As a financial services company, many of our impacts on society are linked not to our own "production" processes, but to our choice of suppliers, from purchasing paper to contracting service providers for insurance claims. In making these choices, we integrate social and environmental criteria in the selection and management of our suppliers.
AXA's procurement values & ethics
AXA is a major purchaser of products and services for its internal operations and the services provided to its clients. The significant volume of purchases (€10 billion in 2013) opens an additional area, where the Group is able to promote Corporate Responsibility (CR).
AXA's Responsible Procurement strategy is divided into three pillars:
Buyers
- Make sure AXA behaves responsibly when dealing with suppliers.
- Improve our relationships with our suppliers.
Suppliers
- Know the CR-related risks of our suppliers and influence them to improve / mitigate the risks.
Purchase of goods & services
- Capture social & environmental sourcing opportunities, optimize needs, generate cost savings for AXA.
- Share sourcing best practices around the group.
- Improve attractiveness of the procurement function.
AXA Group procurement objectives and organization
"AXA ambition 2015": two targets for Procurement
AXA's targets by 2015 are twofold:
- The "CR clause" is mandatory for each new contract. This clause aims to ensure that our suppliers comply with the four major International Labor Organization (ILO) principles and it reminds the fundamental concepts on which AXA is committed and expects its suppliers to commit alongside as well. Today we include the CR clause in 96% of our new contracts.
- AXA has undertaken to monitor its supply chain by assessing 90% of its major suppliers. Today, more than 50% of our major suppliers in IT and "General Expenses & Professional Services" have been assessed by a third party.
A unique program adapted to each specific entity
As an international and decentralized organization, AXA has chosen to give local entities the tools to develop their practices at their own pace, with the objective to reach a common level of maturity.
Therefore, a "Maturity Model" has been developed at Group level to give entities keys to position themselves by levels of maturity on different topics -including CR in procurement- and then to challenge themselves by choosing higher levels to reach by 2015. Assisting the Group to reach the above "AXA ambition 2015" targets is the basic requirement defined at level one "Establishing" of the Maturity Model. Four levels come after: "Developing", "Defined", "Managed" and "Sophisticated".
A "CR champion" has been named in each entity in order to relay the information between Group Procurement and local procurement. This contact regularly receives guidelines and support from the Group, and provides feedback and KPIs in return.