Responsible Sourcing

Choosing vendors aligned with our values

At Whirlpool Corp., we are committed to winning with integrity, and we extend this principle to not only our employees, but also to those external firms we do business with. We hold ourselves to high compliance standards, and we expect our suppliers and third parties acting on behalf of our company to do business the right way as well.

Responsible sourcing is a key program within our Global Strategic Sourcing (GSS) function. The initiatives administered by the Responsible Sourcing function are broadly divided into three complementary pillars of focus.

Responsible Sourcing Pillars

Governance

Whirlpool Corp. employs a strong compliance program to help protect our corporation from any ethical compliance risks posed by third party providers. To ensure alignment with our high ethical expectations for vendors and trade partners, we conduct a rigorous series of due diligence and auditing activities through our Supplier Code of Conduct (SCoC) auditing program, Third Party Due Diligence (TPDD) screening, and conflict minerals tracking program.

Environmental

Whirlpool Corp. cares about protecting the natural resources and conditions in the communities we work and live in. Our goal is to drive material transparency for our parts and components within our supply base to ensure compliance with chemical regulations¹ and to advance our sustainability goals, including design for sustainability, circular economy and recycled content.

Social

Our overriding goal is to enhance diversity in our supply base and further extend Whirlpool Corp.’s commitment to social equality outside of our company and drive a representative composition of our global diverse consumer base. Whirlpool actively tracks and invites diverse suppliers to bid on our portfolio of work, promoting diverse vendors as a key component of our supply base.

1 Examples include Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS), Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH), Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Flame Retardants, and more

Responsible Sourcing Programs	Our Responsible Sourcing Goals	Key Achievements
Responsible Sourcing ProgramsSupplier Code of Conduct	Our Responsible Sourcing Goals Audit 100% of new components and finished goods suppliers Audit risk-based prioritized suppliers Re-audit suppliers on a frequency based on prior audit results	Key Achievements Over 300 Supplier Code of Conduct audits performed
Responsible Sourcing ProgramsThird-Party Due Diligence	Our Responsible Sourcing Goals Screen 100% of existing, new and potential suppliers Review 100% of high risk due diligence findings, establish action plans for resolution or risk mitigation	Key Achievements Over 2,600 Supplier Due Diligence screenings completed
Responsible Sourcing ProgramsCritical Materials Management & Sustainability	Our Responsible Sourcing Goals Conduct annual conflict minerals survey of in-scope suppliers, achieving 75% or greater supplier completion rate. Launch Full Material Disclosure (FMD) for Top High Critical Suppliers in collaboration with the Corporate Sustainability team. Provide support with the supply base to all existing sustainability programs and emerging regulations cross-functionally.	Key Achievements Achieved a final response rate of 79% on annual conflict minerals survey compared to 61% in 2021. Over 900 Conflict Minerals declarations received and analyzed Launched new supply base sustainability assessment tool for Whirlpool Corp., with 200 top global suppliers participating Formation of “Sustainability Huddle” groups for best practice sharing
Responsible Sourcing ProgramsDiversity	Our Responsible Sourcing Goals Launch and support global supplier diversity program designed to embed a diversity lens in our sourcing selection process	Key Achievements Focus on increased opportunities for minority business enterprises Active membership in seven major diversity councils, including WEConnect International National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)

79% critical materials response from Suppliers in 2022

We are committed to winning with Integrity, and we extend this principle not only to our employees, but also to those external firms we do business with.

Supplier Code of Conduct audits for increased supplier performance

Since its adoption in 2006, Whirlpool Corp.’s Supplier Code of Conduct (SCoC) has represented the key ethical and legal operating provisions that we expect all of our suppliers to maintain in their own operations. Adherence to the SCoC is mandatory for all vendors of services or goods, and is incorporated into our standard contract templates and purchase order terms and conditions. We make our code publicly available at our corporate website and regularly review its content to stay current with emerging trends and legal requirements in the compliance space.

