Communication on Progress

Participant
Published
  • 08-Jan-2016
Time period
  • October 2014  –  December 2015
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.

  • 06-01-2016

    To our stakeholders:

    I am pleased to confirm that LABELCO A/S continuously supports the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact with respect to human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

    With this communication, we express our intent to unceasingly advance those principles within our sphere of influence. We are still committed to making the Global Compact and its principles part of the strategy, culture and day-to-day operations of our company, and to engaging in collaborative projects which advance the broader development goals of the United Nations, particularly the Millennium Development Goals.
    We, as an organization, recognize that a key requirement for participation in the Global Compact is this annual submission of a Communication on Progress (COP) that describes our company’s efforts to implement the ten principles. We support public accountability and transparency, and therefore commit to report on progress through this annual report according to the Global Compact COP policy. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

    Sincerely yours,

    Erik Mikkelsen
    Administrative Director

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.

  • 1. Assessment, policy and goals

    To show commitment to the UN Global Compact, and as a way of communicating it to our employees, we have in the past year put attention on SOS Boernebyerne, by sponsoring 3 children in need. Our goal was to start sponsorships to 3 children; one in Africa, one in South America and on in Asia. With this initiative, we not only support the children in question, but also bring attention to the organization itself, as well as the children in need. We have put pictures and letters from the children up on our communications board in our cafeteria. We have also put the SOS Boernebyerne logo on the front page of our website.
    Additionally, LABELCO A/S still has its human rights policies manifested in the employee’s manual. LABELCO A/S recognizes its responsibility to meet, follow and respect human rights.
    Furthermore, LABELCO A/S obeys to the rules of Denmark and of the EU. Both of these require by law that we as a company follow and respect the human rights. Additionally, it should be mentioned that customers and suppliers of LABELCO A/S are all located within the EU, and not in developing countries.

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

  • 2. Implementation

    Besides from formally picking the organization we wanted to put our attention to, the practical implementations that were made included presenting information about the organization at staff meetings, signing up our sponsorship for three children, urging employees to “get to know” our sponsor children from our communication board and changing our website so that the SOS Boernebyerne logo appeared on our front page.
    By the 6 month mark of when the goal was set, the management team evaluated on the efforts that had been made so far in terms of reaching the goal that had been set. By this time, the paperwork for signing up for three sponsorships had been received, and the goal itself had been communicated to the staff.

  • Measurement of outcomes
  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.

  • 3. Measurement of outcomes
    To monitor and measure the outcomes of the goal, LABELCO A/S has created a table listing the following entities: Goal, Strategy, Operational, Follow-up 1, and Follow-up 2. Our goal with regards to human rights this year was: We want to start sponsorships for 3 children; one child in Africa, one child in South America and one child in Asia.
    The second and final follow-up and evaluation meeting was held at the end of June 2015. There, it was made clear that the goal had been reached. LABELCO had committed to three sponsorships through the humanitarian organization SOS Boernebyerne. Also, the SOS Boernebyerne logo had been placed on the front page of the company’s website. The goal had been reached (and the sponsorships remain).

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.

  • 1. Assessment, policy and goals
    To show commitment to the UN Global Compact, and as a way of communicating it to our employees, we have in the past year worked towards the goal of creating a company lunch programme. We wanted to find out if there was an interest amongst our employees towards a lunch programme, and also, we wanted to look into the costs of such a program.
    Furthermore, LABELCO A/S continuously guarantees that all employees can form and join a labour union of their own choice without fear of intimidation or attempt of revenge. This is according to national law. LABELCO A/S is also a member of the Employer’s Association of Graphics which demands that the company only hires printers with a printer’s education. Their education consists of a 4-year long course that requires professional experience as well as study at a vocational school. The Danish public sector assesses health and safety methods at our company. The local community is, through local media, informed with the intentions of the company to respect the UN Global Compact. LABELCO A/S does not use, is not involved in and does not obtain any benefits from forced labour, hereunder slavery and child labour. LABELCO A/S makes sure that its suppliers and their suppliers are not using, involved in or receives benefits from forced labour by requiring that they, through questionnaires, confirm that they are not involved in any of these arrangements. LABELCO A/S disassociates from the use of child labour. LABELCO A/S does not use, is not involved in and does not gain any benefits from child labour. Because the suppliers and customers of LABELCO A/S only are located within Scandinavia and the EU, the company has not reacted with policies and procedures for countries, regions, sectors and economic activities where there is a higher risk for child labour. Child labour is, according to EU law, prohibited, and it can be assumed that companies within the border of Scandinavia and EU obey to this law. Nevertheless, LABELCO A/S sends questionnaires to its suppliers wherein they are asked to confirm that child labour at the supplier and its suppliers does not occur. Should it happen that LABELCO A/S starts a new partnership with a company outside of the EU, LABELCO A/S will be proactive when it comes to making sure the company in question does not have, is not involved in and does not gain benefit from child labour.

