Procurement management

DekaBank's strategic purchasing department procured goods and services worth a total of EUR 273 million gross in the reporting period. Around 95 percent of the contractual partners in strategic purchasing were commissioned in Germany, the rest from European suppliers. There are currently no overseas service providers. Deka has defined sustainability-related requirements for the selection of suppliers, both for the quality of the products and services purchased and for the corporate management of suppliers and service providers. Key points of the company-related requirements are laid down in the sustainability declaration, which suppliers must sign before they enter into a business relationship. Among other things, they undertake to comply with the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). By the end of 2017, 270 suppliers had signed the declaration. They account for about 85 percent of the procurement volume in strategic purchasing.
 
Sustainability criteria are also taken into account when selecting products and services. For example, all DekaBank computers were replaced by energy-saving devices by early 2016. All new suppliers are obliged to provide information on their environmental management standards and performance in DekaBank's purchasing portal. This gives employees in procurement the opportunity to take appropriate aspects into account in negotiations with suppliers. In 2017, a total of 32 new suppliers from the fields of consulting, human resources and IT were audited on the basis of environmental criteria.
 
If DekaBank identifies violations of the requirements laid down in the Sustainability Declaration within the framework of regular supplier audits or learns of them in other ways, the supplier is given the opportunity to remedy the defects identified. If this is not done or is not done in a satisfactory manner from DekaBank's point of view, a multi-stage process is initiated, which may result in the termination of the contractual relationship.
 
In the course of the ongoing review and updating of the Sustainability Statement for Suppliers, the Business Services unit responsible in cooperation with Sustainability Management expanded the Sustainability Statement for Suppliers in 2017 by an additional paragraph on cooperation. For example, current developments in the sustainability debate and the requirements of auditors and rating agencies have required that DekaBank be given a sanctioning option for serious breaches of the Sustainability Declaration up to and including termination of the agreement. In the year under review, there was no termination of a supply relationship due to breaches of the sustainability obligation. Responsibility for this process lies with sustainability management.