Management Approach: Supplier Collaboration
To succeed as an innovator of materials, we strive to develop multifaceted collaborative relationships with our suppliers, who value the importance of assessing compliance risk, delivering industry leading performance and embodying a sustainable mindset.
Our Supplier Code of Conduct drives interactions with our suppliers and expectations for doing business, and is aligned closely with International Labor Organization (ILO) standards. It includes requirements for child and forced labor, the right to collective bargaining, non-discrimination, employee health and safety, conflict minerals Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) due diligence, and ethical treatment of the environment.
Avient includes in its Code of Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct internal accountability standards related to slavery and human trafficking to which all employees, agents and consultants are required to adhere. Where required by law, we also have specific disclosures and processes in place, including a supplier audit program that focuses on human trafficking. To our knowledge no suppliers have been found to engage in such activity.
Supplier Evaluation
In 2024, Avient partnered with Resilinc to strengthen our Sustainable Sourcing Program, improving our supply chain resilience. Through this partnership, we can effectively address quality, value, and reliability requirements, as well as sustainability, social responsibility, and environmental considerations with our partners. By enhancing our program, we have gained deeper insights into supply chain compliance, empowering us to make informed business allocations and sourcing decisions with a holistic view on partner performance.
Sustainable Sourcing Program
Avient’s Sustainable Sourcing Program integrates sustainable practices into our supply chain decisions and aims to improve our global resiliency. Last year, we completed the second phase of the program, focusing on the implementation of Resilinc as our third-party risk management partner. Through this initiative, our team members received training on the program and learned how to assess supply partners based on key risk areas: quality, raw material profile, and ESG performance. Avient continues to partner with EcoVadis to conduct ESG evaluations. In 2024, Avient gathered sustainability assessments covering 75% of our total direct sourcing spend. Among the assessed suppliers, 94% received an EcoVadis medal rating in their overall scorecard evaluation. Additionally, we request supplier self-assessments—aligned with ISO 9001/IATF 16949 standards—to gain insights into the core components of their Quality Management Systems (QMS). These assessments serve as approval criteria for Avient’s most sensitive end applications.
Looking forward, Avient’s Sustainable Sourcing Program continues to build a robust framework to hold our partners accountable to improve upon their sustainable supply chain, including analyzing areas of risk such as quality, environmental, social, geopolitical, financial, conflict minerals and more. We seek to be an innovator of materials solutions to help our customers succeed, while enabling a sustainable world through the partnership of our suppliers.
Through the Sustainable Sourcing Program, we expect our suppliers to continuously assess and evaluate their sustainability efforts, improving their performance over time. Avient is committed to continue partnerships with suppliers who align with the following policies:
- Environmental Policy
- Health and Safety Policy
- Supplier Code of Conduct
- Human Rights Policy
- Quality Policy
Conflict Minerals Process
Avient’s business objective is to use conflict free materials and components in our products and expects our global supply chain partners to do the same. Avient has elected to utilize the reporting template provided by the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) formerly Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative, which facilitates the transfer of information through the supply chain regarding mineral country of origin as well as smelters and refiners being utilized. The template also facilitates the identification of new smelters and refiners to potentially undergo an audit via the RMI Conflict– Free Smelter program. Avient holds this process as a standard with all suppliers, thus reducing third-party supply chain risk. It is part of our policy and partnership with our suppliers that they follow the responsibilities and procedure of RMI and are obliged to our Conflict Mineral Policy.
Goals and Progress
Plan for 2025
Evaluate Supplier Performance: Assess 80% of suppliers to support achievement of Avient’s Sustainability Goals.
Expand Supplier Collaboration: Connect supplier sustainability performance to overall supplier segmentation to drive continuous improvement and foster more strategic relationships that will support the business strategy.
