17. Human Rights

The company discloses what measures it takes, strategies it pursues and targets it sets for itself and for the supply chain for ensuring that human rights are respected globally and that forced and child labour as well as all forms of exploitation are prevented. Information should also be provided on the results of the measures and on any relevant risks.

We aim at managing our societal impacts in a holistic manner. The Fenix Way Management Compass® is the appropriate tool for all managerial levels in order to also address those dimensions which tend to fall behind when economic challenges arise. Within the Fenix Way we have set the target to conduct regular human rights related activities until 2020.

As part of our membership in the Fair Labor association high risk areas were defined and are addressed ever since. The material risks are political shifts which may lead to violations of human rights. We cooperate with NGO's to ensure further adherence of human rights and conduct a human rights assessment. A compliance hotline is available for all employees to report incidents. We have identified violations within our supply chain and reacted, amongst others, with our Supplier Code of Conduct.

We are building and developing strong relationships with our business partners: suppliers, retailers and service providers alike. But we also engage with our customers and civil society groups. Our Supplier Code of Conduct has been developed in line with the Fair Labor Association's standards. As in previous years, we audited our supply chain partners according to the Fenix Outdoor/FLA standards. We also engaged in a closer partnership with Elevate and streamlined our auditing protocols, as well as held joint training sessions on the FLA principles, responsible purchasing and root cause analysis, along with hands-on practical tips when being in a factory during our visits. We were successfully accredited in an unanimous vote of the FLA Board in early 2018. As a consequence of the growth of the internal auditing team in Leadertek, we educated new colleagues in Vietnam so they can support our core team in conducting field audits. The 2018 subscription rate to our Code of Conduct for Suppliers was stable at 95%.

See CSR Report 2018, p. 27.