Communication on Progress

Participant
Published
  • 19-Aug-2015
Time period
  • August 2014  –  August 2015
Format
  • Stand alone document – Basic COP Template
Differentiation Level
  • This COP qualifies for the Global Compact Active level
Self-assessment
  • Includes a CEO statement of continued support for the UN Global Compact and its ten principles
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Human Rights
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Labour
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Environment
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Anti-Corruption
  • Includes a measurement of outcomes
 
  • Statement of continued support by the Chief Executive Officer
  • Statement of the company's chief executive (CEO or equivalent) expressing continued support for the Global Compact and renewing the company's ongoing commitment to the initiative and its principles.

  • Confirmation of continued support

    Dear Mr. Secretary-General,

    I am pleased to confirm that the deugro group reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

    In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

    Sincerely yours,

    Thomas C. Press
    CEO
    deugro Group

Human Rights
  • Assessment, policy and goals
  • Description of the relevance of human rights for the company (i.e. human rights risk-assessment). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on Human Rights.

  • deugro is committed to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and expresses these values in its corporate Code of Conduct. We require all of our business partners to adhere to the same strict standards. Corporate Policies and SOP's provide advice on vetting our business partners and to assess and evaluate their own policies in order to verify their compliance with Human Rights. Any non-compliance is investigated and precludes becoming a subcontractor.
    Our goal is to make sure that we as a company monitor and prevent any violations of these principles, no matter if at deugro or a business partner.

  • Implementation
  • Description of concrete actions to implement Human Rights policies, address Human Rights risks and respond to Human Rights violations.

  • deugro has implemented human rights policies in our Code of Conduct and in our subcontractor management, requiring our business partners to confirm that they too uphold the same principles. Furthermore there are several channels whereby a potential whistleblower can raise concerns. Corporate Compliance can be contacted by filling in an online form (which can also be done anonymously), by email, phone or by talking to one of our local compliance ombudspersons, called "LEO's" (Local Ethics Officers). Awareness has also risen from previous years by providing training (online and face to face). Although ownership for protection of Human Rights within the company is with the Compliance department, deugro strives to live a "tone from the top" and have all management live a positive example of how serious we take compliance and protection of the Human Rights.

  • Measurement of outcomes
  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.

  • deugro tracks all compliance occurrences (including possible violations of Human Rights) in its monthly compliance score card. Any occurrences are thoroughly investigated. This includes periodic and annual review of the results of these score cards and subsequent discussion and correction of conflicting processes, in order to work on their improvement and possibly avoid future similar occurrences.

Labour
  • Assessment, policy and goals
  • Description of the relevance of labour rights for the company (i.e. labour rights-related risks and opportunities). Description of written policies, public commitments and company goals on labour rights.

  • deugro upholds the labor principles as stated in the United Nations Global Compact: forced labor, child labor, or a combination of both and employment discrimination in any form are strictly forbidden. The possibility of public bargaining is guaranteed.

  • Implementation
  • Description of concrete actions taken by the company to implement labour policies, address labour risks and respond to labour violations.

  • deugro has implemented a number of measures in order to reduce labor risks and implement specific measures. Any infractions can be reported using our whistleblowing facilities. Any occurrence is investigated and reported using defined SOP's and forms. The close-out rate is 100% and every issue or near-miss leads to consequences, as we strive for continuous improvement. Our dedicated QHSES department manages health and safety concerns and provides (without being limited to) policies and SOP's regarding health and safety, reporting and pro-active training. Performance is monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis.

  • Measurement of outcomes
  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.

  • deugro monitors the performance of our compliance and labor ethics initiatives by evaluating the results of the monthly score card reporting. The reported data contains information about any kind of occurrence, people involved in it (external and internal), date and time and how the occurrence was solved. Furthermore the monthly score card collects data on new hires and their initial information about compliance and adherence to the deugro Code of Conduct. Dashboards with analysis of the reported data are generated and their results are communicated and discussed with top management of the deugro group.

Environment
  • Assessment, policy and goals
  • Description of the relevance of environmental protection for the company (i.e. environmental risks and opportunities). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on environmental protection.

  • deugro is committed to protecting and preserving the environment, whether in our own backyard or off site where we provide services. deugro understands that environmental protection and preservation is not merely limited to reducing the carbon footprint and implementing green programs.

    We must also be committed to environmental protection by working with our customers and subcontractors to identify all risks involved in providing services and implementing solutions to eliminate and or reduce these risks.

    It is our conviction that this can only be successfully accomplished, if we are good custodians of trust
    granted to us by our customers, their goods, and the surrounding environment.

