Sidenor 2021 Sustainability Report. Non-financial information statement

102 Sustainability Report 2021 | Commitment to society We have a continuous supplier evaluation plan In 2019, we implemented the supplier portal, which enables us to advance in the development and approval of suppliers. By the end of 2020, all ferro material, steel auxiliary material, MRO and service suppliers of Sidenor were already registered in the portal. The portal serves as a single repository, on an online platform accessible from Sidenor’s corporate website, for all updated information on all suppliers of Sidenor. All current and potential suppliers can register by providing information and their approval. The registration phase on the platform consists of two parts. The first one is the informative registration of general data on the Company and its activity. In addition, the supplier shall endorse the Corporate Social Responsibility (RSC) of Sidenor’s suppliers, which lists its commitments in terms of child labour, forced labour, equality, safety and environment. In 2021, we included the Security Code on Information to Suppliers in the portal, which shall also be endorsed by each supplier in the registration process, as well as by all suppliers who have already registered. Once suppliers have endorsed Sidenor’s CSR, they will be required to provide detailed information so that we might to get an updated picture of them, including indications such as ISO9001, ISO14001, sector-specific certificate, financial information, compliance with the legislation on data protection (GDPR) and supplier CSR. The portal is a communication channel with suppliers, where material or services non- conformities are also dealt with. By evaluating the information provided within the framework of the approval process and the quality of service according to non-conformities, we obtain a qualification for all suppliers. Lines of progress in 2021 The supplier portal supports our next step towards the digitisation of our purchasing process. 2021’s main challenge consisted in consolidating the negotiation platform, which allows us to integrate the entire purchasing activity in a virtual environment: from the definition of the need and design of the request for proposal to supplier selection, comparison of quotations, support in negotiation and purchase order award management. We are thus able to reach the highest productivity and efficiency rates in the negotiation and award of purchase orders with suppliers, as well as to ensure transparency in the whole process. Due to the pandemic, volatility and uncertainty, which were already present in the previous years, grew exponentially. Supplier risk management, flexibility and agility are fundamental factors which must be considered when designing a strong supply chain. Lines of progress in 2022 Sidenor is strongly committed to sustainable and responsible investment. For this reason, we identify, when selecting our panel of suppliers, the ones which are really committed to ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) criteria and contribute to the Company’s efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In 2022, we will work with a specialised partner on sustained risk management in our supply chain, developing a platform for the monitoring of our suppliers’ degree of adaptation to our sustainability policy and generating weightings for the award of contracts.