Sustainable supply chain

Sustainability in international supply relationships

Procurement of hard coal, gas, LNG and biomass as well as trading in combustion fuels are key elements of our value chain. Here, international wholesale markets, where raw materials are traded as standardised products with defined quality attributes, are the most important source of procurement. Therefore, sustainability in international supply relationships is a key aspect and important element in interacting with our stakeholders.

With our products, we are a part of international and complex value chains. Our customers also demand corresponding standards in their supplier relationships and pass them on to us. This process gradually develops sustainable supply chains which are supported by sector-specific or cross-sector assessments by external institutions. In some sectors, successful participation in assessments of this type has become a prerequisite for obtaining orders. 

Standards in our business relationships

In order to meet the differing requirements relating to procurement, we have adjusted our processes and ensure compliance with our sustainability requirements in the supply chain. We expect partners in a business relationship with RWE to accept the principles of our Code of Conduct as a basis for collaboration. The production of goods and the provision of services in our supply chains should take place under comparable conditions to those prevailing in our own company.

This also means that we treat subcontracted employees in the same way as our own employees when procuring services that are delivered at our sites. With the RWE Code of Conduct we ensure compliance with the UN Global Compact and statutory regulations. For critical groups of goods, we check this through a pre-qualification process. All business partners accredited for trading with us are reviewed for compliance with our Code of Conduct before we engage in business relationships.

Procurement

RWE follows clear rules in its cooperation with business partners.

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Hard coal & Bettercoal

99.8% of our procured lignite and hard coal was audited by Bettercoal.

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Biomass

All biomass used by RWE meets European sustainability standards.

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Dr. Jens Wiggershaus

Head of Sustainability