17 August
2010 | Angeline Albert
EDF Energy has shed 15,000 suppliers in the past two years and is considering reducing
numbers by a further 1,500.
Greg Brown,
procurement manager for systems and controlling at the French gas and electricity
provider, told SM: “We had 20,000 suppliers two years
ago and we have reduced that to 5,000 suppliers today. We could reduce this further
to 3,500 suppliers.”
He said the
procurement department was “going through a period of reorganisation”. He added:
“We are moving to category management which could involve reducing the supplier
database. The company is also reviewing ownership of distribution within
the UK and if we sell that business [EDF Networks] this will also reduce
supplier numbers.”
Having fewer
vendors will make it easier for EDF to achieve its target to have an ethical
supply chain by 2012. In its Performance report 2009
out this month, EDF says it will achieve its goal by ensuring all its suppliers
meet the 10 principles
of the UN Global Compact
relating to human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.
EDF will rank
its suppliers from high to low risk for compliance with the Compact, and develop
action plans for high-risk vendors.
Other
measures highlighted in the report include recycling at all depots so that no
office waste is sent to landfill by 2020, and reducing the volume of landfill
by 50 per cent by 2012.
EDF also plans to cut carbon created from electricity production by 60
per cent by 2020, and reduce transport emissions by 20 per cent by 2012.
