Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

Environmental Risk

Risk of a Third Party contributing to environmental degradation and negative climate impacts (e.g. due to lack of appropriate environmental risk management and continuous improvement plans in place) and thus risk of non-compliance with/violating our own commitments and targets and contractual requirements, potentially leading to negative impact on reputation, fines, and/or loss of business.

Environmental conservation involves the protection, preservation, and restoration of ecosystems and natural resources. It is essential for maintaining biodiversity, mitigating climate change, and ensuring the long-term well-being of both humans and the planet.

Environmental Law

On July 28, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly made a resolution, according to which everyone on the planet has a right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.

- General Assembly resolution 76/300 of 28 July 2022

Violations

• Violations against the provisions of the Minamata Convention prohibiting production of mercury-containing products, the use of mercury compounds in manufacturing processes and mandating treatment of mercury waste as defined by the Minamata Global Convention
• Violations against the production and/or use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) within the scope of the Stockholm Convention as well as the non-environmentally sound handling, storage, and disposal of waste
• Violations against import and export of hazardous waste as defined by the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their disposal; additionally, the law prohibits the import and export of other wastes from a non-party to the Basel Convention 

Human Rights Risks

Human rights are the rights we have simply because we exist as human beings – they are not granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status.

They range from the most fundamental – the right to life – to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.

The Adecco Group considers respect for human rights to be a prerequisite for all activities.

Human Rights

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and shall treat one another in a spirit of solidarity.”

- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN), Article 1 (Liberty, Equality, Solidarity)

Violations

A human rights violation is the disallowance of the freedom of thought and movement, to which all humans legally have a right. Anyone should speak up to detect and prevent human rights violations. This does not only apply to stakeholders in The Adecco Group, but also you as a supplier must inform yourself regularly and ensure this information is passed on to your employees/colleagues, see also The Adecco Group’s “Third-Party Code of Conduct”.

If a possible human rights violation is suspected or detected, you should speak to your responsible supervisor or report this matter directly and anonymously over The Adecco Group Ethics Website.

Governance Risk

Governance Principles

The UN Global Compact’s Principles relating to labour and anti-corruption are:

• Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
• Principle 4: The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour
• Principle 5: The effective abolition of child labour
• Principle 6: The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
• Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Violation

• Company’s lack of ability to be resilient to volatility, including economic and weather-related events 
• Non-adherence to regulatory requirements and absence of liabilities
• Non-adherence to formal governance structures via pursuit of certifications
• Inadequate accountability measures present in company’s Board of Directors
• Lack of/not sufficient commitment to conducting ethical business practices
• Lack of/not sufficient commitment to operating in a transparent and accountable manner
• Absence and/or use of appropriate channels for shareholder to enact rights 

Our Expectations

Human Rights Officer

To ensure that the position of Human Rights Officer is successfully implemented, it is important to clearly define the officer’s role and tasks within the group and the group’s due diligence processes:

• Internal coordination: the human rights officer shall act as the interface between the management and the operational side of human rights due diligence. This way, the topic is anchored at the highest management level at group/entity/GBU, as required under the GSCA.
• External communication: the human rights officer shall play a significant role in communicating to stakeholders and the public the progress made by the group in terms of its work on human rights and the environment.
• Implementation of the human rights and environmental policy: the human rights officer shall be the first contact person when it comes to the content and implementation of a group’s human rights and environmental strategy, enshrined in its policy statement. Therefore, the group’s executive management shall enable the human rights officer to acquire all the necessary expertise in this field and to equip them with the necessary resources. This is vital to ensure that human rights due diligence is appropriately implemented in “all relevant business processes”, as stipulated by the GSCA. The human rights officer shall encourage a continuous process of learning, to ensure the group can progress in implementing ever more effective measures.
• Documentation and reporting: to address the supervisory authority’s (BAFA) specifications on the reporting requirements, the human rights officer shall play a meaningful role in gathering, processing, and publishing reports on a company’s progress regarding human rights due diligence. This is also necessary for complying with regulatory oversight.
  
  

TAG Human Rights Officers

The Group has implemented the Human Rights Officer responsible for internal coordination, external communication and implementation of the Group's human rights and environmental policies.

• The Adecco Group: SVP Sustainability and ESG, Karin Reiter
• The Adecco Group Germany and The Akkodis Group Germany: Head of Sustainability, Janine Bischoff