Suppliers

Our People & Planet Plan aims to create a more inclusive and sustainable future that supports communities, our planet and each other by advancing action through five group-wide goals that matter deeply to our business and society, and where we’re well placed to make a world of difference – from accelerating our shift to net zero, to building the engaged and inclusive team that will help us get there.

We want to:

• Help our customers be net zero by 2050 (28% carbon intensity reduction by 2030)
• Be a net zero business by 2045 (40% carbon reduction by 2030)
• Create an engaged team that reflects the full diversity of the communities we serve by 2030
• Recruit 3,500 apprentices and provide career development opportunities for under-represented groups by 2030 
• Inspire colleagues to give 100,000 days to build inclusive communities by 2030 

Read more about our People & Planet Plan

We developed Our Code to show our customers and suppliers our values and how we want to make a difference.

Partnering for a fairer & more inclusive world - Working to meet the needs of our customers and our business, means we rely on thousands of suppliers across the world, not just direct but also sub-tier suppliers and sub-contractors so we work collaboratively with suppliers to protect and enhance the lives of those across our supply chains.

Fostering long-term relationships– Our supply chain is a key part of our business and we know that how we treat our suppliers and how our suppliers treat their workers and suppliers, can have a big impact on communities. So we want to foster long term relationships with key suppliers and collaborate to drive good ethical and sustainable practices that ensures we all operate in a way that creates a positive and lasting impact.

Undertaking Audits & Assessments– Audits and assessments help us ensure workers in the supply chain are looked after. We want to work with suppliers who hold their workforce in the same regard we do and are engaged in monitoring and tracking improvements in their business and their supply chain.

Supporting diverse suppliers - We recognise the benefits of diversity and a key way we can support and grow it in our supply chain is by enabling smaller businesses who are often more diverse, to work with us. So, we will not only be looking at price, but who is providing the service and how responsible the company is.

Paying suppliers promptly – We made a commitment through the Prompt Payment Code to pay 95% of invoices within 60 days. We also aim to pay small suppliers within 30 days to support our ambition to foster a diverse supplier base.

We want to bring our suppliers with us and help our supply chains transition to a more sustainable future.

Creating a low carbon supply chain– We’re working hard to provide services and solutions that help our customers reduce their carbon emissions and bring them on the journey to net zero. We want to work with suppliers who are focused on this same ambition to ensure we’re collectively contributing to a clearer, greener world. We want to partner with suppliers to do the same in our supply chain to drive greater impact globally. The only way we can all decarbonise, at the speed required, is for us to all work together.

Enhancing sustainable solutions – Our planet has finite resources, so we are striving for infinite solutions to our needs to ensure we can continue to serve our customers. This means thinking about the materials we use, their packaging, their use, and their end of life. Innovation and creating circular industries with our suppliers will become increasing key across our partnerships’ so that it is not just something that will happen in the future.

Getting the basics right – We must all continue to get the basics right as well.  Maintaining compliance with environmental permits and regulations is essential.  They help us avoid pollution, protect biodiversity and make the world healthier for all of us to live in.  We are committed to being a compliant company and striving to continuously improve; and expect the same from our suppliers.

Inviting suppliers to share their story- We've made good progress in becoming a responsible business and creating an inclusive workplace; we know there are lots of companies out there with their sights on the same thing. Let's share our successes and challenges, so we can learn from one another and make progress . If you have a story you would like to share in the next newsletter, please contact your Centrica Relationship Manager.

Sharing our activities and events - From signing up to our Responsible Business newsletters, to opening our events to you, we want you to be part of our community and celebrations. You can also follow us on LinkedIn or view our latest performance, to find out what we're doing and how we're progressing against our People & Planet Plan.