Materiality assessment

Sustainability is extremely important in public procurement, and we wish to acknowledge sustainability extensively in our operations. Identifying the sustainability themes that are relevant to Hansel’s operations is the key.

We updated our 2019 materiality assessment in the autumn of 2023. From May to June, we surveyed what needed to be changed in the sustainability themes, using this information to formulate Hansel’s key sustainability themes. Preparedness and security were added as a new theme to the materiality assessment. Some themes were merged and renamed. We also interviewed representatives of Hansel’s key stakeholders and asked them which aspects of sustainability they considered most relevant to them, and which ones to Hansel’s operations. The Executive Committee reviewed and accepted the updated materiality matrix in December 2023 to be used as the basis for our work.

 

 

Link between Hansel’s sustainability themes and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Materiality theme	Goal	SDG
Well-functioning markets and savings	Well-functioning markets and good tendering practices are an important part of our work. We are active in the supplier market and familiar with it. We want our tendering processes to attract interest, and we monitor the number of bids.
Good and reliable contractual suppliers	We require compliance with the contractual obligations from our contractual suppliers, and we continuously monitor the situation through an automated monitoring service. Before signing contracts, we make sure that the contractual suppliers have taken care of their social responsibilities. We do not condone the shadow economy.
Environmentally sustainable procurement	We identify key environmental responsibility objectives in procurement and promote them. With suppliers, we monitor compliance with the requirements during the contract period.
Socially responsible procurement	We identify key social responsibility objectives in procurement and promote them. With suppliers, we monitor compliance with the requirements during the contract period.
Ethical and compliant operations	Ethical and compliant operations are the foundation of Hansel. Transparency and openness towards both customers and suppliers is one of the prerequisites for our operations.
Fluent procurement and sharing procurement expertise	We serve our customers and suppliers through a variety of channels. We value functional cooperation and regular interaction. We offer first-class digital services (procurement lifecycle service, Procurement Pulse, Procurement Radar, Procurement Pilot, Hilma, Tutkihankintoja.fi).
Preparedness and security	We enable the promotion of preparedness and security requirements in procurement in line with customer requirements.
Prosperous work community	A competent work community where the people feel well is one of the prerequisites for success. An employee of Hansel is a respected specialist in public procurement who continuously develops their competence and also shares it with their colleagues. As a company, Hansel is a desirable workplace with a working culture that supports the balance of work and leisure, as well as flexible working.

Sustainability management approach

Sustainability theme	Material aspects	Impact	Sustainability management	Indicator/monitoring
Well-functioning markets and savings	Surveying the market situation, market dialogue, considering different sizes of companies; Appropriate procurement packages, volume benefits and cost-effectiveness; Definition and production of information to be shared with customers and suppliers, and monitoring by Hansel	Functional procurement, volume benefits in joint procurement, process cost savings	Ensuring the functionality of the market and appropriate procurement packages at the preliminary report stage; Enabling efficient use of public funds and price and process cost savings in tendering and monitoring during the contract period	Bids per tender, share of SMEs; Number of contractual suppliers and subcontractors; Price and volume monitoring; Savings calculations
Good and reliable contractual suppliers	Material objectives and contractual obligations (combating the shadow economy, sanctions, contractor’s obligations, prohibitions on pursuing a business, other harmful economic activities) and appropriate requirements and conditions; Monitoring and control of contractual obligations during the contract period (incl. monitoring services, monitoring of sanctions and other contractual monitoring); Definition and dissemination of information to customers and suppliers	Reliable contractual suppliers and active prevention of the shadow economy, white-collar crime and other harmful economic activities	Identification of material contractual obligations at the preparatory stage and identification of financial responsibility objectives in the sustainability analysis; Definition of appropriate requirements and conditions for tenders and monitoring during the contract period	Procurement contributing to the sub-objectives of financial responsibility, %; Supplier satisfaction
Environmentally sustainable procurement	Material goals (e.g. reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the use of harmful substances and non-renewable natural resources and promoting energy efficiency, the circular economy and biodiversity), as well as appropriate requirements and conditions; Monitoring and control of the achievement of the objectives during the contract period; Definition and dissemination of information to customers and suppliers	Reducing negative environmental impact (e.g. climate change) and promoting positive impact (e.g. the circular economy, biodiversity) in procurement	Identification of material environmental targets in the sustainability analysis; Definition of appropriate requirements and conditions for tenders and monitoring during the contract period	Procurement contributing to the sub-objectives of environmental responsibility, %
Socially responsible procurement	Material goals (combating human rights violations and labour exploitation, employment through procurement, accessibility, customer participation, equality), as well as appropriate requirements and conditions; Risk analysis, due diligence and Code of Conduct requirements; Monitoring and control of the achievement of the objectives during the contract period; Definition and dissemination of information to customers and suppliers	Reducing negative social impact (human rights violations and labour exploitation) and promoting positive impact (employment, accessibility, inclusion) in procurement	Identification of material social responsibility goals in the sustainability analysis; Definition of appropriate requirements and conditions for tenders and monitoring during the contract period	Procurement contributing to the sub-objectives of social responsibility, %
Ethical and compliant operations	Ethical practices and requirements, openness and transparency in all operations; Internal control of operations; Hansel is an independent operator and complies with good governance; Definition and dissemination of information to customers and suppliers	Ethical, compliant, open and transparent joint procurement and other practices and work processes	Compliance with ethical practices and requirements and promoting openness and transparency in all operations; Internal control of operations	Compliance monitoring and reporting; Event and gift list
Fluent procurement and sharing procurement expertise	Simplification and improvement of tendering procedures; Providing support to customers, e.g. mini-competitions for framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems, customer service; Definition, production and dissemination of procurement, tendering and sustainability information to customers and monitoring it in Hansel; Participation in national development of procurement (e.g. Hankinta-Suomi)	Smooth customer-specific tendering, expert services; Relevant tendering, procurement and sustainability information for customers	Development and sharing of fluent and efficient tendering models with customers; Determination, collection and publishing of relevant information for customers about material procurement and sustainability themes	Number of users and sessions in Hansel’s e-service, customer service, procurement support and tools; Customer satisfaction
Preparedness and security	Promotion of preparedness and security aspects and definition of appropriate requirements and conditions; Monitoring and control during the contract period; Definition and dissemination of information to customers and suppliers	Appropriate preparedness and security conditions	Identification of material preparedness and security requirements at the preliminary report stage; Definition of appropriate requirements and conditions for tenders and monitoring during the contract period	Procurement with a contingency clause and a separate security contract, %; Data protection, security and preparedness: classification, levels 0–2
Prosperous work community	Joint events, effective interaction and flow of information; Development of employee skills (induction, internal and external training, voluntary training, job rotation, mentoring, etc.)	An appreciative and inspiring work community, skilled employees, a flexible employer that supports the development of skills, a desirable and responsible workplace	Identification and implementation of HR measures to promote a value-based work community and corporate culture	Personnel satisfaction; Volume of training, person-days; Other HR indicators

 

Our stakeholder analysis is annually updated. Read more about our stakeholders.