Procurement policy

Our principle is that our procurement and service activities need to comply with our Procurement policy, relevant legislation and regulations, social and ethical standards, and sustainability requirements. Together with our suppliers, PostNL works continuously to maintain and improve the supply chain and make it as sustainable as possible in order to protect the environment in the broadest sense of the term.

This starts with selecting our suppliers and setting up our procurement processes in line with our ESG responsibility. We not only look at the price, quality and delivery periods, but also take social and environmental aspects into account. We use a so-called risk-assessment matrix when contracting a supplier. If a supplier cannot meet our standards based on this assessment, they will not be contracted. In case of equal suitability, we prefer suppliers with better sustainability performance. The updated Procurement policy 2023 can be found on our website here, and contains, for example, guidelines, risk classification, follow-up measures and checklists. These protocols also include a description of how to use our General Conditions of Purchase, the PostNL Business Principles and the PostNL Set of Guidelines for Suppliers and Contractors.

In 2023, we made adjustments to our set of guidelines for suppliers and contractors which is a specific clarification of the PostNL business principles and the OECD guidelines. For example, suppliers must adopt a proactive attitude and take an innovative approach, if possible, in improving the environmental aspects of the goods or services they provide. This includes biodiversity; procurement and/or the production of goods may not lead to or contribute to land conversion or deforestation. The same applies to financial investments. Ecosystems must not be disrupted to such an extent that this has a significant impact on biodiversity. We are also committed to zero net-deforestation through our own operations and adhering to the EU's regulation on deforestation-free products, and engaging with our supply chain to make similar commitments. These renewed guidelines are applicable to any new contract.

PostNL expects its suppliers to both take responsibility for these issues within their own organisation, and take responsibility further up the supply chain and monitor how well these issues are dealt with by their own suppliers (sub-suppliers). In most cases contractors (i.e. agents or direct manufacturers) are likely to work with sub-suppliers and sub-contractors; this represents an additional step that renders the link between PostNL and any risks affecting PostNL less manageable. Nevertheless, PostNL holds the view that involving an agent does not affect its own responsibility for risks and regulation.

Award by EcoVadis

PostNL was also awarded a Gold rating by EcoVadis in 2023, placing the company in the top 5% of 75,000 companies surveyed globally in terms of sustainability performance and corporate social responsibility with a focus on sustainable procurement. We have been working hard for many years to reduce our ecological footprint and promote a more sustainable society, from investing in electric vehicles and cleaner fuels to optimising routes and reducing air in parcels, and this continued in 2023.