8 December 2021

To our stakeholders:

I am pleased to confirm that INDEVCO 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 briefly describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) into our business strategy, culture, and daily operations. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders through our annual report to be released soon.

Sincerely yours,

Neemat G. Frem
CEO & Chairman

INDEVCO is a multinational group with over 10,000 employees in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, the U.K., and the U.S. We have an eclectic family of employees from different nationalities, races, religions, genders, socio-economic classes, and beliefs. INDEVCO nurtures a culture of respect and diversity and inclusion. We are focused on providing equal opportunities for women and people with disabilities and providing safe and quality work.

INDEVCO Code of Conduct prohibits acts of harassment, bullying, or any form of discrimination, and requires all employees to be treated with the same respect and rights. INDEVCO Diversity & Inclusion policy requires that all employees are respected, treated fairly, and offered equal opportunities.

https://sustainability.indevcogroup.com/wp-content/uploads/INDEVCO-Code-of-Conduct.pdf
https://sustainability.indevcogroup.com/wp-content/uploads/INDEVCO-Diversity-Inclusion-Policy.pdf

Our Global Communications & Sustainability Management department is in the process of developing a Human Rights policy for INDEVCO to be launched in Q1 2022.

Once the department finalizes the policy, it will conduct an internal awareness campaign for all employees and share the policy with the Human Resource (HR) departments at HQ and member companies. HR departments will be responsible to ensure implementation.

We measure performance on the UN Global Compact Principle 1 and 2 by tracking any claims of any violation of human rights to HR or Legal departments.

We keep all employment procedures and practices under constant review and monitoring to ensure no violations of human rights or discrimination of any sort.

As a manufacturing group with operations around the world, INDEVCO abides by the local labor laws in the countries in which it operates. Our Code of Conduct prohibits employing persons younger than legal working age. We also require suppliers not to engage in child labor violations in its Supplier Code of Conduct.

In addition, INDEVCO uses international human resource principles to structure jobs, grades, competencies, compensation, and benefits. Jobs are assigned based on skill, experience, knowledge, and educational background. Benefits and compensation are fairly given based on jobs and merit, and not based on discriminative variables (gender, age, etc.).

Furthermore, our operations are committed to providing safe working environments and abide by ISO 45001 standards for occupational health and safety.

https://sustainability.indevcogroup.com/wp-content/uploads/INDEVCO-Code-of-Conduct.pdf
https://sustainability.indevcogroup.com/wp-content/uploads/INDEVCO-Diversity-Inclusion-Policy.pdf
https://sustainability.indevcogroup.com/wp-content/uploads/INDEVCO-Supplier-Code-of-Conduct.pdf

Our Insurance & Safety Risk Management department is responsible to evaluate risks and hazards across operations and request corrective action. Our Process Improvement department assists our business units in attaining ISO 45001 occupational health and safety certification. While our Risk Assessment & Internal Audit department ensures that our operations continue to uphold high working standards and safety.

All accidents and hazards are recorded and evaluated to take proactive preventative measures. Training is also provided for employees about health and safety. First Aid basics training was mandatory for all employees. In addition, in 2020, our Health and Safety specialists provided awareness sessions across operations about COVID19 precautionary practices.

INDEVCO has a central system for all employee data across the group worldwide and can track employee data to ensure that no employee below legal working age is employed. Upon hiring employees, they are required to present legal identification that can confirm the age of employees.

In terms of occupational safety, our Insurance & Safety Risk Management department identifies risks and proposes precautionary measures to avoid hazards, while our Risk Assessment & Internal Audit department conducts thorough audits of our business units and reports performance.

We consider environmental factors and impacts as part of our strategic decision-making process. Thinking forward and aligning with our commitment to sustainability, leaders across the group ensure business units are considering environmental variables when setting goals and KPIs in their annual and 5-year strategic plans. Environmental considerations also drive product innovation and future capital investments.

As a manufacturer of plastic packaging, INDEVCO joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste in 2020 to work with suppliers, other converters/packaging producers, and customers to find solutions that design waste out of the product lifecycle. In 2020, our plastics recycling facility in Bazyoun, Lebanon reached 100% capacity. This plant recycles our industrial plastic waste, as well as other plastic waste, such as agricultural films.

Our plastics plants launched various sustainable products, including water tubes to reduce water consumption in irrigation and plastic raw materials with recycled content and minimum carbon black.

Phoenix Energy, a member company, sources renewable energy solutions in the region from biomass boilers to solar PV panels. In 2020, the company completed on-grid PV power systems at three major Majid Al Futtaim malls in Egypt.

We monitor performance by measuring the volume of plastics diverted from landfills, the reduction in GHG emissions corresponding to plastics in landfills, and the GHG emission reduction from using recycled plastics in our converting plants instead of virgin materials.

We also measure the amount of GHG emissions reduced due to the solar energy projects implemented.

Honesty is one of INDEVCO's core values which pushes for transparency. Our code of conduct requires employees to behave ethically and refrain from practices such as bribery.

Employees are asked to report all breaches of our code of conduct and unethical and corrupt behavior to their department management or the Human Resources department. All claims are investigated and action is taken in line with the severity of the infraction. In some cases a warning may be issued, in others, termination of employment may be required.

All reported incidents of corrupt behavior or breaches of the code of conduct are thoroughly investigated by our human resource department. Our legal department intervenes when legal perspective or action is necessary.