Since our last COP, lot’s has happened at Sticks’n’Sushi. We are about to open three new restaurants. Two in London and one in Copenhagen. And we’re seriously explorering the German speaking marked.

What has not changed is our commitment to stay on track with our sustainability and responsibility efforts, and thereby our commitment and support of the UN Global Compact and it’s Ten Guiding Principles.

Yours sincerely,
Kim Rahbek Hansen,
CEO, Sticks’n’Sushi A/S

As stated in our previous COP, we have been working on getting our Code of Conduct (CoC) across to our suppliers and partners, in order to underline our commitment to responsibility in our supply chain.

But this was just the beginng. The past couple of months, we have worked hard on an so-called “Purchase Strategy” for the company. A major part of this strategy is ensuring compliance with or progress towards compliance with our CoC.

We expect this strategy to be finalized by ultimo 2014, and the active part of following the policies herein to progress in 2015.

Moreover, internally we still work actively with ensuring that our own employees know their rights – among others through our “Welcome on board” and “Employees handbook”.

A major part of our ambitious “Purchase Strategy” is the “Action Plan”. This is our plan for the actual implementation and work with the strategy. This plan includes half yearly revisions and evaluations with our CEO, where the team responsible for the strategy have to show progress on all agreed points in the strategy – hereunder the points concerning human rights in our supply chain.

Our “Fish Tank” (described in previous COP) is moreover still an active part of our company.

Since the “Purchase Strategy” is yet be launched, we will not be able to communicate on outcomes until next COP.

Like with human rights, our main concerns regarding labour rights are with our suppliers. And like with human rights, our work with labour in our supply chain is a part of our “Purchase Strategy”:

All full time permanent employees have a contract that adhere to the Danish Employers’ and Salaried Employees’ Act.
Our contract for hourly paid employees does not follow the current settlement by the trade union. But we can fully stand behind this contract, which on most critical points such as salary and flexibility, fully live up to the settlement, and on others are above the conditions herein.

As mentioned in our previous COP, with the help of the company Enalyzer, we have conducted a thorough employee satisfaction survey. This servey covers everything from “Motivation & Satisfaction”, “Commitment & Loyalty”, “Working Conditions”, “Work Assignments”, and more.

See results of our survey below.

All new employees at Sticks’n’Sushi are handed and instructed in our company handbook. In here they find extensive information about their rights and benefits at work.

At Sticks’n’Sushi we train a lot. We do intro classes, product classes, service classes, safety and health classes and much more. This gives our employees a very good base for doing good on their job, and for coming away, should they decide to leave one day, with a lot of skills and knowledge. For all these classes, our employees get salary.

The following are the results of our employee satisfaction survey for selected relevant topics.

Motivation & Satisfaction:
- Sticks’n’Sushi 2013: 5,3
- Sticks’n’Sushi 2014: 5,5
- Average Survey Score: 5,3

Commitment & Loyalty:
- Sticks’n’Sushi 2013: 5,5
- Sticks’n’Sushi 2014: 5,6
- Average Survey Score: 5,6

Work Assignments
- Sticks’n’Sushi 2013: 5,8
- Sticks’n’Sushi 2014: 5,8
- Average Survey Score: 6,0

Working Conditions
- Sticks’n’Sushi 2013: 4,7
- Sticks’n’Sushi 2014: 4,9
- Average Survey Score: 5,0

Change & Adaptability
- Sticks’n’Sushi 2013: 5,6
- Sticks’n’Sushi 2014: 5,8
- Average Survey Score: 5,0

With our new menu about to be launched (late October 2014), we have taken some big steps towards more sustainable and environmentally good fish and other products.

- We have included a local Danish sustainably farmed Zander to the menu.
- We have quit two fish products from Asia where we were in doubt about sustainability.
- We have included MSC certified Greenland handpeeled shrimp.
- Have have replaced conventional pork with free range.
- We have included more vegetarian alternatives.
- We have work hard to reduce food waste.

Moreover, recently we became the first Danish restaurant (group) to become certified by the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council). Hereby we’re committed to promiting sustainable wild caught fish.

Part of our before mentioned “Purchase Strategy” is our “Sustainable Food Goals”, which is a clear policy commiting ourselves to continued progress on sustainable products on our menu.

Besides our food, we have taken steps to reduce our resource use.

Firstly, through our “Climate Partnership” with the Danish energy provider, Dong Energy, we have implemented a widescale electricity monitoring system in most of our Danish Restaurants. See results below.

Moreover we have initiated a project to reduce our generel resource use. First steps have been to reduce our use of chopsticks, napkins, soya and wet tissues. See results below.

The Action Plan of our “Purchase Strategy” help us implement, monitor and review our steps towards more sustainable food products on our menu. Each year the team responsible for the strategy have to present the board of directors summery of reached goals according to strategy.

So far, in it’s first year, our electricity monitoring system has helped us to close to 100.000 kWh electricity reduction. The goal is three times that number.

Our efforts to reduce other resourses have so far resulted in 12.000 sets of chopsticks, 6.200 soya bottles and 32.000 wet tissues lees used in our restaurants.

Besides just descibed results, we still serve filtered (not bottled) water. We still pay an extra fee for our energy to increase capacity of renewable energy. And we still sort our organic food waste to biogas in mostour restaurants – as mentioned in previous COP.

Point 9. in our Code of Conduct deals with our no-tolerance policy towards corruption and bribery. But being a medium-sized company, anti-corruption is a difficult issue to actively work with.

Besides including it in our supplier audits, we make a great effort to ensure 100% that Sticks’n’Sushi staff do not pay or receive bribery.

Anti-corruption is part of how we work with our CoC in our coming Purchase Strategy.

Sticks’n’Sushi has never had any instances of employees paying or receiving bribery.