Opentrends Communication
- Participant
- Published
-
- 10-Jan-2022
- Time period
-
- January 2022 – January 2023
- 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.
-
To our stakeholders:
I am pleased to confirm that Opentrends reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.
In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.
Sincerely yours,
Juanjo Giménez
CEO & Founder
- 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.
-
Opentrends is strongly committed to the defense of human rights, the defense of the principle of equal opportunities, the fight against discrimination and the respect for diversity and inclusion.
These principles are reflected in the company's Code of Ethics, as well as in our Equality Plan and protocols for the prevention and action against workplace, sexual or gender-based harassment, additionally to any form of harassment based on sexual orientation, expression or identity. We also count on a Conflict Management Protocol.
Within the structure of the company, there is the People’s Area. Among their aims, there are listening to the needs and opinions of the staff, guarantee their professional development, their well-being and also providing support in maintaining work-life balance.
All these policies aim to create a more equitable society from the company, serving as an example for the development of a culture of respect in every aspect of life of the people who are part of Opentrends, but also collaborating with associations to promote human rights in society.
Some of the objectives of Opentrends in the field of human rights are:
● Guarantee the well-being of the people in the organization.
● Improve the work-life balance of all our employees.
● Create a work environment based on respect and conflict management.
● Move towards a diverse staff, promoting the integration of professionals with different profiles regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnic background, religion, beliefs, age, disability, or any other personal or social circumstance.
● Increase the number of actions carried out with third-sector organizations.
● Extend Opentrends' commitment to respect human rights to our suppliers and clients.
● Consolidate the commitment to the European Diversity Charter, which aims to spread diversity and inclusion in the work environment and towards society as a whole.
- Implementation
-
Description of concrete actions to implement Human Rights policies, address Human Rights risks and respond to Human Rights violations.
-
● Implementation of a public and confidential whistleblowing channel to collect complaints related to the Code of Ethics and to any discriminatory behavior between
staff, clients and suppliers.
● Assessment of psychosocial risks.
● Adaptation of installations for people with disabilities and creation of a breastfeeding area.
● Collaboration through mentoring and talks with organizations that support women at risk of social exclusion.
● Donations to support an NGO chosen by the staff.
● Collaboration with “Pride Barcelona” by means of donations and informative talks.
● Selection of suppliers belonging to the third sector, such as Alares, Femarec or Inserta.
● Participation in campaigns to improve medical research, such as “Movember”.
● Training in good habits by means of digital training platforms such as Goodhabitz.
● Sponsor of events who support tech women.
● Dissemination of the Opentrends’ Code of Ethics among suppliers and clients.
- Measurement of outcomes
-
Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.
-
● Complaints reported to the Coexistence or Equality Committees.
● Participation of employees in talks and activities related to well-being.
● Identification of high-risk situations in the psychosocial risk assessment.
● Recruitment of women.
● Increase in third-sector suppliers.
● Results of surveys about satisfaction and well-being.
● Number of training hours performed on the Goodhabitz platform.
● Number of suppliers and clients that endorse Opentrends’ Code of Ethics.
- 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.
-
Opentrends is strongly committed to defending the principle of equal opportunities, the fight against discrimination and the respect for diversity. All these subjects are generally included in our Code of Ethics.
Likewise, and working towards the creation of a discrimination-free workplace, prevention and action protocols have been developed to fight against workplace, sexual or gender-based harassment, additionally to any form of harassment based on sexual orientation, expression or identity. Also, awareness talks on these topics are regularly given.
Regarding action protocols for sexual and sex-based harassment, they are negotiated with the majority unions, that act as representatives of the people of the organization.
Control over the existence of gender-based discrimination in remunerations is carried out by means of an annual wage audit, where the salary gap between women and men is identified.
We also consider it vitally important to guarantee access to employment to disabled people. For this purpose, collaborations with companies specialized in the inclusion of people with disabilities, or at risk of social exclusion, are established.
On the other hand, in strict compliance with existing laws, any type of forced labor, both directly and indirectly or through our clients or suppliers, is rejected. Likewise, internally, overtime is only performed on specific and voluntary basis, leaving the employee to decide if they wish to being compensated for it with time off or a with a financial compensation.
Some of Opentrends’ goals in labor matters are:
● Guarantee information on the rights and responsibilities of the company’s employees.
● Increase awareness about the different types of discrimination and how unconscious biases work.
● Reduce the gender gap.
● Increase sensibilization about the necessity of equal opportunities for women and men.
● Eliminate sexist and non-inclusive language by means of external and internal communication.
● Increase the number of women in the staff.
● Prevent sexual harassment.
- Implementation
-
Description of concrete actions taken by the company to implement labour policies, address labour risks and respond to labour violations.
-
● Implementation of a public and confidential whistleblowing channel to collect and manage complaints related to the company’s Code of Ethics and to any discriminatory behavior among our staff, clients and suppliers.
● Updating of the protocol on sexual and gender-based harassment by means of collective bargaining.
● Wage audit linked to the Gender Equality Plan to reduce the gender gap.
● Communication of the existence of a Committee specialized in the prevention, detection and resolution of situations related to discrimination, interpersonal conflicts, harassment, diversity, inclusion and psychosocial risks.
- Measurement of outcomes
-
Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.
-
● Monthly monitoring of different Human Resources indicators, separated by genders, carried out by means of a HR scorecard.
● Wage recording to monitor changes in the salary gap between men and women.
● Bimonthly calculation of the percentage of employees with disabilities in order to guarantee a minimum of 2% of them in the staff.
● Offboarding interviews to identify sever points from the company and detect possible improvement areas.
- 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.
-
At Opentrends, we understand that our contribution to society goes beyond technology. With this idea in mind, we have established ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) lines of action and have defined a common purpose that has been placed at the center of our activity: to exert a positive impact on society and improve people's lives thanks to innovation.
