Company: BCDRF
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000891478-25-000054
Chunk: 155

Company: Banco Santander, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 20-F
Chunk 155
---
-party certification policy (which apply in all our markets) provide a methodology so that our suppliers meet the Group’s minimum requirements to avoid risks that stem from substandard

operational resilience, solvency, reputational control and regulatory compliance. Moreover, to promote responsible practices in our supply chain, we have a supplier ESG certification methodology 76 that supplements the third-party certification policy with the aim of identifying the suppliers that pose the greatest risk in terms of sustainability. This methodology also helps us determine which controls to adopt according to the risk identified. As a driver of the Global Compact training programme, we’re supporting our suppliers in their transition through courses to boost knowledge on sustainability and the resources needed to implement it. Sustainability in procurement In 2024, we began embedding the new ESG approval methodology in the Group, that enables us to:

75 More detail see previous footnote.

76 Applicable in accordance with local regulations.

Annual report 2024 105

| Contents |     | Business model and strategy |     | Sustainability statement |     | Corporate governance |     | Economic and financial review |     | Riskmanagement and compliance |

• Pre-classify all our suppliers according to their sector's environmental and social exposure 77 .

• Give our suppliers a final ESG risk classification as low, medium or high, through adjusting the pre-classification with a survey considering other factors as country risk, number of employees, and company-specific environmental traits.

As at 2024 year end, we had assessed 487 suppliers 78 identified with ESG risk. We plan to continue embedding this methodology and complete assessments by giving all our suppliers a final risk classification over the next two years.

This assessment includes such ESG aspects as carbon footprint calculation, inclusion in terms of gender and people with disabilities, flexi-working, minimum wage and good governance practices, codes of conduct and anti-corruption policies, human and labour rights recognition, and other elements set out in international standards such as the United Nations Global Compact.

We supplement our supplier assessments with remediation plans, where necessary, based on our findings. This helps our suppliers in their transformation and compliance with domestic, European and international ESG regulatory frameworks.

Sustainability in supplier negotiations

Negotiations to procure certain products and services such as cards, electricity and corporate vehicles include mandatory and specific sustainability requirements that we embed in purchasing specifications.

Moreover, we request ESG information in the tenders of other products and services that also have a vast environmental and social impact, such as purchases of ATMs (Automated Teller Machines)