California Transparency in Supply Chains Act
The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 is designed to increase
the amount of information made available by manufacturers and retailers regarding
their efforts (if any) to address the issue of slavery and human trafficking, thereby
allowing consumers to make better, more informed choices regarding the products
they buy and the companies they choose to support. The following highlights Bayer’s
global efforts in this regard.
Bayer supports the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a number
of globally recognized declarations for multinational enterprises. As a founding
member of the United Nations Global
Compact initiative, Bayer undertakes to implement the 10 universally recognized
principles in the areas of human rights, labor standards, environmental protection
and anti-corruption throughout the organization when shaping business processes
and strategies.
Promoting human rights standards internally and throughout all of Bayer’s business
operations is in line with our
Values and Leadership Principles, our
Sustainable Development Policy and our group-wide
Human Rights Position. Bayer’s commitment to foster the implementation
of human rights is supported through our
Corporate Compliance Policy. It is in effect in all Bayer locations and
it applies to Bayer’s business operations worldwide. We will use this position as
a framework to guide our decision-making and constructive engagement within our
sphere of influence, while the responsibility of the governments of the various
countries for protection of human rights is respected.
Bayer has combined all of its fundamental sustainability standards and requirements
for its suppliers in a
Supplier Code of Conduct. The code of conduct comprises the areas of ethics,
employee relations, management systems, and health, safety, environment and quality.
Bayer’s Supplier Code of Conduct emphasizes international labor and human rights
standards. Suppliers are expected to protect the human rights of their employees
and to treat them with dignity and respect. Supplier employees shall have the right
to freely choose employment, the right to associate freely and join or be represented
by worker councils or labor unions on a voluntary basis, and the right to bargain
collectively as they choose. Workers also have the right to a workplace free of
harassment and unlawful discrimination.
To strengthen our commitment and to further enforce a sustainable supply chain,
in 2011 Bayer joined the Pharmaceutical
Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI), which is a group of major pharmaceutical
companies who share a vision of better social, economic and environmental outcomes
for all those involved in the pharmaceutical supply chain. This includes improved
conditions for workers (including freely chosen employment, no use of forced, bonded
or indentured labor or involuntary prison labor and abolition of child labor), economic
development and a cleaner environment for local communities.
Slavery and human trafficking can take many forms, including forced labor and child
labor. We follow a clear ‘zero tolerance to child labor’ policy in our business
operations worldwide. We do not tolerate child labor in our supply chain either,
where we take action against known cases of violations. Our efforts to fight against
child labor and forced labor are consistent with the ILO’s (International
Labor Organization) core labor standards and the United Nations Global Compact
principles.
These efforts include:
- Supplier agreement: Bayer expects its suppliers to accept the sustainability
principles set out in the Bayer Supplier Code of Conduct, including child labor
avoidance and no utilization of forced, bonded or indentured labor or involuntary
prison labor. This code of conduct forms an integral part of our supplier selection
and evaluation process. It is integrated into our Group-wide electronic ordering
system and contracts.
- Risk-based supplier assessments: Supplier self-assessments are used to check
whether the demands made by the Bayer Supplier Code of Conduct are being implemented
and complied with along the supply chain. The suppliers to be checked are selected
using a country-based risk approach based on our country index for sustainability
risks derived from the risk assessments of various international indices such as
the Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International.
- Supplier audits: Together with an independent external auditor we carry out
random supplier audits to check on the data provided by suppliers in self-assessment
questionnaires and to confirm the suppliers’ compliance with the Bayer Supplier
Code of Conduct. The data compiled from the supplier questionnaires and audits are
used to determine whether specific suppliers meet Bayer’s requirements or whether
we need to define further development measures and goals in collaboration with them.
Action plans have been drawn up with several suppliers. These are documented centrally
and their implementation is tracked. So far, we have not identified any infringements
that were so serious that they resulted in exclusion or termination of contracts
with suppliers. Working closely with our suppliers throughout the optimization process
can generate new ideas and perspectives and further opportunities for improvement.
- Training our procurement staff: We use a web-based training program to familiarize
our procurement staff with present and future challenges relating to the Bayer Supplier
Code of Conduct. The training is mandatory and covers the principles of sustainability,
the content of the code of conduct and instructions on selecting and evaluating
suppliers. The content of these modules is updated regularly and adapted to the
needs of the target group. All Bayer procurement staff also are trained on the Bayer
Human Rights Policy and our Corporate Compliance policy.
- Supplier days: We regularly provide information on our understanding of sustainability
to our most important suppliers. Through this global dialogue we aim to show suppliers
the demands we make on sustainable procurement and how they can meet requirements
in their own companies.
For more details:
Internet website:
http://www.procurement.bayer.com/procmt/byc_cpstd_en.nsf/LPSNavigationLUByContentID/HWER-7XFFBC?OpenDocument
