Self-Assessment on Human Rights

Available online, it consists of indicators developed on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and around 80 other major international treaties and conventions. The tool comprises 28 questions based around 240 indicators aimed at determining whether the company has Human Rights policies or guidelines and whether these are correctly applied through the company’s procedures and practices. Naturally, the HRCA Quick Check covers Principles 1 and 2 of the Global Compact concerning Human Rights, but it also monitors compliance with labor standards (Principles 3, 4, 5, and 6) together with measures to combat corruption (Principle 10).

Groupe SEB was one of the very first French companies to implement the HRCA Quick Check. It is managed by the Sustainable Development Department, with the aim being that each entity – whether industrial, logistical, or tertiary – should carry out a selfevaluation on average every two years, in a logical progression. The answers to the questions are classified into four levels: red (immediate action required), yellow (issue being addressed), green (site complies), and gray (unknown/not applicable). The Sustainable Development Department examines the results in conjunction with the site concerned. In late 2009, the HRCA Quick Check was deployed across all of the Group’s entities in the world with more than 10 staff, thereby covering 95 percent of personnel, excluding Supor, the Chinese subsidiary integrated into the Group in 2007. This first wave of self-evaluations produced 10 “reds” and 60 “yellows” in the more than 1,500 responses. Most of these were linked to relationships with suppliers, and particularly to the absence of explicit references in contracts to compliance with Human Rights principles. The Sustainable Development Department established corrective action plans from the points raised. A second wave was organized in 2011 in which 70 sites were involved. The questionnaires were completed jointly by the sites’ Directors and the local Human Resources Managers. This second deployment produced a single red response, and nearly 150 yellow responses, demonstrating once again that respondents were keen to point out areas for improvement.

Among the areas for improvement addressed during the last deployment of the HRCA Quick Check, the monitoring of suppliers was the most problematic for the majority of sites. Confronted with this observation, new corrective measures have been taken by Groupe SEB’s Purchasing Division. A Responsible Purchasing Charter will be finalized in 2012 and sent to all of the Group’s suppliers. In particular, it will include the Ten Principles of the Global Compact and will collect the different social and environmental requirements, which are currently contained in different documents. Similarly, social and environmental audits will be outsourced in the future on a global basis, and targeting will be conducted by means of a supplier marking system. In a wider context, Groupe SEB has initiated the creation of a global Ethical Code, which will be distributed in 2012 to all of its employees. Based on the Group’s values, this will specify the main rules of conduct for employees and will address 18 key themes – from the respect for Human Rights to measures for combating corruption – and including non-discrimination, environmental protection, and the prevention of conflicts of interest.

In late 2010, the five sites of Supor – the Groupe SEB subsidiary based in China and Vietnam – underwent a self-evaluation using the China Business and Social Sustainability Check (CBSSC). This tool is a version of the HRCA Quick Check adapted to the Chinese context by the Danish Institute for Human Rights, and produced in both English and Chinese. Twenty-eight questions based around 245 indicators examine themes ranging from working conditions (overtime, salaries, holiday, minimum age, training, equality of treatment, safety, etc.) to the impact on local communities and supplier monitoring. The questions are generally similar to those set in the HRCA Quick Check, but they are more specific and take into account certain local particularities, for example the special attention given to nondiscrimination against migrant workers and to the accommodations offered to workers. The self-evaluation produced 7 “red” and 36 “yellow” responses, relating particularly to working hours, health and safety, holidays, and supplier monitoring. Action plans are being implemented and a new check will be carried out in two years. In total, at the end of 2011, 99 percent of the Group's personnel were covered by the HRCA Quick Check or its Chinese equivalent, the CBSSC.