Sustainability
Community and human rights
We support the sustainable, long-term development of the local communities in which we operate in, source from and supply, and are committed to upholding the human rights of people across our worldwide network.
Why this matters
We have a responsibility for the health, prosperity and sustainability of the communities where we source and operate and those which we supply. The long-term success of our business is reliant on these communities thriving. We are a major employer in many of the areas where we operate and we also take great pride in our role in ensuring a secure food supply, feeding people and animals around the world.
We respect the dignity, liberty and equality of everyone who works in our business and along our supply chains, and all those in the communities in which we operate and from which we source our products.
Our approach to community
We contribute to the success of communities, local businesses and economies where we operate by employing people; purchasing commodities, goods and services; paying taxes; and through continued investment in our infrastructure.
Our health, safety, environment and community (HSEC) policy and procedures guide our approach to working with communities and stakeholders.
We recognise that communities add value to our business. They are the source of our employees and we would not be able to operate without the support of the many thousands of producers and local businesses that contribute to our success.
We have a focus on bringing social benefits to local communities by supporting many initiatives and projects that contribute positively to the wellbeing of the regions surrounding our operations and offices.
We seek to engage openly, transparently and inclusively with our communities and stakeholders, including listening to and working with anyone impacted by our operations.
Our approach to human rights
Our goal is to uphold human rights wherever we operate around the world, by establishing and supporting policies and business processes that respect human rights throughout our network. These start with our code of conduct, and are supported by our human rights policy, diversity and health, safety, environment and community (HSEC) policies, modern slavery statement and our new supplier code of conduct.
We seek to avoid complicity in human rights abuses and to align our business practices with relevant international standards. Throughout our operations and supply chain we conduct our business in line with international conventions, including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Global Compact, whose principles cover human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
We expect our suppliers and partners to share our commitment to ethical business practices and have implemented a robust know your counterparty framework to manage the key compliance risks associated with our business dealings. This framework sets out a risk-based assessment process, whereby we screen our business partners to identify and mitigate our exposure to potential money laundering, terrorism financing, corruption, bribery, sanctions and human rights violations. There is a global screening system in place and local checks can also be carried out.
We have grievance mechanisms in place which can be used by our stakeholders. These include the Raising Concerns programme as well as local systems at our operations.
