Sustainable and Fair Procurement

Acting sustainably in business means keeping an eye on the entire supply chain. Procurement can make a significant contribution in this regard.

We screen our procurement practices in all three dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental and social) and ask ourselves the following questions:

  • Which materials do we use and which of them can we replace with environmentally-friendly alternatives? 
  • Who are our suppliers, and what are the working conditions like in our supplier companies? 
  • Long-term partnerships are important to us – how can we encourage this even more?

We focused at length on these questions in the 2018 reporting year and implemented the following sustainable business projects.

Inclusion of CSR Criteria in Supplier Screening and Introduction of CSR Guidelines for Procurement

In 2018, we carried out a detailed analysis of our procurement activities and defined guidelines to make them more sustainable. CSR criteria – with regard to the selection of both suppliers and materials – were incorporated into the decision processes across the board: from office furnishings to the procurement of catering supplies and online terminals. To clearly communicate our requirements to suppliers, we produced our own Code of Conduct for Suppliers. We only work with companies who meet our high quality criteria and demands.

In 2018, we purchased 94% of our procurement volume from Austrian suppliers and a further 5% from European sources. However, if this analysis were to be extended beyond supplier origin to include the upstream value chain, these figures would probably differ quite significantly. In line with our CSR Strategy 2020, we intend in future to gather more data in this field.

Renovation of Offices at our Headquarters (Rennweg 44)

In 2018, we launched a major renovation project at our headquarters in Vienna. The aim of the “Pimp Up” project is to modernize each floor by 2020. In addition to aesthetic requirements, particular importance is being placed thereby on

  • the environmental credentials of the products used,
  • the use of materials that are produced in an environmentally-compatible and low-carbon manner, and
  • the repair and reuse of existing materials.

Purchase of New Multimedia Terminals Made in Austria

Our 4,325 retail partners currently offer customers the opportunity to buy lottery products via 5,066 KeWin Multimedia Terminals across Austria. In 2019, these will all be replaced by new terminals from the Linz-based company KEBA that use state-of-the-art technology and are designed to meet the needs of all users. A decisive factor in the choice of these high-quality terminals was the fact that they are also manufactured in Austria – totally in keeping with a local value creation policy.

Bundling of F&B Procurement

Alongside our core business of gaming, we place a strong emphasis on our food and beverage (F&B) services. From catering to the needs of our staff by providing kitchens on each floor at our headquarters and canteens in all our operations to our popular WINWIN cafés and award-winning Cuisino casino restaurants, we have made our F&B procurement activities more efficient: since September 2018, we purchase all standard F&B articles and products from two Austrian wholesalers. This enables us to provide the same high quality in all our F&B facilities. Where appropriate and viable, we purchase regional products from local suppliers (e.g. bread, vegetables, fruit or meats). We work continuously with our suppliers to identify potential improvements and optimize packaging. For example, one of our wholesalers has now stopped using packaging film and has instead switched to reusable palette covers in its trolley logistics.

Buy Local

As leading Austrian enterprises, Casinos Austria’s casinos strive to support the country’s economy and thus buy local. In 2018, 87 % of our Group’s total procurement volume was placed with Austrian suppliers. While our procurement volume with Austrian suppliers was less than it had been in 2017, this can be attributed above all to increased purchases of goods that are not available in Austria (e.g. IT equipment).

In the coming years, we plan to further increase the share of high-quality Austrian products that we buy and have identified corresponding potential in the standard products purchased for our Cuisino restaurants and bars.

Cooperation with the Slow Food Foundation’s “Ark of Taste” Project

Cuisino is a longstanding promoter and advocate of the Slow Food movement, which places special emphasis on preserving traditional artisan food production and biodiversity. “Ark of Taste” is an international project run by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity that catalogs small-scale food products and culture around the globe. In doing so, it helps to protect and rediscover valuable regional food products, plant species and animal breeds that might otherwise have disappeared within a few generations.

Casinos Austria sponsors a number of rare food products in the Slow Food Ark of Taste and thus makes a key contribution to raising their prominence and profile.
Barbara van Melle, Chairwoman, SLOW FOOD Vienna

Eight of our Cuisino restaurants have each “adopted” one of these products and are thus helping to ensure that eight traditional Austrian food products continue to exist. In keeping with the Slow Food philosophy, the selected products all stem from the regions in which their sponsor restaurants are located:
 

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