We are committed to conducting our business with respect for the human rights of our employees in the workplace and in the communities in which we operate – an aim reflected in our ongoing commitment to the United Nations Global Compact. In some countries, democracy, respect for the rule of law and economic development are fragile, and human rights may be compromised. In these circumstances, we must operate with sensitivity in order to support rather than undermine the development of stable societies and ensure that our operations do not contribute directly or indirectly to human rights abuses.
Last year we set ourselves the target of ensuring that all group operations embed our human rights principles in their local human resources policies. These principles cover issues such as freedom of association and collective bargaining, providing safe and healthy working environments, ensuring fair and competitive wages and benefits and intolerance of discrimination. By the end of the year, our last remaining operation had achieved this minimum standard.
Ensuring human rights standards in our supply chain
We have an opportunity and a responsibility to promote human rights within our supply chain. This is incorporated into the Responsible Sourcing Principles referred to in the supply chain section of this report.
The task is not always easy. For example, in Honduras, El Salvador and other parts of Latin America, there is a tradition of children working alongside their families in the sugar cane harvest. In El Salvador, Industrias La Constancia in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company, has been supporting a multi-stakeholder effort led by the El Salvador Sugar Association and the local government, to ensure that these children receive schooling and appropriate, less hazardous work opportunities in line with internationally agreed standards. In Honduras, meanwhile, our business provides an holistic education programme for the children of sugar cane workers. This includes academic training and the development of technical skills for the harvesting of new crops besides sugar cane.
Whistle-blowing
Regrettably, and notwithstanding our efforts to ensure that every aspect of our operations is conducted in line with relevant legislation and our internal codes and standards, there may be occasions where individuals fall short of what we expect of them. In such cases, it is important that other employees have a means of bringing inappropriate behaviour to the attention of senior management.
To this end, each of our operations has in place appropriate confidential reporting mechanisms. For example, ABI, our soft drinks operation in South Africa, has operated a confidential whistle-blowing line for a number of years and its existence is highlighted on the local intranet and in the employee magazine. We believe the facility provides an essential mechanism for safeguarding our reputation for openness and transparency.
As part of our developing work in this area, during the year we joined the Institute of Business Ethics.