We’ve made social and environmental standards a standard. Everywhere.
Quality, social standards and sustainability are the law for us – regardless of what the respective valid laws are around the world. Together with our suppliers, we have committed ourselves to meeting the goals and requirements of the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI). What they say goes. This means we take social responsibility regarding fair business practices as well as transparency, reporting and information. We conduct audits in the countries of our manufacturers and suppliers according to the BSCI qualification and auditing programme.
The goals and requirements of BSCI cover, among others:
• The improvement of social standards in suppling countries
• The compliance with all valid national laws, industry standards,
conventions of ILO and the UN as well as all other relevant legal
regulations
• The ban on child labour
• The ban on forced labour and disciplinary measures such as the
withholding of identification or physical penalisation
• The assurance of the freedom of assembly and the right to collective
bargaining – or the creation of alternative options of a free and
independent organisation
• The elimination of discrimination when it comes to hiring, wages,
access to further training, promotions, the termination of employment
or beginning of retirement
Should a supplier show to not meet the requirements the first time around, we actively support and advise him as a way to contribute to an improvement in working conditions. What’s more, we guarantee that the BSCI requirements continue to be met over time thanks to our own and neutral inspectors and their auditing process. These are, among others: TÜV-Rheinland Group, TÜV-Nord and TÜV-Süd Group, SGS, Bureau Veritas, HKQAA, Intertek, Eurocert, ABS Quality Evaluation, ALGI and CISE.
• The payment of the legal minimum wage as compensation for regular
working hours as well as overtime, or overtime compensation with time
off, or the payment of a suitable wage when the minimum wage does
not cover the costs for maintaining livelihood
• The adherence to the regulations for working hours
• The guarantee of occupational health and safety
• The compliance with legal regulations regarding environmental and
safety issues
• The maintenance of a management system with which the compliance
with the BSCI requirements can be assured
For a full overview of the requirements and goals of the BSCI, as well as the more than 1,500 member companies, please visit www.bsci-intl.org.
