EDP's ambition to achieve sustainability goals also extends to the entire supply chain. The ESG Roadmap aligns EDP and suppliers on a common path of growth and transformation.

EDP's goals are clear: to be 100% green by 2030, Net Zero by 2040, and to lead the energy transition globally, promoting the importance of decarbonization and sustainability for the entire planet. EDP also works with all its suppliers, a network of more than 10,000 companies in more than 60 countries, whose performance aligned with a strong ESG culture ensures the success of a common journey towards a sustainable future. Focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues is a guarantee of business strength.

Maintaining competitiveness is challenging, but embarking on the sustainability journey, in addition to the positive impact on society and the planet, ensures continued access to finance, attraction of talent and consumer confidence. In the medium to long term, promoting ESG domains translates into growth at all levels, starting with business profitability. This is the vision of the future that EDP wants to extend to all its suppliers.

EDP suppliers with ESG Roadmap

EDP has recently embarked on a transformative journey with suppliers, driven by the commitment to respond to the new market challenges of building a more sustainable, resilient and transparent value chain. The ESG Supplier Roadmap seeks to support and encourage suppliers on a journey that should be common and also to learn from them new methods of working towards this goal, with innovation and commitment.

"The ESG Roadmap works as a collaborative model of alignment with our supply chain," explains Tiago Miguel Dias, EDP's Sustainability Manager, noting that "it offers partners a vision of the five priority dimensions - Decarbonization, Circular Economy, Biodiversity, Human Rights and Safety at Work - essential to EDP's strategy."

The proactive involvement of suppliers is essential to achieving the proposed targets of EDP group's commitments also in the supply chain. Starting with the registration in the EDPartners program, which coordinates the entire Procurement area, where the management of suppliers from a comprehensive, integrated and structured perspective is increasingly focused on sustainability.

How does the ESG Roadmap work?

As an evolving classification, the ESG Roadmap has five stages from A to E. Each supplier is categorized in one of the levels and can then act to move up. The main goal is to ensure that all EDP's critical suppliers are at A and B by 2026. However, the level of investment required for each of the categories defined by EDP also depends on the size of the company or the characteristics of the activity, so there are specific applicability criteria.

Currently, 2,500 EDP suppliers are already involved in the ESG Journey, at various stages of the program. And more than 60% are small or medium-sized enterprises, which demonstrates the willingness of all types of companies to strengthen the partnership, as well as to contribute to the sustainability of the business and the planet.

One of the companies that is committed to ESG and has been involved with EDP on this issue for a long time is PA Grupo, from Viana do Castelo. According to CEO Helena Painhas, "Only by transparently and openly disclosing information on the performance of the organization's ESG criteria can we truly affirm that we are aligned with them." For Painhas, ESG policies "have to be in the DNA of a company that wants to be successful today and actively contribute to building a more conscious and sustainable future".

These proximity actions already involved dozens of EDP suppliers, and have produced very concrete results, such as the use of Cabelte's 'bio' medium-voltage cables, made from recycled cooking oil, with a major impact on reducing the company's carbon footprint. Patrícia Rebelo, Head of Quality and Development at the Vila Nova de Gaia company, points out that "EDP's ESG Talks initiative allowed us to share these kinds of experiences, understand expectations and go a little further in this area, which is gaining more and more momentum".

The ESG Assessments seek to verify the information entered by suppliers on the registration platform. The main purpose of this initiative is to promote the continuous improvement of suppliers by identifying relevant areas of action concerning sustainability issues. Corporate Sustainability issues are assessed and any Non-Conformities or Opportunities for Improvement are identified.

After the ESG Assessments, based on the results obtained, a correction and improvement action plan is established for each supplier, which will allow them to evolve along the ESG Roadmap. In the last three years - even before the program was structured in the system of registrations - more than 400 EDP suppliers have already been involved in the ESG Assessments.

More than a partnership, the ESG Supplier Roadmap is an opportunity for existing or potential EDP partners to highlight their sustainable practices, strengthening their position in a market that increasingly values environmental and social concerns.

Raising awareness, and involving and mobilizing suppliers for this joint, responsible and effective journey is essential to the success of EDP's strategy. More than a mutual commitment, it is a way for suppliers to excel, grow and prosper at the forefront of sustainability. By embarking on this journey, suppliers not only contribute to a sustainable future but also enjoy the benefits of a strategic partnership that extends beyond the borders of a country, a sector or a specific business area. At EDP, we choose Earth with our partners.