Supplier relationships are managed by our procurement team, which ensures that what we buy represents the best value in terms of cost, quality, service and innovation.

Developing strong relationships with suppliers helps ensure that suppliers essential to our operations are sustainable, that contracts are fair and that the business we conduct together is mutually beneficial.

We have Corporate Citizenship with Suppliers programme. With reference to external codes, we set out the standards we expect of suppliers in the areas of business ethics, human rights and environmental management. These standards are being incorporated into criteria for evaluating new suppliers. With existing suppliers, we prioritize those of high value or high risk and assess them to ensure they have the necessary policies in place. If they are non-compliant, our procurement team will offer support to improve their performance and help them work towards achieving minimum standards.