Social aspects included in contract terms

The basic principles of public procurement are applied to the consideration of social responsibility aspects. All comparison criteria must be fair and non-discriminatory, mindful of the principle of proportionality and openly communicated. In practice, social elements may be incorporated in the terms and conditions of a contract by requiring that the supplier commit to the key labour and human right conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), for example.

Hansel has conducted a risk analysis on the social responsibility of its framework agreements. The analysis showed that the highest social risk lies in the framework agreements made with specific international goods suppliers and Finnish service providers. With regard to international suppliers of goods, high risk was linked to labour-intensive production practices, a large number of subcontractors, and long supply chains. Of Hansel’s 380 contract suppliers, 83 are associated with the total of nine framework agreements involving a high social responsibility risk.

Social risks tend to grow when goods are manufactured in countries where little attention is paid to workers’ rights, and when raw materials are mostly sourced from outside Europe.

With regard to Finnish service providers, the risk factors were related to labour-intensive services, a large number of subcontractors, and low-income sectors.

Hansel has around ten framework agreements whose placement in the matrix indicated high or very high social risk.

The development of social responsibility management practices is currently a key focus in the company’s corporate responsibility efforts, and Hansel’s partners in these efforts include Finnwatch, SKL Kommentus, and the Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities.