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Workers and communities in our supply chain

Advancing respect for human rights

As part of our commitment to respect human rights1 across our value chain, we assess and prioritise impacts on the people and the communities in our supply chain. We will address the most severe risks in our procurement of materials for our products, as well as the services we use.

Why prioritising workers in our supply chain matters

In today's interconnected global economy, responsible business practices2  include the dignity, equal treatment and well-being of people in the supply chain. Advancing responsible business practices within a supply chain is about ethical considerations that recognise and address the significant impact that these practices have on individuals and communities.

By prioritising the protection of workers and communities’ rights, we can foster sustainable development3, create positive social change4, and build a more equitable and inclusive future for all.

A man in a pineapple field

Our priority areas for driving outcomes

To assess our approach to respecting human rights and how it can be further developed as part of our social sustainability strategy, we identified (in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights) the most severe risks to people in our supply chain as follows:  

• Forced labour of workers and indigenous people’s rights in the extraction or cultivation of our base materials5 for our packaging
• Environmental impacts on the livelihoods of communities from the extraction of our base materials for our packaging.
• Security of human rights and environmental defenders in some higher-risk countries
• Health and safety of workers in our base material suppliers’ production
• Working conditions of workers at our logistics providers

Today, we are developing action plans to prevent, mitigate and address these risks by collaborating with suppliers, industry peers, industry and multi-stakeholder associations, governments, and civil society.

As an example, we are engaging with our key logistics suppliers to communicate our expectations on human rights and assess the strength of their due diligence, provide guidance on enhancing their systems and explore potential areas for further collaboration on shared risks to people.

Related links

1Human rights are defined as “rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.” Source: UN.org

2Responsible business practices are based on implementing the UN “Protect, respect and remedy” framework. Source: UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework | OHCHR

3"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Source: International Institute for Sustainable Development

4Sociologists define social change as changes in human interactions and relationships that transform cultural and social institutions. Source: SNHU.edu

5Base materials are the materials we use to produce the packaging we sell to food and beverage producers, including paperboard, polymers, aluminium foil and inks.