Procurement of products and services at TNO

Legislation and regulations

When procuring goods, services or works, TNO is bound by the requirements imposed by European and national laws and regulations on procurement for public-law organisations. TNO strives for a healthy balance between legality and efficiency. The Public Procurement Act and the Proportionality Guide (Gids Proportionaliteit) are leading in this regard.

In addition to these laws and regulations, procurement processes also ensure the implementation and compliance with specific legislation, such as sanctions and export control laws, the GDPR, state aid regulations, etc.

Supplier Code of Conduct

As a supplier you play a pivotal role in fulfilling our ambitions and therefore we expect you to adhere to the principles outlined in this document. As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, TNO has committed itself to align its strategy and operations to the universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. These form the basis of this Supplier Code of Conduct.

The TNO ‘Supplier Code of Conduct’ governs the obligations and relationship between TNO and the suppliers we work with. Those suppliers provide goods or services, such as manufacturers, distributors, sub-contractors, services providers and other vendors.

The TNO Supplier Code of Conduct is an integral part of every order and contract between TNO and a supplier.

TNO Code of Conduct

Integrity and ethical conduct are core principles at TNO. Procurement professionals are expected to act transparently, reliably, and in accordance with professional standards, making decisions based on facts rather than self-interest. Equal opportunities for suppliers and a responsible balance between profitability, people, and the environment are fundamental to our procurement approach.

The TNO Code of Conduct sets clear expectations for employee behavior, compliance with laws and regulations, and adherence to the organization’s core values. It addresses key areas such as scientific integrity, business ethics, and societal responsibility, and explains how these principles are communicated and upheld within TNO. All employees must be familiar with the aspects of the Code relevant to their role.

A TNO supplier may expect TNO to operate in accordance with this Code of Conduct.

Innovation

Within Procurement, innovation is an important development area for the coming years. Procurement strives to continuously improve and innovate methods and processes, both internally and externally. For example, by purposefully searching for innovative solutions or by providing opportunities for market parties to develop and/or offer an innovative solution during procurement and tendering processes. But also, by introducing innovations in the procurement process.

Socially Responsible Procurement (SRP)

Sustainable procurement makes a significant contribution to the CSR policy whereby, when purchasing products and services, account is taken of the long-term social consequences of these purchases in terms of:

• Environmental aspects (planet)
• Social aspects (people)
• Economic aspects (profit)

The CSR themes and key points mentioned above are structurally and integrally taken into account and translated into sustainable criteria during procurement decisions. In the transition to sustainable business practices, TNO's priority focal points are integrity, energy and sustainability, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and working conditions.

In this way, SRP significantly contributes to TNO's CSR policy by structurally embedding sustainable criteria in our procurement processes.

SRP is therefore a direct derivative of TNO's CSR policy, taking into account the societal impact of our procurement of products and services. Every procurement process involving our Procurement department is tested against the above CSR themes with the aim of achieving an optimal impact for TNO. CSR will be included in all stages of a procurement process:

• •The preparation and market exploration phase
• The specification phase (sustainability requirements and wishes)
• The evaluating, awarding, and contracting phase.
• The aftercare phase (including measuring sustainability targets and their achievement).

To achieve SRP, the Procurement department has a team of specialists, the SRP Team. This team is charged with making sure that the Procurement department is aware of the latest trends and developments, and able to identify new opportunities. The SRP Team does this by bringing outside knowledge into TNO and disseminating it within the organisation. In addition to their knowledge of SRP, the SRP Team also specialises in TNO's CSR themes.

In addition, the Procurement department’s Procurement Advisors, Category Managers and Supply Chain Managers ensure that knowledge regarding SRP is gained throughout the various stages of the procurement process, by conducting market research, for example.

As of 2023, the Procurement Department is using the Ambitionweb (Ambitieweb) tool. Ambitionweb is a tool for conducting a risk analysis related to sustainability, and mapping the sustainability impact and desired objectives when procuring a product, service or work.

SRP requires interdepartmental collaboration (engagement) between multidisciplinary teams and the supply chain.

Conditions

The drafting of purchase orders and agreements is based on TNO’s General Purchasing Terms and Conditions (AIV TNO), which have been filed with the Registry of the District Court of The Hague and the Chamber of Commerce of The Hague. In addition to a number of general terms and conditions, the AIV TNO describes specific terms and conditions for the supply of goods and software, the provision of services, the outsourcing of work and (sub-)contracting, and the provision of labour.