Our approach
As one of Australia’s leading regional banks, we’re passionate about creating opportunities that enable our local communities to prosper.
BOQ prides itself on building long-term relationships based on respect and understanding – we recognise that we’ll only succeed when our customers and communities thrive.
At BOQ, we’re committed to creating meaningful partnerships to support our local communities, by working with First Nations- owned businesses within our direct and indirect supplier network.
Our Social Procurement Strategy
We believe in operating a fair, sustainably responsible and ethical approach to procuring goods and services.
Our approach and key principles include:
- Developing a Supplier Code of Conduct that explains our expectations for our suppliers in relation to environment, social and governance requirements.
- Having our dedicated Procurement team work with business stakeholders to build diversity considerations into purchasing activity wherever possible.
- Not knowingly creating barriers for diverse suppliers – submissions will be considered in line with BOQ Group procurement standards for evaluation.
Supplier Code of Conduct
We recognise that our responsibility does not end with our own operations but extends to our suppliers, ensuring they have high standards of care when it comes to the people they employ and to the environment.
Some of the key initiatives that we currently prioritise are:
- Outlining the standards BOQ expects via our Supplier code of Conduct across key corporate responsibility principles; labour and human rights, information security, business resilience, workplace health and safety, ethical business practices, compliance and governance, and environmental sustainability. A shared commitment to these principles helps ensure that BOQ’s supply chain reflects our purpose, the continually evolving expectations of our community, and sustainable development goals relevant to the BOQ supply chain.
- Continuing to facilitate BOQ’s commitment to our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) by actively identifying Indigenous suppliers and removing barriers that may prevent them from participating.
- Requiring potential suppliers to demonstrate their corporate responsibility commitments, such as diversity metrics, when responding to tenders
- Seeking confirmation from suppliers via an annual review process and conducting supplier site visits that seek to identify any modern slavery practices within supplier operations. These efforts are part of a broader modern slavery program that strengthens BOQ’s position with regard to modern slavery and related legislation.
Modern Slavery
BOQ recognises – and wholeheartedly supports – its obligation to minimise incidents of slavery, slavery-like practices, human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery through its operations and supply chain.
BOQ is committed to protecting and respecting human rights and striving to remove modern slavery risk within its business practices, operations and supply chains.
How do we do this?
- Promote awareness across BOQ Group of modern slavery and the mitigating controls being implemented to minimise the risk of modern slavery occurring within BOQ Group, its operations or its supply chain.
- We have a commitment to employees, customers, partners and shareholders. It is to continually improve our approach, capability and practices to identify risks of modern slavery and take action to address any instances of modern slavery should they be found.
- Enable compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (as may be amended from time to time)
Find BOQ's 2023 Modern Slavery Act Statement here.
Social impact
We’re a corporate member of Supply Nation, Australia’s leading advocate of Indigenous businesses in the supplier diversity space.
Our Social Procurement Strategy supports the business in directing spend towards creating social change, and lays the groundwork for improved traceability of BOQ Group’s positive social impact.