DIALOGUE TO GROW TOGETHER

The Group places great importance to dialogue and sharing good practices with its suppliers, both in the technical field for the benefit of business activities, and in the social and environmental field, to promote responsible behaviour. The Sustainability Unit, the Operations & Supply Chain Department and the Internal Audit Function work closely together to ensure continuous engagement throughout the supply chain. This engagement takes place through multiple channels, ranging from informal periodic meetings to more structured institutional occasions. To further strengthen this relationship and simplify the exchange of information and documentation, a dedicated web portal is available for the Group’s suppliers.

Recognizing the importance of also considering feedback from suppliers’ employees, the ethical, social and environmental audits conducted by qualified third parties on behalf of the Group include dedicated interviews. These interviews involve a representative sample of workers at the audited suppliers and are conducted anonymously without the presence of management to foster an environment in which people can express themselves freely.

The dialogue that has always characterised the relationship with suppliers became even more intense and even more collaborative during this period with the aim of studying the best solutions to be implemented in such a complex, unpredictable and difficult situation for all actors in the supply chain and in the industry. This is the spirit with which Moncler joined the call to action promoted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to support the garment industry supply chains and continued to comply with payment terms and conditions, launched economic support activities for the most distressed members of the supply chain and monitored, through third-party audits, the compliance with the principles contained in the Supplier Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics relating to human rights, the workers’ health and safety and respect for the environment.
Due to the Covid-19 health emergency in 2021 it was not possible to offer the traditional training sessions near the suppliers’ production sites. For this reason, sessions were held remotely. Similarly, Moncler knitwear experts were invited to attend e-learning courses, to learn about production and quality procedures and standards.
During these sessions, they were also made aware of other issues relevant to Moncler, including ethical, social, compliance and environmental aspects, in order to spread this culture among suppliers.

Through the presence of experts at the various suppliers’ production sites or through online meetings, the know-how shared thus becomes an integral and essential part of the relationship with the suppliers.
During 2021 awareness-raising activities on ethical, social and environmental issues continued through video conferences with some suppliers and subcontractors (both façon manufacturers and raw materials suppliers), as due to the Covid-19 health emergency it was not possible to visit their production sites. These were in addition to the more than 150 onsite visits carried out in the last three-year period (2018-2020), both in Italy and abroad.
Company guidelines on compliance and sustainability continued to be spread by sharing of technical, chemical and performance specifications, both during daily activity and through ad hoc video conferences.
Lastly, to offer an additional tool for dialogue and to facilitate the exchange of information and documentation, a web portal entirely dedicated to suppliers has been active since 2017. Through the portal, the supplier can directly access communications and documents, including the Code of Ethics, Supplier Code of Conduct and related guidelines.
A dedicated section with a broad online training offering has also been set up, to which 90% of suppliers has had access over the last three years.
Lastly, from 2022 a training and information programme on human rights issues will be launched for suppliers and for employees of the Group’s purchasing and quality control departments.