Communication on Progress

Communication on Progress

Participant
Published
  • 14-Oct-2019
Time period
  • October 2018  –  October 2019
Format
  • Stand alone document – Basic COP Template
Differentiation Level
  • This COP qualifies for the Global Compact Active level
Self-assessment
  • Includes a CEO statement of continued support for the UN Global Compact and its ten principles
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Human Rights
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Labour
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Environment
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Anti-Corruption
  • Includes a measurement of outcomes
 
  • Statement of continued support by the Chief Executive Officer

  • Statement of the company's chief executive (CEO or equivalent) expressing continued support for the Global Compact and renewing the company's ongoing commitment to the initiative and its principles.

  • 1st October 2019

    The United Nations have defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals to tackle poverty, inequality, and climate change by 2030. Described as the world’s to-do list, these Global Goals will only be achieved if business leaders get behind them.

    HH Global are committed to supporting these goals, as well as the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

    Together with our FY19 sustainability report, this annual Communication on Progress outlines our strategy and efforts to support the Global Goals and to build the principles of the UN Global Compact into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We will share this information with our stakeholders on social media, our website, and in face-to-face meetings.

    Sincerely yours,

    Robert MacMillan

    Group Chief Executive Officer

Human Rights
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of human rights for the company (i.e. human rights risk-assessment). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on Human Rights.

  • We have a range of policies and staff training mechanisms in place to raise awareness of and tackle human rights issues, particularly in relation to diversity, inclusion, disabilities, and modern slavery.

    In common with many organisations, the greatest risk to human rights exists in our supply chain. All suppliers have to adhere to our Supplier Code of Conduct and Sustainable Materials Policies, which clearly outline the necessity of adhering to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and supporting the Sustainable Development Goals.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions to implement Human Rights policies, address Human Rights risks and respond to Human Rights violations.

  • Our stance on human rights is included in our policies, which are introduced to employees through our Employee Handbook and through training.

    Supplier adherence to these principles is monitored through assessments and on-site audits, conducted by our sourcing team and overseen by our sustainability team.

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.

  • Our performance on human rights is regularly assessed by Sedex and Ecovadis, including SMETA audits. We have an Ecovadis Gold rating and are rated in the top 5% of businesses within our sector.

    We are in the process of developing dashboards to track and publish any issues relating to human rights, which will be monitored at board level.

Labour
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of labour rights for the company (i.e. labour rights-related risks and opportunities). Description of written policies, public commitments and company goals on labour rights.

  • We support freedom of association and recognise the right to collective bargaining within our own workforce, and mandate that our suppliers do the same. Forced, compulsory or child labour is not tolerated and our views are communicated in our policies. Our policy on Modern Slavery is available at https://www.hhglobal.com/media/1527/hh-global-slavery-and-human-trafficking-statement-final.pdf

    We have policies, training programs, and practices in place to eliminate both conscious and unconscious discrimination. We have also introduced a comprehensive Health & Safety management system, which adheres to ISO18001.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions taken by the company to implement labour policies, address labour risks and respond to labour violations.

  • Our stance on labour rights is included in our policies, which are introduced to employees through our Employee Handbook and through training.

    Supplier adherence to these principles is monitored through assessments and on-site audits, conducted by our sourcing team and overseen by our sustainability team.

    Our Health & Safety management system has been rolled out and is certified to ISO18001.

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.

  • Our performance on labour rights is regularly assessed by Sedex and Ecovadis, including SMETA audits. We have an Ecovadis Gold rating and are rated in the top 5% of businesses within our sector.

    We have obtained ISO18001 certification for our Health and Safety systems, and are in the process of developing dashboards to report on our labour performance which will be monitored at board-level.

Environment
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of environmental protection for the company (i.e. environmental risks and opportunities). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on environmental protection.

  • Following an assessment of our environmental risks and opportunities, we have determined that the greatest environmental risk lies within our supply chain. Conversely, tremendous opportunities for positive environmental impact exist by influencing the purchasing decisions of the major brands we work with.

    We have developed a comprehensive focus on sustainability which permeates our culture, our sourcing model and, most importantly, our interaction with clients. Policies exist to support this, and our environmental management system is certified to ISO14001.

    In our 2020 financial year, our ambition is to use 38,000 fewer trees, 120,000,000 litres less water, 10,000 MWh less energy in the production of materials, resulting in a reduction of 11,000 tonnes of carbon.

    This is enough trees to cover 19 football pitches, enough water to fill 48 olympic size swimming pools, enough energy to power 850 average
    US homes, and the equivalent of taking 2,335 average US cars off the road.

    Further details of our environmental sustainability ambitions and progress, including support for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, are available in our annual sustainability report at https://www.hhglobal.com/media/1781/hh-global-fy19-sustainability-report.pdf

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions to implement environmental policies, address environmental risks and respond to environmental incidents.

  • Our sustainability ambitions are implemented through our ‘Innovation with Purpose’ strategy - our plan to carry out sustainable business by harnessing innovation. This is owned at board-level by our Chief Digital and Innovation Officer.

    We will achieve our targets by helping our clients make sustainable product choices and designing innovative new solutions. We include sustainability reporting in our client business reviews to raise awareness of the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions.

    Our processes and reporting has been certified to ISO14001.

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates environmental performance.

  • We measure the environmental impact of our clients purchases and present this to clients using powerful dashboards. We then identify and quantify savings opportunities.

    In our 2019 financial year, we measured the results of our efforts to reduce the impact of paper and card consumption. In total, we managed to save 28,000 trees, 130,000,000 litres of water, 9,246 MWh of energy, and 8,903 tonnes of carbon. Dashboards to measure target performance have been developed and are regularly reviewed at board-level.

    Our environmental performance is regularly assessed by Sedex and Ecovadis, including SMETA audits. We have an Ecovadis Gold rating and are rated in the top 5% of businesses within our sector.

Anti-Corruption
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of anti-corruption for the company (i.e. anti-corruption risk-assessment). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on anti-corruption.

  • Corruption and bribery risk in our operations is low, however we have implemented an anti-bribery and corruption policy to outline our zero-tolerance stance on this issue.

    Bribery and corruption risk is greater in our supply chain, and we clearly communicate our position in our Supplier Code of Conduct.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions to implement anti-corruption policies, address anti-corruption risks and respond to incidents.

  • Training is provided to employees on how to identify and tackle bribery and corruption, and policies are communicated in our employee handbook.

    Supplier adherence to these principles is monitored through assessments and on-site audits, conducted by our sourcing team and overseen by our sustainability team.

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates anti-corruption performance.

  • Our performance on business ethics is regularly assessed by Sedex and Ecovadis, including SMETA audits. We have an Ecovadis Gold rating and are rated in the top 5% of businesses within our sector.

    We are in the process of developing dashboards to track and publish any issues relating to business ethics, which will be monitored at board level.