Walgreens Boots Alliance’s Supplier Program Drives Change
Our global Supplier Sustainability Program measures suppliers’ sustainability performance per product category with the support of an online system used for data collection, analysis, reporting and scoring. The program utilizes The Sustainability Insight System (THESIS), developed by the nonprofit organization The Sustainability Consortium, a holistic sustainability assessment tool that gauges supplier practices, performance and management on energy, water, ethics and more. We have seen year-over-year improvements with our participating owned brand suppliers in the setting of manufacturing greenhouse gas goals and overall reduction of plastic usage. Read more about our goals in our 2023 Environmental, Social & Governance Report.
THESIS is key when it comes to making sure suppliers are progressing on their sustainability journey alongside WBA. It helps us understand where suppliers are in their sustainability journey and shares guidance with suppliers on how to advance their own practices for year-over-year improvement. This two-pronged utilization of THESIS helps competitively drive the industry forward, as suppliers can compare themselves to peers while holding themselves accountable. Improved supplier data collection from the program has furthered our ability to identify sustainability opportunities and risks at the product-category level. By identifying risk and opportunities within our suppliers' practices and supply chains, it enables us to better direct our efforts in supporting the development of our global brands and supplier sustainability strategy by providing a clearer view of how supplier engagement can be targeted.
In fiscal 2023, WBA continued to grow and expand supplier participation in the tool achieving a 68 percent increase in own brand suppliers completion of the assessment. This represented over $1.3B in cost of goods.
For more information on WBA’s responsible sourcing initiatives please see the latest ESG Report.
