From 2017 around 6 000 European companies will be required to report their code of conduct activities. This includes how they work with suppliers in China and other low cost countries.
The new EU requirements about companies sustainability reporting were adopted in 2014 but are now taking effect. It affects EU companies with more than 500 employees but some countries have set lower limits. One of those countries is Sweden where the limit is 250 employees.
Environmental matters, social and employee related matters, safety, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery should be covered. The reporting should include a description of internal policies including due diligence processes and also the outcome of these policies. Further the reporting should include the risks related to the matters described above and how the company manage these risks. Non-financial key performance indicators relevant for each company´s business should also be presented in the reporting.
“Few European companies have a good grasp of the actual situation at their suppliers in China and lack knowledge about the regulatory and practical environment”, says Per Linden, CEO of Scandic Sourcing in Shanghai.
Scandic Sourcing has worked for over 10 years on site in China and Asia with supplier audit programs and have developed methodology to work with continuous improvement programs for foreign companies suppliers in Asia. The Scandic Supplier Code of conduct program won the 2012 Swedish Chamber of Commerce innovation price. With new focus on sustainability reporting in Europe this becomes even more important.
Read more about our CSR and Code of Conduct services here.