations/objectives?
We chose to join this project because we believe it is useful, and equally strategic, to have a relationship of total transparency and honesty with our suppliers, so that we can collaborate more efficiently in the construction of quality steel. We are convinced that knowing our suppliers and developing relationships of trust and mutual exchange with them is a way of creating value for our industry and for the whole world in general, in line with the requirements of SDG No. 12, “Responsible consumption and production”. In the Ten-P platform, developed by Global Compact Network Italy Foundation, we have therefore found a functional tool to move in this direction. We are sure that it will, step by step, help us to create an increasingly fruitful relationship with our present and future partners. To date, we have already contacted about 200 Italian scrap suppliers, of which more than 100 are already registered on Ten-P.