Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

We meet a great interest in our sustainability work from shareholders.

In order to make it easier for the interested person, we have summarized the answers to a number of frequently asked questions around our supply chain.

You will find a similar kind of summary, about more general sustainability questions , under the section on Our approach

Thule Group increasingly aims to reduce sustainability risks throughout our supply chain and view this as an opportunity to ensure compliance with our Code of Conduct policies regarding ethical business, health and safety, human rights, and environmental responsibility.

Of Thule Group's 562 direct material suppliers, the majority are located in Europe and a smaller number are located in Asia, North America, and Central America. Of these, a number of suppliers have been identified as particularly important from a sustainability perspective and are subject to in-depth CSR audits on a recurring basis to identify and prevent risks. We continuously evaluate our suppliers, with a special focus on high-risk countries and high-risk categories such as dying fabric, handling PVC and surface treatments as well as high-risk countries

Suppliers are selected based on our annual supply chain risk assessment process.
In 2021 we carried out 28 social audits, of which 22 were first-tier suppliers and 6 were second-tier suppliers. 21 of the audits were first-time audits and 7 were follow-up audits. 

Every new supplier is also scrutinized and undergoes a self-assessment based on Thule Group’s Code of Conduct, the P&R substances list, national laws and regulations with respect to labor law, health & safety, human rights and climate and environmental aspects. This is followed by our annual follow-up on a selection of suppliers, using either third-party auditors or our own internal auditors, to ensure that our requirements are complied with and to identify opportunities for improvement. We continuously evaluate our suppliers, with a special focus on high-risk categories such as dying fabric, handling PVC and surface treatments as well as high-risk countries

The selection and prioritisation of suppliers is based on risks associated with geographical area, spend, manufacturing process risks, and product category priority. Also taken into consideration are environmental impacts, potential ethical violations, and health and safety of the workplace. The prioritisation of suppliers is reviewed annually through a risk assessment process and is completed by the Thule Group Purchasing, Sustainability, and Supplier Quality Assurance functions. Suppliers which are prioritised in this review are then subjected to on-site corporate social responsibility audits, allowing Thule Group to evaluate supplier performance and coordinate corrective actions to help suppliers improve over time. 

Trained Thule Group internal auditors or third party Intertek auditors visit the supplier site to conduct the corporate social responsibility audit, which consists of meetings, document reviews, a full site inspection, and employee interviews. Once the audit is completed an audit report, score, and request for corrective actions is provided to the supplier, based on the extensive audit questionnaire. Once the suppliers receive these items they have two weeks to create a corrective action plan which is then approved by Thule Group. A continuous follow-up is maintained by our internal auditors, to ensure the corrective actions have been implemented. 

In 2021 we carried out 28 social audits, of which 22 were first-tier suppliers and 6 were second-tier suppliers. 21 of the audits were first-time audits and 7 were follow-up audits. Out of the 28 supplier audits, 17 suppliers had a result of over 85 percent, which is considered the highest level. 9 suppliers had a result between 71 and 85 percent, which is a good result with only minor remarks, primarily in health and safety, first aid procedures and fire safety. Two of the audited suppliers had a result between 51 and 70 percent, which is below the desired level. Both of these had significant comments, primarily within health and safety but also salaries.

Thule Group requires that corrections and improvements be carried out in the first quarter of 2022, otherwise the professional relationship with the supplier will be terminated. No suppliers were in the lowest category, with a score of less than 50 percent. More audits would have been conducted but had to be canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic

The main deficiencies that were listed concerned:

  • no day of rest following six days of work
  • lack of documentation for salaries and overtime pay
  • excessive overtime hours
  • lack of a control system to review and control labor issues like health and safety
  • lack of safety regulations
  • blocked fire exits

Other minor non-compliances identified included: blocked, unmarked, or poorly lit emergency exits; inadequate firefighting equipment; inadequate frequency of fire or emergency drills; inadequate first aid equipment or training; insufficient personal protective equipment; improper handling of hazardous material; inadequate frequency of rest days; and inadequate overtime wages.

Each CSR supplier audit identifies non-compliances and provides the supplier with a final audit report, score, and request for corrective actions. Once the suppliers receive these items, they are required to create and implement a corrective action plan and submit this to Thule Group within two weeks for approval. The specific corrective actions vary greatly depending on the problem the suppliers are addressing.

For example, more severe problems such as lack of fire detection systems or inadequate personal protective equipment for workers requires urgent corrective actions. Less severe problems, such as lack of an anti-discrimination policy or lack of sub-supplier CSR programs can be resolved via longer-term corrective actions within 3-6 months.

If a supplier scores less than 50 percent in the corporate social responsibility audit, we limit further purchases from the supplier, maintain monthly contact to support corrective actions, and conduct a new audit within six months. If the supplier improves their performance to meet Thule Group's minimum requirements, we continue to purchase from the supplier.

Thule Group strives to continue assessing existing and potential new suppliers, and expand our work with both tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers. 

At the end of each year a new CSR supplier audit plan is created based on the annual supply chain risk assessment review, which then sets the new annual target for the number of audits. Annual targets are based on amount of spend to be audited, rather than number of suppliers to be audited.

In 2019, the supplier risk assessment process, criteria, and targets were revised to ensure that our requirements are complied with and to identify opportunities for improvement.

In 2020, the CSR supplier audit questionnaire was reviewed and updated with external support and advising from Thule Group partner Intertek. Thule Group also began a partnership with the CDP Supply Chain Program in 2020 and since 2021 able to collect additional sustainability data from strategic Tier 1 suppliers.

We will continuously evaluate our suppliers, with a special focus on high-risk categories such as dying fabric, handling PVC and surface treatments as well as high-risk countries such as China and Turkey.

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