Sidenor 2022 Sustainability Report

107 At Sidenor, we have a continuous evaluation plan for suppliers of raw materials, ferroalloys and steel auxiliary materials. These materials are a major part of the value chain in steel production. 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 the Company 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 labor, forced labor, 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 2022 The supplier portal supports our next step towards the digitization of our purchasing process. 2021 and 2022’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 2. Approval of suppliers