Ethical and responsible purchases

Châteauroux logistics platform - Photo :Hubert Mouillade

As part of its Purchasing Policy, GRTgaz takes actions to ensure supplier relations are ethical, sustainable and transparent, in connection with its ethics and compliance policy.

Ethical principles for supplier relations

GRTgaz constantly strives to build ethical relations with its suppliers. To this end, it has set out 5 principles to guide supplier exchanges: 

  • Principle 1: strict compliance with internal regulations and standards,
  • Principle 2: act fairly, transparently and impartially,
  • Principle 3: guarantee confidentiality,
  • Principle 4: refrain from all conflicts of interest,
  • Principle 5: reject all corrupt practises (gifts and invitations).

GRTgaz supplier’s Ethical Charter

Under the so-called “Sapin II” Law, GRTgaz has produced a supplier’s Ethical Charter and a due diligence procedure for suppliers and stakeholders. 

To carry out these checks, GRTgaz appointed an external service provider to assess over 15 selected companies from among its strategic suppliers, or which operate in “at risk” business sectors, or which are located in countries at risk of corruption.

GRTgaz is a signatory to the Supplier Relations Charter

Launched in 2015 and updated in 2022 by the National Purchasing Council (CNA) and the Business Mediator of the Ministry of the Economy, this charter commits GRTgaz to applying good responsible purchasing practices and establishing a culture of dialogue with its suppliers, particularly with small and medium-sized enterprises.

This ambition is broken down into 10 concrete commitments, which range from meeting payment deadlines, encouraging innovation, CSR assessment and monitoring dependency situations.

GRTgaz’s commitment to small companies and disabled-friendly sectors

GRTgaz supports the professional integration of disabled people by making a portion of its purchases from disabled-friendly sectors (secteurs du travail protégé et adapté - STPA). 

GRTgaz has also made a commitment to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The company supports local entrepreneurship and the economic attractiveness of the territories by making more than 32% of its purchases made from French SMEs in 2022 and pays particular attention to suppliers who are or could find itself in a situation of economic dependence on GRTgaz.

Conserving suppliers’ liquidity

Since 2017, GRTgaz has implemented a Reverse Factoring programme in partnership with BNP Paribas Factor. This simple, flexible financing solution allows GRTgaz suppliers to obtain advance payment for invoices under preferential terms.

To sign up to the programme, go to the BNP Paribas Factor website.

Reverse factoring - French version

Support for the Open Innovation initiative

Since 2016, GRTgaz’s Open Innovation Factory has opened the doors to its participative innovation process. The aim is to find innovative solutions to calls for projects in areas linked to new technologies and to the development of new business for GRTgaz, while forging partnerships with SMEs, VSEs, start-ups, mid-caps, laboratories and schools. GRTgaz examines its own ecosystem (competitiveness hubs, incubators, clusters, Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), etc.) and at same time posts its thematic topics on a dedicated website to expand its range of options. After consideration by the jury, the winning solution for each topic is tested, developed or patented, according to its maturity.

In 2020, the issues addressed reflected the challenges currently faced by GRTgaz: support for renewable gases by seeking a solution to purify high-pressure synthetic gases; improving safety by creating more realistic simulation exercises in our gas facilities; “smart” coatings to detect corrosion, etc.

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the Open Innovation factory

Business Reviews: improving dialogue with GRTgaz’s strategic suppliers

Replace the last sentence on 2019 with this one: “On average, 150 Business Reviews are carried out each year, which represents approximately 80% of the amount of purchases.

GRTgaz measures its suppliers’ satisfaction

In 2022, the fourth edition of GRTgaz’s supplier survey confirmed suppliers’ high level of satisfaction with their collaboration with GRTgaz. The survey was addressed to more than 200 companies of all sizes across all purchasing segments. Of these, 80% said they were satisfied with the collaboration, and 85% were satisfied with invoice payment procedures.