    We aim to continuously improve our quality of service until we arrive at our ultimate goals such as:
    - No environmental incidents

  • Implementation
  • Description of concrete actions to implement environmental policies, address environmental risks and respond to environmental incidents.

  • Responsibilities:
    The branch manager and his deputy at the site are the responsible process owner, who have the following duties at local sites. The QHSES Manager is responsible for collecting, investigating and reviewing the data which effects the deugro sites' performance for environmental improvements on a regular basis.

    Environmental aspects:
    As freight forwarder deugro operates offices and subcontracts the transport and warehouses process. The environmental aspects are focused on typical aspects related to
    - Facilities (work environment, material usage)
    - Logistics (packaging, transportation, warehousing, waste disposal)
    - Energy (electricity, fuel, gas, water).

    Identification of environmental aspects:
    All sites have to check the environmental aspects for applicability. If applicable a risk assessment is carried out. Once a year the branch management reviews all relevant topics like waste, water, emissions, ground, and hazardous goods for any changes or new aspects related to legislation, substances, equipment and work environment.

    Risk assessment of environmental aspects:
    Based on the environmental impacts the evaluation of aspects covers
    - the processes as intended,
    - the processes as not intended (disorder)
    - the processes as not intended (worst case like fire, leakages...)

    and results in a
    - compliance check
    - relevance check
    - justification/feasibility check

    Environmental programs:
    The most relevant environmental aspects, which have passed the justification / feasibility check are targeted and monitored. Where possible the decisions are based on performance data like energy, electrical consumption, costs.

    Environmental performance:
    Performance data is collected by each deugro branch (where applicable).

    Occurrence Reporting:
    deugro has implemented a reporting system for occurrences such as:
    - Near miss
    - Incident
    - Accident
    - Fatality
    - Spillages

    After the reporting we conduct an investigation that tries to identify the root cause of the occurrence. The outcome of the investigation could result in preventive and or corrective actions, as well as a lessons learned for the future.

  • Measurement of outcomes
  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates environmental performance.

  • The environmental performance based on waste-, electronical- and water consumption is measured and monitored in every branch of deugro on monthly basis by the monthly reporting.

    In addition to the consumption, deugro’s Monthly Reporting, the Occurrence Management System and the Investigation of Incidents will be analysed and once corrective measurements have been identified a so called "lessons learned" will be distributed to the group via the deugro Intranet (d.net) and via trainings or audits in these locations. deugro has three different categories of those lessons learned:

    • Immediate actions
    • Corrective actions
    • Proactive actions

    Those actions can be transported via:

    Safety Moments
    Safety Alerts
    Safety Directives
    Training Sequences
    Audits

    In the annual management review deugro evaluates the collected figures, incidents, reports and KPI’s and set an action plan for the upcoming year.

Anti-Corruption
  • Assessment, policy and goals
  • Description of the relevance of anti-corruption for the company (i.e. anti-corruption risk-assessment). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on anti-corruption.

  • deugro's existing corporate Anti-Corruption Compliance Policy ("ACCP") provides guidance to all employees and external third parties. The ACCP provides zero tolerance regarding any form of corruption, bribery and extortion. These business practices are equally forbidden, regardless if dealing with public officials, or with business counterparts (so called "commercial bribery"). Risk assessment SOP's have been established providing a risk score for corruption, which is based on different criteria, such as (but not limited to): Country, employee function, likelihood, and level of potential damage resulting. Awareness is frequently risen by making announcements on the corporate intranet and by implementation of new initiatives, such as implementing new rules on donations, gifts and hospitality.

  • Implementation
  • Description of concrete actions to implement anti-corruption policies, address anti-corruption risks and respond to incidents.

  • In order to implement our policy and our goals, all employees receive anti-bribery and corruption training based on our risk assessments. On the reactive side SOP's are in place defining how to escalate a compliance occurrence and how to involve our stakeholders and applicable authorities All of our agents, subcontractors and other third parties are required to undergo a thorough Compliance due diligence, in order to assess any risk, before we start doing business with them. In the course of this due diligence, their ownership situation, their policies, references and government affiliations are assessed and where findings are made, corrections are required and followed up upon, until the potential business partner meets our strict standards.

  • Measurement of outcomes
  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates anti-corruption performance.

  • There have been no compliance incidents of corruption to date. Nevertheless deugro strives to define and implement even stricter standards. These standards include proactive (preventive) measures, such as providing more training and tailored risk assessments, but also reactive measures, such as escalation SOP’s which provide inclusion of our stakeholders and the authorities. An internal audit of our compliance program was completed in August. An external audit is being planned for the next months.