For our suppliers

To establish a profitable and long-lasting collaboration, all our suppliers must sign the Code of Ethics, which recalls the reference principles which must inspire the relationships between Acea and suppliers.

Safety at work is a central aspect of the relationship with our suppliers, which is why we adopt initiatives aimed at ensuring the protection of workers along the supply chain, in line with the regulatory provisions of the Procurement Code, our Code of Ethics and with the objectives of the Sustainability Plan.

Vendor Day: an event addressed to suppliers

Vendor Day is an annual event dedicated to meeting and discussing with our partners and suppliers to share the Group’s strategic vision and operational and sustainability objectives.

Caterina Dentoni Litta, Sustainability Manager, attended the 2025 edition and shared the Acea Group's contribution to achieving the 2030 Agenda's 12 Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, a continuous improvement program of ESG performance along the entire Group's chain has been shared.

Vendor Day is a precious opportunity to promote dialogue and collaboration among all the actors of the value chain, with the goal of continuously improving the efficiency of processes, focusing on innovation, sustainability, health, and workplace safety.

In addition to contractor awareness initiatives with regard to safety and the monitoring of data, audits and inspections are performed regularly to ensure contractor compliance with safety standards. More specifically, Acea Infrastructure’s Work Safety & Management Unit, the reference structure, at Group level, for the safety management of outsourced works and services, conducted around 15,000 safety inspections at worksites, following which a lower number and constantly downward trend was noted of the “major” non-compliance cases recorded. Apart from the audit of health and safety criteria, we make sure that our suppliers integrate key sustainability aspects into their business, paying attention to the environment, energy efficiency, utilisation of eco-sustainable materials and the fight against corruption.

Focus on ethics and sustainability in Acea’s value chain

We create value also thanks to the responsible management of relationships with our suppliers, fundamental players for the ethical and sustainable activities of the entire Group. Supplier relationships and procurement management take place in accordance with our Code of Ethics, which, in the revised version approved in 2022, sets out the principles underlying our business. As regards the relationship between Acea and its suppliers, the key points are:

  • equal opportunities for each supplier;
  • behaviours based on reciprocal loyalty, transparency and collaboration;
  • observance of rules and procedures, including due diligence processes designed to identify potential reputational and/or corruption risks;
  • on the part of the supplier or sub-supplier, the protection of human rights pertaining to their respective employees and environmental conservation, respect for privacy and guaranteed quality of goods, services and performance.

Supplier selection and assessment

To ensure the quality of the work and promote sustainable worksite management, we only operate with qualified suppliers. In this connection, we have established qualification systems for the suppliers of work, goods and services, which can be accessed via our Vendor Management portal, already integrated with supplier details.

At the time of qualification, our suppliers are required to complete a self-assessment questionnaire - differentiated according to whether they provide goods and services or works - which focuses on Quality, Environment, Safety, Energy and other aspects of sustainability.

After qualifying, the supplier may be subjected to a second-party audit of the Quality, Environment, Safety, Energy and Social Responsibility (QASER) management systems, to verify their correct application, and the procedures for managing the areas of significance in terms of sustainability.

The Group Vendor Rating project was expanded during 2022 with a view to improving the monitoring of the supply chain. In particular, the assessment system will monitor several performance indicators, also including an indicator that rewards aspects associated with social and environmental sustainability, identified using the EcoVadis model. In particular, during 2024, 783 suppliers were assessed with Ecovadis.

Highlights

Discover the latest news and initiatives of the Acea Group