In this section we look at suppliers' attitudes to our ethical and ecological policies and the degree to which they feel such considerations have been incorporated into the Bank's decision-making process.

2a) Attitudes towards the Bank's Ethical and Ecological Policies

[ Existing Commitment ]
In order for the Bank to effectively implement its ethical and ecological policies it is essential that suppliers understand the issues covered, and that they have confidence in our ability to move forward on such matters.

[ Performance & comment ]
The Supplier Survey found that nearly all suppliers (88%) are aware that the Bank operates ethical and ecological policies. Worryingly, 12% of suppliers say that they are unaware that the Bank operates such policies, but agree that the Bank should do so. The main sources of awareness are through Bank contacts (45%) and from the media (21% first heard about our policies through TV advertising and press coverage).

Reassuringly, all suppliers believe that the Bank is fully committed to its ethical and ecological policies (even the 12% who weren't aware that we operated such policies!). When asked how knowledgeable they feel the Bank is about ethical and ecological issues, most had confidence in the Bank's abilities:

Taken together these findings are most welcome; they show that suppliers believe that the Bank is committed to, and equipped to operate, its ethical and ecological policies.

[ Future objective ]
To ensure that suppliers continue to be assured of the Bank's commitment to its ethical and ecological policies, and that they retain confidence in our ability to assess all such relevant matters.

CHRIS SMITH Group Public Affairs Manager 

PAUL MONAGHAN Par tnership Development Manager 

2b) Screening of suppliers along Ethical and Ecological lines

[ Existing commitment ]
The Bank's Ethical Policy welcomes suppliers with a positive ethical stance.

[ Performance & comment ]
The Bank is committed to screening ethically all existing contracts that are up for renewal or new contracts that are put forward. As part of our recent Key Supplier Review, we assessed the number of suppliers who had been reviewed by our Ethical Policy Unit. As can be seen below just over half have been ethically screened.

• Key Suppliers - 262

• Ethically-screened - 137

(Note: this data refers to corporate responsibility records only. Matters such as ecological product specifications are handled by the Bank's Ecology Unit and reported on in the next section, "Ecological Sustainability".)

This is not to say that the remainder are ethically unacceptable, but that they have not been put through the rigour of our Ethical Policy review process. This might be considered unacceptable by some observers, however, a number of factors need to be taken into account.

• The statement on suppliers was not added to our Ethical Policy until 1995. Therefore, any supplier contracted before this date will not, as yet, have been ethically reviewed.

• With a significant number of suppliers (nearly 60% of key suppliers) it is considered that there is currently no scope for a significant review of the relationship in the near future. This could be as a result of technical factors (i.e. we might be locked into a particular process path, such as in the case of cashpoint technology) or historical managerial decisions (i.e. we might be engaged in long-term contracts with suppliers to whom we feel a particular affinity, such as FI Group, to whom we outsourced our Technology Development Department some years ago).

[ Future objective ]
To continue to ensure that all new suppliers of goods and services to the Bank correspond with our ethical stance.

CHRIS SMITH Group Public Affairs Manager 

2c) Impact of the Bank's Ethical and Ecological Policies on suppliers

[ Existing commitment ]
If the Bank is implementing its ethical and ecological policies effectively then there should be an impact on our suppliers, both positive and negative. In order for us to take a balanced view, it is necessary for us to assess this impact.

[ Performance & comment ]
The Supplier Survey found that all suppliers believe that their products and services meet the Bank's ethical and ecological objectives. Significantly, more than a third of suppliers (39%) say the Bank's policies have had an impact on the way their business operates.

• 9% of suppliers questioned have changed the materials used in their products,

• Other mentions were of "changing their manufacturing method" (3%), "increasing sales" (3%) and "changing purchasing policy" (3%).

This is considered to be a welcome result, as it demonstrates that the Bank's ethical and ecological policies are making a difference.

In response to another question, almost a fifth of suppliers (18%) said that the Bank's ethical and ecological policies had a "very good effect" on their volumes of business and/or profitability. This is another desirable outcome from our perspective as it is only right that the results of the Bank's increased profitability in recent years should be shared with Partners. Of the 61% of suppliers whose business has not been affected by the Bank's ethical and ecological policies :

• 40% said no opportunities existed for collaboration,

• 15% said there were definite opportunities to develop their business and 10% felt it might be possible to do so. Over time, it would be desirable for the Bank's ethical and ecological policies to have an impact on all suppliers, if only at the level of affirming that a particular product or service met our objectives. Therefore, to have 61% of suppliers declare that our policies have had no impact is understandable, but disappointing. Particularly as something like 15% of suppliers who currently detect no impact, feel that definite possibilities exist in this area.

[ Future objective ]
To ensure that the Bank engages more pro-actively with suppliers in respect of ethical and ecological concerns. In future Supplier Surveys, it would be our desire to see more than half of respondents report that the Bank's policies have had an impact.

JOHN SHEERINGroup Purchasing Manager 

CHRIS SMITH Group Public Affairs Manager