As a responsible company, we are committed to respecting human rights and the environment both in our own operations and in our supply chain.
We support appropriate legislation that aims at encouraging companies to address their potential impacts on human rights and the environment and would lead to increased transparency, collaborative action and a leveled playing field. Such legislation should typically include the obligation to conduct human rights due diligence as defined in the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). The ultimate goal of such regulatory framework should be to advance corporate awareness on human rights and environmental responsibility, which should translate into collaborative, impactful and effective actions on the ground.
As part of our longstanding commitment to have a positive impact on society, we have voluntarily integrated human rights and environmental due diligence processes into our policies and procedures throughout our value chain for more than a decade. We also have put in place a group-wide Human Rights Due Diligence Program, developed in cooperation with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR). In 2013, we became the first major multi-national company to report publically on our human rights impact in a number of the countries in which we operate. Our approach is aligned with international standards, including the (UNGPs).