The prestige and performance of BES Group do not depend exclusively on the companies that make up the Group. All the Suppliers and Partners with whom BES Group works on a daily basis are equally responsible for the success of the business, and may play an important role in contributing to sustainable development.

Based on this premise, since January 2013 the BES Group implemented the obligatory certification of its Suppliers and, to this end, it has made a slight change to the Group’s Principles of Relationship with the Suppliers of the BES Group, published in 2004  and which make it possible to include sustainability in its value chain. As in the initial document, the principles are structured around the United Nations’ ten "Global Compact Principles”, and which are essentially centred on the suppliers’ working conditions (prevention of all types of discrimination, prohibition of child labour etc.) and on respect for the environment. In defining these principles, the BES Group has sought to respect the individual characteristics of its suppliers, as these are not always included in national companies and are subject to laws, customs and traditions that are very different from each other.

Within the scope of this supplier certification process, in December 2010 the Group implemented a sustainability scoring process that permits to assess the suppliers’ environmental and social performance, with each supplier being subsequently informed of its score. This assessment mechanism not only permits to identify the suppliers with the best practices, but also fosters a better engagement with the suppliers and a sharing of recommendations and experiences about good environmental and social practices along the supply chain.

As at December 31, 1 465 suppliers were registered on the website, of which 480 had completed their pre-qualification process with the following socio-environmental scoring:

In order to integrate sustainability in its value chain, in 2004 BES Group published a set of Principles of Conduct for Suppliers, which were drawn in accordance with the United Nation’s ten Global Compact Principles. These principles essentially focus on suppliers’ labour conditions (prevention of all kinds of discrimination, prohibition of child labour, etc.) and respect for the environment. When defining these principles, BES Group sought to take into account the specific characteristics of its Suppliers, as not all are national companies and may follow very different laws, customs and traditions. In turn BES Group undertakes to act fairly in all dealings with actual or potential Suppliers, and to provide them adequate information.