In 2022, we began an initiative to re-audit suppliers who had previously been inspected. This gave us the opportunity to refresh the status of our suppliers’ facilities and promote continued adherence to our code standards. Additionally, this allowed suppliers to highlight improvements since their last audit with Whirlpool Corp. There were 11 suppliers who had previously passed our compliance audit with a mid-range score who were able to improve substantially in the follow-on inspection, moving into our top tier (top 10%) of audit scores. Suppliers who do not achieve at least a 65% score on their initial compliance audit are not onboarded until an improved audit result is achieved on a subsequent inspection. There were 17 suppliers during follow-up audits who were able to move from failing results into passing range scores in 2022. This is a testament to the impact of past SCoC audits and follow-on corrective actions.

Conflict minerals management expansion

For our 2022 supplier surveying campaign, Whirlpool Corp. invited 361 additional suppliers, which was a 46% increase over the number included in the 2021 survey. Each year, we carefully examine our supply base to include vendors with the possibility of containing 3TG minerals (tantalum, tin, tungsten, gold). Despite this large increase in suppliers to query, we set the ambitious goal of achieving a 75% or greater response rate of Conflict Minerals Response Template (CMRT) declarations from suppliers. With global support from purchasing teams around the world, a final response rate from suppliers of 79% was achieved.

Collaboration with EcoVadis

Adding to Whirlpool Corp.’s tools and systems for conducting supplier due diligence activities, a new collaboration with the firm EcoVadis was entered into for 2022. Still in its pilot phase, this new program allows for a unique additional compliance screening tool and new way to examine supplier performance. Approximately 200 key global suppliers were selected by senior purchasing leadership for inclusion in this initial workstream, with follow-on actions based on survey results witnessed. Results from the EcoVadis survey screenings are then fed into our SCoC and TPDD programs for increased collaboration between our tools and risk mitigation in the supply base.

Supplier training resources

Whirlpool Corp. takes ethical business behavior seriously, holding ourselves and our suppliers to high levels of accountability. We understand that how a goal is achieved is just as important as whether the goal was accomplished. Our long-held motto of “There is no right way to do a wrong thing” guides us to this day in all that we do.

As part of our annual mission to train suppliers on the critical topic of compliance with our SCoC and other due diligence programs, in 2022 our senior leaders, including our Chief Procurement Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and others, partnered to deliver a best-in-class video training resource that will help align supplier and Whirlpool Corp. expectations for years to come.

The publicly available video resource covering key compliance topics and tenets has been made available to all company suppliers and potential suppliers, in order to familiarize vendors with the chief provisions of our compliance programs. The video serves to demonstrate the commitment that Whirlpool Corp. has made so all upstream suppliers understand and live up to the high expectations of our Integrity Manual and SCoC.

Expanding supplier diversity at Whirlpool Corp.

We not only embrace inclusion and diversity (I&D) among our employees, but the company also extends I&D to other areas of the business, including the suppliers we use, through our Supplier Diversity Program. Whirlpool Corp. recognizes diverse businesses as those where at least 51% of the business is owned and controlled by one or more diverse individuals.

The Supplier Diversity Program has recently been merged with a work stream from the company’s Racial Equality Pledge, a multi-year plan designed to increase the number of Black employees at all levels within the company, as well as the number of Black employees at the level of director or higher. With this merger, the Supplier Diversity Program is also seeking out other underrepresented groups such as female, minority, LGBTQ+, disabled and veteran-owned businesses within the U.S., and women-owned businesses globally.

This initiative is important for the company, as it creates an inclusive procurement strategy that widens the pool of potential suppliers and promotes competition in the supply base, which can improve product quality and drive down costs. It also assures that the company truly serves and understands our ever-growing diverse customer base by working with diverse suppliers who can bring new perspectives and challenge the traditional ways of working.

“We’re committed to engaging and empowering diverse businesses with an equal opportunity to participate in the sourcing review process. Additionally, we aim to elevate diverse businesses, to support their growth and to encourage their development. This further extends Whirlpool Corp.’s pledge to social equality outside of the company by generating economic opportunities for disadvantaged communities.”

Liz Door
Sr. VP of Global Strategic Sourcing