Human rights
Respecting human rights and protecting the environment are an integral part of Südzucker Group's business activities and, in line with our sustainability mission statement, of fundamental importance. We take responsibility towards our employees, suppliers, customers and business partners and we are committed to respecting and protecting human rights in our own business operations as well as in our global supply and value chains and to preventing human rights violations.
Our business activities and human rights due diligence processes are aligned with internationally recognized standards and guidelines such as
- the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
- the ILO (International Labor Organization) Core Labor Standards,
- the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises,
- the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,
- and the UN Global Compact.
We expect our employees, managers and business partners to respect human rights, support the implementation of appropriate due diligence processes and pass on this expectation to their own suppliers and business partners.
Südzucker Group's Declaration of Principles on Respect for Human Rights underscores our clear commitment to the protection of human rights and outlines how we fulfill our responsibility. Our Südzucker Compliance Line ensures that potential complaints are dealt with quickly and efficiently. In our Group-wide Code of Conduct, we have anchored the above-mentioned human rights principles as a binding framework within the company and along our supply and value chains.
Declaration of Principles on Respect for Human Rights
Our Declaration of Principles reaffirms our commitment to respecting human rights and our associated environmental responsibility. It serves as a guide for our decisions and actions. The Declaration describes how the Südzucker Group identifies, assesses, and mitigates human rights risks. It also defines clear processes for implementing preventive and remedial measures, as well as complaint mechanisms in case of violations.
Südzucker Compliance Line - worldwide and confidential
In order to be able to follow up on reports about human rights violations as quickly and effectively as possible, reports can be passed on directly to the relevant contact person in the company. However, if there are concerns or employees or business partners do not see the possibility of placing their report personally, our confidential, optionally anonymized compliance line can be used. This makes it particularly easy for those affected or for observers to confidentially report potential incidents within Südzucker Group or our supply chains. Reports can be submitted in all languages in the system.
Further information about our Whistleblowing System can be found in our FAQs and directly in our electronic reporting channel (Compliance Line Südzucker Group).
One code – valid for locations around the world
Compliance with human rights must be a matter of course for a globally active company like Südzucker, not only in Germany or Europe, but worldwide.
Accordingly, we have anchored the issue in the group-wide code of conduct and committed ourselves to conducting our business activities in an ethical, legal and responsible manner.
Südzucker – member of Sedex
Specifications are good, checking compliance with them is better. We are a member of Sedex – this shows our customers and partners that the principles of ethical and social sustainability are our priority and are respected. Audits in accordance with the SMETA guidelines (Sedex-Members-Ethical-Trade-Audit) are carried out at more than 50 Südzucker Group locations. In addition, all production locations registered with Sedex carry out an annual Sedex self-assessment.