Tikkurila's sourcing aims to ensure that purchased materials and services are high-quality, cost-effective, and sourced from responsible suppliers.
Raw materials, energy, water, and various services are important production factors for Tikkurila. Direct materials, which during 2021 accounted for about 71 % of purchases, are fillers, binders, pigments, solvents, additives, and packaging materials, mainly metal, plastic, and cardboard.
Targets
'A Colourful Tomorrow' is Tikkurila's Sustainability programme, through which we are able to develop our responsibility efforts in a strategic manner. It also defines the goals and indicators of our responsibility.
In sourcing, our main targets focus on sustainable supply chain, climate change mitigation, and recycled packaging materials.
House Rules
Tikkurila only cooperates with suppliers who meet our criteria and cooperation principles. We require suppliers and partners to comply with Tikkurila's Code of Conduct and to meet quality, safety, environmental, and social responsibility requirements.
Supplier Code of Conduct
Tikkurila is committed to the highest ethical standards and encourages a culture of sustainability amongst its suppliers, distributors, and representatives.
This Supplier Code of Conduct outlines the minimum expectations regarding ethical principles and business practices for all our suppliers. We expect our suppliers to conduct their activities in a manner that respects human rights as set out in The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Labour Organisation ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
Audits
Tikkurila also conducts on-site audits of its suppliers each year. Our audits and inspections assess our suppliers' order, delivery and production processes, quality control measures, as well as management of environmental, health & safety aspects and impacts.
Tikkurila regularly monitors its suppliers through internal evaluation and audit processes. Due to COVID-19, audits on our suppliers' production units have been made remotely. Based on audits, we make CSR-related corrective action requests towards our suppliers.
EcoVadis
At Tikkurila, we request all suppliers to disclose their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) / sustainability Performance through the EcoVadis portal. The scoring that is provided by the EcoVadis evaluation impacts our choice of suppliers. In 2021, 83% of total direct spend was sourced from CSR assessed suppliers.
We have also received an assessment of our own responsibility. In 2021 we reached EcoVadis Gold Rating. Only 5% of all companies and 4% of the companies in the paint industry get the Gold Rating.
Recycled materials in packaging
Tikkurila uses plastic and metal for the primary packaging of our products.
The cost of metal packaging is higher – but metals have a high recycling rate in the EU. They can be recycled without compromising their quality. On the other hand, plastic
packaging is typically lighter, contributing to lower transport emissions per unit of product.
We aim to reduce the environmental impact of packaging, for example, by using more recycled plastic as a raw material in packaging. We are also currently evaluating the possibilities of making packaging from alternative materials, such as renewable materials, including biocomposites.
You can read more about Tikkurila's sustainability in our Sustainability Report.
