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Compliance Requirements

Compliance Requirements
OECD GUIDELINES FOR MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES
  • The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines) are recommendations for businesses to promote responsible corporate behaviour. This international code of conduct addresses multinational corporations to comply with domestic laws and a range of issues such as human rights, labour rights, the environment, bribery or intellectual property rights. Although the OECD Guidelines lack a legal basis - they are voluntary and cannot be enforced – they have had a positive impact on preventing corporate malpractice.
  • For more information, see: www.mneguidelines.oecd.org
ILO CORE CONVENTIONS
Freedom of association / Right to collective bargaining
C087 Freedom of association and Protection of the right to organise (1948)
C098 Right to organise and Right to collective bargaining (1949)
Abolition of forced labour
C029 Forced labour (1930); Convention on forced labour (2014)
C105 Abolition of forced labour (1957)
Prohibition of discrimination
C100 Equal pay (1951)
C111 Discrimination in employment and occupation (1958)
Elimination of child labour
C138 Minimum age (1973)
C182 Prohibition and immediate action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour (1999)
REACH
  • REACH is an acronym for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals. The REACH regulation applies to chemical substances in all products that are manufactured, imported or sold within the EU. The objective of REACH is to protect human health and the environment from hazardous chemical substances, while driving innovation and competitiveness on the European chemical market. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has established a database to find information on hazardous chemicals
  • For more information, see: www.echa.europa.eu/regulations/reach/understanding-reach
ROHS
  • RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances which regulates the manufacture, import and distribution of Electronics and Electrical Equipment (EEE) within the EU. RoHS has banned six hazardous metals (lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ether) from use as they have proved toxic to the environment and human health. These substances can be found in wiring, components, circuit boards, displays, sub-assemblies, or cabling. All RoHS restricted substances are also on the REACH list.
  • For more information, see: www.ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/rohs_eee/index_en.htm
ZDHC
  • The Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) initiative is an alliance of brands and other organisations of the textile, garment and footwear industries, which actively seek to eliminate the discharge of hazardous chemicals from the supply chain. The initiative started out as a corporate response to Greenpeace Detox and has now become one of the most important stakeholder initiatives in chemical management. ZDHC provides tools, trainings and guidelines, like the ZDHC MRSL, which support firms in implementing sustainable chemical management best practices.
  • For more information, see: www.roadmaptozero.com/
BSCI
  • The Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) is a corporate initiative of European brands, retailers, and importers to improve social standards across the supply chain in all industries and countries. BSCI is not a certification scheme, but provides guidelines for improving working conditions. Compliance with the BSCI Code of Conduct is monitored by third-party auditing firms.
  • For more information, see: www.amfori.org/content/amfori-bsci
California Transparency in supply chains act
  • The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act seeks to eliminate human rights violations from the supply chain of large corporations doing business in California. Brands, retailers and manufacturers are required to disclose their efforts to address forced labour, slavery, and human trafficking within their supply chain. The purpose is to provide consumers with appropriate information on the product, thereby enabling them to make better and more informed buying decisions.
  • For more information, see: www.unifirst.com/pdf/california-transparency-in-supply-chains-act.pdf
DODD FRANK ACT, SECTION 1502
  • Section 1502 of the Dodd Frank Act is commonly known as the US rule on the so called ‘conflict minerals’. The Act requires US publicly-listed companies to identify the use and source of tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold (3TG) in their supply chain. Mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR) and neighbouring countries, these minerals have been used to fuel armed conflicts in the area. The companies are required to address the risks they have found and report on their efforts to avoid funding armed groups or human rights violations to the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Public reports on the companies’ due diligence have to be independently audited.
  • For more information, see: www.sec.gov/rules/final/2012/34-67716.pdf