Actions

H&M communicates with stakeholders on corporate social responsibility and on implementation of the Global Compact principles in its CSR report 2003. The company’s commitment to the Global Compact is reiterated in the CSR report through the statement of Rolf Eriksen, Managing Director of H&M (please see page 4 of the report). Additional information on H&M’s CSR performance and its implementation of the Global Compact principles can be found in the Annual Report 2003, on the company’s website (www.hm.com/csr), in the brochure "Our responsibility" (which can be downloaded from www.hm.com/csr) and in the company''s Code of Conduct (please see http://seit26.hm.com/codeofconduct).

H&M''s CSR report for 2003 describes the company''s work to meet the company’s voluntary commitments in respect of environmental issues and corporate social responsibility. In particular, the report describes the company’s efforts to ensure that its suppliers respect human rights and offer their employees good working conditions. The company also reports on our environmental work both internally and with suppliers. H&M’s CSR report follows a triple bottom line approach (economic, social and environmental), as prescribed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines (please see page 20 of the report for a GRI Content Index).

The environmental section of the report (pages 21 through 34) covers the environmental impact in the supply chain, environmental considerations on transportation and respect for nature and sustainable resource use in the company’s shops and distribution centers. The report also includes a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (p. 23) and a description of the company’s environmental management (p. 24-26). On page 29, the process of environmental information of employees is described. Detailed environmental performance measures are provided on pages 29 through 34, including targets for 2003, 2004 and beyond.

The social responsibility section of the report (pages 35 through 50) addresses the company’s supply chain management and its code of conduct, the CSR reporting structure, supplier assessment strategy, compliance and inspection procedure and compliance and enforcement (p.41).

In the area of human rights, the report address issues of forced labor, discrimination, freedom of association and child labor (p. 46). The situation in Burma is also addresses at page of the repot (p. 47). Finally, the report explains the process of internal communication and education on the company’s CSR Programs and efforts (p. 48). Detailed social targets for H&M in 2003, with a description of their advancements, and social targets for 2004, are provided on page 49 and 50 of the report.

Results

Page 9 of the report describes the company’s approach to dialogue and interaction with stakeholders and explains that the company will only earn a license to operate and grow if it meets stakeholders’ expectations.

During 2003 H&M representatives participated in various meetings to listen and talk to different stakeholders, such as trade unions (ITGLWF, UNI, etc.), NGO’s (Clean Clothes Campaign, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Oxfam), Governmental representatives (Sweden and EU), and Investors and analysts.