Value chain

We comply with public procurement laws

We handle every procurement phase, from preparing contract details to competitive tendering, finalised contracts and material orders, using an electronic procurement portal.

Suppliers of goods and services can see the competitive tendering processes on the Tarjouspalvelu.fi website, which also forwards data to the national HILMA notification channel and the EU-level TED portal.

We comply with the Act on Public Procurement in Special Sectors in our competitive procurement processes, and we treat service and material providers equally without discrimination.

Procurement practices

Our procurement practices are based on the Caruna Code of Conduct, which defines the ethical requirements Caruna has set for its suppliers. Our Code of Conduct supplements the procurement legislation and other regulations.

Among other things, we require our suppliers to show a good standard of business ethics, continuous operational and process development, environmentally friendly practices, non-discrimination and a safe working environment.

Caruna requires its suppliers to act in accordance with the Code of Conduct. We regularly monitor compliance with the requirements.

Audits of contractual suppliers

Our auditing plan enables us to audit and improve our most important contractual suppliers annually. From 2016 to 2021, we audited over 20 of Caruna's largest contractual suppliers. Together, these suppliers account for more than 80 per cent of Caruna's procurements of goods, construction, and services by value.

All the suppliers who responded to the assessment now include corporate responsibility in their strategies, and corporate responsibility is strongly ingrained in their operational activities. Our audits cover themes related to the quality of operations, social responsibility, and environmental responsibility.

Development of corporate responsibility in the supply chain

We aim to continuously enhance collaboration throughout our supply chain and improve the transparency and management of our supply chain. Our Supplier Code of Conduct obliges our contractual suppliers to operate in line with ethical business principles and to constantly develop their operations.

All of our contractual suppliers are committed to complying with the guidelines and are also responsible for ensuring that their subcontractors operate accordingly. We prepared our first Code of Conduct at the end of 2019. Our main contractual suppliers also go through an online course based on the Code of Conduct.

We build with our partners

We have outsourced network construction to our contractual partners, most of which are Finnish companies. Contractors are building a high-quality, modern electricity network for Finnish society in line with technical requirements. Our service providers, including our project supervision partner, ensure adequate capacity and expertise to monitor the construction and maintenance work on our electricity network.

Because our projects are so large, our main contractors are all large and medium-sized companies, and we approve the subcontractors they use.

Our quality control partners monitor construction on our projects and conduct inspections during our network's warranty period. We inspect details such as the cable installation depth to ensure that cables have been installed in compliance with our requirements and that the environment is tidy once the construction project is complete.

Contractor safety

Caruna's safety values and practices also extend to stakeholders, such as contractors. The safety of contractors is important, both in new construction and maintenance. All accidents are reported, and the situations are examined and investigated. If ever an accident does occur, we aim to ensure it never happens again.

Contractor safety is very important in maintenance tasks because these require contractors to service equipment connected to the grid. Work is often done at night or in the dark to minimise customer inconvenience.

Contractor safety is one of Caruna's values, but safety is important throughout the energy sector. Safety must integral to the values of every contractor and employee, as safety concerns practical everyday matters that make a difference, such as proper equipment and appropriate clothing and footwear.