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

  • 2. Implementation
    We looked into how many employees would be interested in participating in a lunch programme. We also contacted several different companies that offer delivery of such lunch programmes to companies like ours. Prices, practical implementations and other logistics were looked into. We also looked into getting a “water-tank” in the cafeteria (in connection to that, due to its unhealthy influence, removing the free soda and juice that had been offered up until now), as well as prices on a multi-functional automatic coffee machine.
    By the 6 month mark of when the goal was set, a calculation on a potential company lunch programme had been made. It turned out to be very costly, and the practical circumstances of having a two-shift operation and coordinating that with lunch servings turned out to be a situation that no lunch-delivery company could help us solve. Instead we decided to look into smaller options like carrots, crackers, and alike. The multi-functional automatic coffee machine, however, had now been acquired, and turned out very popular amongst the employees. Also, the water-tank in the cafeteria had been installed, providing cold and fresh water for employees attending their lunch break.

  • Measurement of outcomes
  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.

  • 3. Measurement of outcomes
    To monitor and measure the outcomes of the goal, LABELCO A/S has created a table listing the following entities: Goal, Strategy, Tactics, Operational, Follow-up 1, and Follow-up 2. Our goal with regards to labour rights this year was: to find out if there was an interest amongst our employees towards a lunch programme, and also, we wanted to look into the costs of such a program.
    For the final follow-up, we concluded that the lunch-programme idea did not happen due to high costs and impractical circumstances in terms of our two-shift operations. A multi-functional automatic coffee machine as well as a water-tank had, however, been installed in the cafeteria, to great enjoyment for the personnel.

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.

  • 1. Assessment, policy and goals
    To show commitment to the UN Global Compact, we have in the past year worked towards the goal of increasing our use of the environmental-friendly product of PP-liner with 15 % compared to the period of 2012/2013.
    Furthermore, LABELCO A/S still has a waste sorting system in which paper, cardboard and minor flammable waste each are sorted out in different containers. This way, each type of waste can be recycled as appropriate, and the non-recyclable is handled safely.

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

  • 2. Implementation
    In order to reach the goal the following steps and thoughts were put into motion:
    By using more PP-liner and less of our original less environmental-friendly paper, we are going to reduce the weight (which is appropriate when it comes to transportation and less strain for the employees that take care of the rolls of labels or paper – both at the customers’ facilities, but also at our own facility). Furthermore, the PP-liner is recyclable. The increase of use of PP-liner was to be implemented in the sales department, where the sales consultants were to make sure that more customers were presented to the choice of PP-liner and to the environmental benefits of producing labels on it. The sales consultants were to cooperate on a strategy to present the choice to customers – it was to be brought up at any relevant occasion.

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

  • 3. Measurement of outcomes
    To monitor and measure the outcomes of the goal, LABELCO A/S has created a table listing the following entities: Goal, Strategy, Tactics, Operational, Follow-up 1, and Follow-up 2. Our goal with regards to environment this year was: to increase our sales of the environmental-friendly product of PP-liner with 15 % compared to the period of 2012/2013.
    During the first 3 months, we had used 61.376 m2 of the product. During the same time period the previous year, we had used 30.465 m2 of the product. So the goal had, by this time, already been reached.
    For the follow-up in January, we had already used around 130.000 m2 of the material. The numbers were much lower the previous year, so we still concluded that the goal was reach. For the last period of the year of the goal, we instead decided to focus on whether we had any quality problems now that we used more of the environmentally friendly paper. It turned out there were no problems with this switch.

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.

  • 1. Assessment, policy and goals
    To show our commitment to the UN Global Compact, we have in the past year worked to reach the anti-corruption goal of developing a gift-registry in which all employees and work leaders have to register gifts they receive professionally. To make sure there is an overview over these gifts that are given to our company, and to which people, this gift-registry should be developed and implemented.
    Furthermore, LABELCO A/S still has a policy that states no-tolerance when it comes to corruption in all of its forms. This anti-corruption policy and its behaviour codex include all employees. The purpose of the anti-corruption policy is to ensure and support behaviour and a work-ethic that is characterized by the highest standard for personal and organisational integrity. The anti-corruption policy offers a guide in how LABELCO A/S’s employees shall react if they are faced with corruption and corrupt behaviour, and at the same time marks out guidelines for the work in preventing corruption.

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

  • 2. Implementation
    To reach the goal, the project coordinator started gathering information about how to develop such a gift-registry and how it practically should work and be implemented. After developing a solution that fit our company, the new registry was introduced to all personnel at our quarterly meeting, and thereafter published on our communications board for everyone to see. Over Christmas, the gift registry was brought up several times, but the gifts were never of a significant amount, and were therefore not registered.

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

  • 3. Measurement of outcomes
    To monitor and measure the outcomes of the goal, LABELCO A/S has created a table listing the following entities: Goal, Strategy, Tactics, Operational, Follow-up 1, and Follow-up 2. Our goal with regards to anti-corruption this year was: to develop a gift-registry and in that way, create more transparency in the company in general.
    By the first evaluation of the goal half way through the year, various ways of implementing a gift-registry had been looked into. It was discussed in more detail how the project coordinator should continue the development and implementation of the new system.
    By the end of the year and at the final evaluation of the goal, a gift-registry had been developed and implemented, as well as made visible to all employees by posting it on the communications board in the cafeteria.