May 17, 2018

Philips receives the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Councils 2018 Supplier Engagement Award

The SPLC recognizes that Philips’ Supplier Sustainability Performance program has driven exceptional improvements in sustainable performance across the company’s value chain

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced that it has been honored for its Supplier Sustainability Performance (SSP) program with the prestigious 2018 Supplier Engagement Award by the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC).

Founded in 2013, the SPLC convenes buyers, suppliers, and public interest advocates to develop programs that simplify and standardize sustainable purchasing efforts by large organizations. Every year, the SPLC recognizes global organizations for their leadership in sustainable purchasing – a growing trend in which organizations are proactively using their purchasing power to promote the responsible use of resources (for example, the circular economy) and improvements in social policy (inclusiveness, equality, labor standards and diversity), as well as greater efficiency throughout the value chain.

SPLC leadership award winners are selected by a prestigious panel of judges. Each winner has deployed a wide range of sustainable purchasing strategies and documented the resulting environmental, social and/or economic benefits in a case study.

Supplier Sustainability Performance (SSP) – ‘Beyond auditing’

Philips believes that continuous improvement in supplier sustainability demands an approach, and a commitment, that extends beyond simply auditing compliance. To this end, the company designed and developed a systematic new approach – Supplier Sustainability Performance (‘Beyond auditing’) – that focuses on:

Making Philips’ supply chain sustainable in every sense of the word
Taking a systematic approach to improving the sustainability of Philips’ supply chain
Driving continuous improvement and measuring impact through a structural, phased approach
Promoting collaboration, with increased transparency, clear commitments and effective metrics to gauge suppliers’ success in meeting agreed targets
Encouraging Philips’ suppliers, industry peers and cross-industry peers to join its approach

Receiving the prestigious 2018 SPLC award is a validation of our systematic approach to improve the lives of people, everywhere, and here more specifically in our supply chain and have a positive impact. To this end, we want to work with like-minded and committed organizations.

Sophie Bechu

Chief of Operations at Royal Philips

As an important part of its mission to improve people’s lives, Philips invests in relationships with suppliers who provide a safe working environment, treat workers with respect, and work in an environmentally sound way. The company is committed to leading the change towards a more sustainable supply chain by going beyond auditing, so that the focus is on ensuring structural, proactive improvement rather than simply reacting to incidents or issues in the area of sustainability.

Supplier sustainability is an integral part of Philips’ Healthy People Sustainable Planet program, which runs throughout 2016-2020 and sets out ambitious targets for the company’s solutions, operations and supply chain.

“Receiving the prestigious 2018 SPLC award is a validation of our systematic approach to improve the lives of people, everywhere, and here more specifically in our supply chain and have a positive impact. To this end, we want to work with like-minded and committed organizations,” said Sophie Bechu, Chief of Operations at Royal Philips. “We are convinced that shared responsibility, openness and transparency can create a strong business relationship and safeguard business continuity for all stakeholders involved.”

More information about Philips’ Supplier Sustainability Performance (SSP) program can be found here.

Outstanding Case Awards

In addition to the Supplier Engagement Award, Philips has also received an SPLC ‘Outstanding Case Study Award’ in recognition of its contribution of a valuable case study to SPLC’s online community library. More about this case study can be found here.

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips' health technology portfolio generated 2017 sales of EUR 17.8 billion and employs approximately 74,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.