Ethical sourcing Program
We have implemented a holistic “Ethical Sourcing Program” with “Ethical Supplier Standards” (ESS) being one amongst others. These “ESS” specify the expectations towards our suppliers, e. g. in terms of child labor, minimum wages, forced labor and Health, Safety and Environmental protection.
A key base “building block” in our Ethical Sourcing Program is the Supplier Self-Assessment, which we run with our material suppliers and contract service operations, covering more than 90 % of the value of our total purchased materials.
In addition, we have identified a group of “focus sites” which is split into our own FHCS plants and the selected important suppliers, warehouses, distribution centers and contract operations. In all of those operations, we also do on-site audits, with ethical sourcing criteria being incorporated and physically viewed and reviewed. By doing this, we cover more than 50 % of our purchase value.