Our environmental policies show our strong commitment, focused on minimizing, as far as possible, our environmental footprint and on determining which quality parameters we must fulfill. One of the main axes is the promotion of a culture of sustainable development, guaranteeing compliance with legal requirements and current environmental regulations.
By including these policies in the Integrated Management System, we want to prove our involvement with sustainability and our concern for the environment.
Some of our goals for 2021 are obtaining the ISO 1400-1, the reduction of 5% of electronic material waste and the digitization of some processes to reduce paper consumption.
- Implementation
-
Description of concrete actions to implement environmental policies, address environmental risks and respond to environmental incidents.
-
At Opentrends, we are committed to waste management. That is why we have set up different spaces where specific containers for selective waste collection can be found. We are also registered in an official Waste Documentary System. All generated waste, whether directly or indirectly, is carefully separated and recycled. Waste that cannot be recycled in common-use containers is taken or collected by authorized waste managers.
We are also committed to energy efficiency. We have renewed our lighting system, switching from the conventional one to a low-consumption LED lighting. Also, more than 90% of our contracted electricity supply comes from renewable energy sources.
Among our environmental awareness guidelines, we have promoted the digitization of most of the generated documentation, and we have eliminated some printing equipment, reducing, with both measures, the consumption of paper and ink cartridges. In addition, actions such as black and white printing, the reuse of printed paper and double-sided printing are recommended to reduce the consumption of these goods as much as possible.
In order to decrease the consumption of single-use plastics, we have installed drinking fountains in each floor of the building, so that reusable water bottles can be used and less waste is generated.
In the preparation of sustainable mobility plans, we have considered measures such as the creation of a space to park bicycles and scooters (spaces that include charging points). We also offer benefits such as "Transport Ticket", thus encouraging the use of public transport.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented teleworking. Once the restrictions imposed by the Health Authorities ended, the company decided to voluntarily leave this measure implemented, both as a benefit for employees and as a measure to reduce the number of commutes, thus helping to reduce pollution.
All these initiatives have been promoted internally by means of communications, information leaflets, explanatory signs, etc. Externally, we have communicated our commitment to the environment to our suppliers, emphasizing the importance of their collaboration in this subject.
- Measurement of outcomes
-
Description of how the company monitors and evaluates environmental performance.
-
At Opentrends, we have created a control system for environmental indicators such as energy consumption in the office or fuel consumption of company vehicles in order to keep track of their evolution. We also have a tool to record environmental incidents that helps us to analyze the event itself, its causes and possible solutions to implement. Periodically, we prepare reports that are delivered to the company’s Management for their knowledge and approval.
During this year, we have carried out two self-assessments regarding the environment. In the first one, we analyzed the environmental risks related to the company's own activity; we concluded that these risks were not critical given that there are controls capable of mitigating their impact. In the second one, we specifically focused on the generation and management of waste, reaching the same conclusions.
In 2021, we were audited and obtained the ISO 14001: 2015-Environmental Management System certification. For the maintenance and review of our processes, we will annually carry out internal and external audits in order to renew this certificate every three years.
- 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.
-
At Opentrends, we have developed a Code of Ethics that regulates the behavior of workers in accordance with applicable national and international laws. Anyone who works in or for Opentrends (suppliers included) must accept it and is subject to its guidelines and principles. One of the basic pillars of our Code is zero tolerance for any practice that can be classified as corruption, extortion or bribery, both active and passive.
To ensure that this principle is met, we act with complete transparency in any interaction that occurs between a third party and the company or an employee. All our internal procedures are focused on preventing acts that could be considered as corruption. Accounting practices help to guarantee the accuracy of the accounting books and records; at each financial year-end, an external auditing firm reviews them and attests to the validity of the data detailed there.
- Implementation
-
Description of concrete actions to implement anti-corruption policies, address anti-corruption risks and respond to incidents.
-
The Code of Ethics is public and accepted in all its conditions by employees and suppliers. We also have a public whistleblowing channel, accessible to both internal and external agents. In the event that somebody notices a breach, an anonymous complaint is made in order to inform about this behavior. The channel guarantees confidentiality and non-retaliation, so that everybody can feel free to report any practice contrary to our ethical values. An external company is in charge of managing the channel and also of taking the appropriate actions in each case.
One of the important points that our Code of Ethics addresses is gift policy. This policy intends to limit the practice of receiving or giving small gifts to those that, in any case, can be considered as an attempt to obtain a benefit in return, that is, an attempted bribery.
At Opentrends, we carry out audits on personal data protection every two years, as established by current regulations on the processing of personal data. At the same time, a protocol for the treatment of information with technological tools and for the access to the company’s privileged information has been developed.
- Measurement of outcomes
-
Description of how the company monitors and evaluates anti-corruption performance.
-
At Opentrends, we have a Crime Prevention Model (CPM) approved by the Steering Committee. In this model, risks such as accounting crime, corruption between individuals and against the competition, money laundering, fraud, influence peddling and crime against public finances are analyzed. Their probability and impact are assessed together with the procedures established by the company to mitigate them. The risk analysis performed by the Compliance Officer gave a very positive result, being the risk of criminal liability of the company very low.
After obtaining the results, an action plan was agreed. This plan included the communication of these results by the Steering Committee and training on Compliance to all Opentrends’ employees. The company is committed to carry out an annual review of the CPM.
An external auditing firm annually reviews the financial statements prepared by the company. Year after year, we obtain a positive audit report ensuring that the annual accounts show the true image of the company.
We have the ISO 27001 certification on information security, that affects both clients and employees. This certification sets the standards in the scopes of confidentiality, integrity and data security by means of technological processes and systems.