We have updated our Supplier Code of Conduct to make it even more accessible, easy-to-read, and aligned with the Serco values. The new code is available in over 100 languages and is aligned with Serco’s Sustainability Procurement Charter and supplier on-boarding question set. The refreshed code is available here. These changes help to ensure that our suppliers share our commitment to doing business in a responsible, ethical and sustainable way.

We have successfully introduced EcoVadis, a leading provider of sustainability ratings, into our business. Serco currently has a total of 227 suppliers with live scorecards representing 47% of total supplier spend. The remaining suppliers are in the process of assessment. To facilitate and oversee these efforts and provide direction for the ongoing EcoVadis programme, we have established an EcoVadis Steering Committee, with representation from across Divisions, Group Procurement and other key areas including Environment, Compliance and Ethics. 

We have built a set of Sustainable Procurement EcoVadis standards, which incorporate Supplier KPIs for our key suppliers to achieve as part of their sustainability journey. It includes score thresholds, as well as the corrective actions we expect suppliers to undertake if not in line with Serco’s ESG strategy. This will help to amplify our supplier engagement through targeted improvements on the EcoVadis platform.  

A set of sustainability evaluation factors are being implemented as part of our sourcing governance processes along with sustainability clauses and KPI metrics for incorporation into our standard supplier contracts. These inform the success criteria within our five-stage sourcing governance process.

We continue to exceed our Government Customers’ SME spend targets across our Divisions. In the UK, SME spend accounted for 33% of our total addressable spend. In Middle East, we achieved 38.8% for our In-Country Value Program. In Asia Pacific, we spent 4.67% with indigenous suppliers. In North America, we monitor our supplier spend against specific diversity characteristics (veteran-owned, women-owned, minority-owned) and exceeded our statutory goals.

To inform our Supplier Diversity engagement strategy, we are developing a value proposition for diverse suppliers, which will inform priority initiatives going forward.

A supplier registration portal has been developed for potential suppliers to register their interest in working for Serco, including supplier diversity characteristics to identify new and diverse suppliers for consideration in our category planning, sourcing and tendering activities.  

In the UK and Middle East, we engaged directly with around 80 suppliers to support and influence them on their sustainability journey. Sessions have included ‘Introduction to Sustainability’ and ‘Disability Inclusion’.

We have achieved 83.6% on time payments to suppliers in the last financial year, which denotes a considerable improvement in payment performance, particularly in the UK, and is our best performance since introducing this KPI.