Case study: How Johnson & Johnson respects and promotes human rights
As the largest and most diversified healthcare company in the world, offering the world’s largest range of consumer health products, Johnson & Johnson is firmly committed to respecting human rights in both its own operations and supply base Tweet This!, through a number of policies, mechanisms and statements.
This case study is based on the 2018 Health for Humanity Report by Johnson & Johnson published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
As part of its effort toward continuous improvement, throughout 2018 Johnson & Johnson evaluated different approaches to assess its actual and potential human rights impacts across its value chain. In order to respect and promote human rights, Johnson & Johnson took action to:
- implement Global Labor & Employment Guidelines
- promote human rights among suppliers
- develop grievance mechanisms
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Johnson & Johnson has identified;
- How Johnson & Johnson proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Johnson & Johnson to respect and promote human rights
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2018 Health for Humanity Report Johnson & Johnson identified a range of material issues, such as product quality, safety and reliability, ethics and compliance, innovation, workplace safety, procurement and supplier management. Among these, respecting and promoting human rights stands out as a key material issue for Johnson & Johnson.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Johnson & Johnson engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Advocacy Groups/Trade Associations | · Organisational memberships · Direct engagement · Dialogue · Sponsorships · Conferences · Research efforts |
| Consumers
| · Dedicated 24-hour, 7-days-a-week toll-free hotline in 23 languages · Johnson & Johnson website · Brand websites · Social media · Focus groups · Clinical trials |
| Customers | · Direct contact through sales · Customer relationship managers · Customer call centres · Customer meetings · Industry trade groups/meetings |
| Employees | · Credo survey · Intranets · Newsletters · Company webcasts · Town hall meetings · Quarterly business updates · Training sessions · Anonymous 24-hour, 7-days-a-week toll-free hotline in 23 languages |
| Government/Policy Makers
| · Governmental affairs liaisons · Direct engagement · Johnson & Johnson Political Action Committee · Meetings · Advocacy |
| Healthcare Providers
| · Sales representatives · Continuing medical education liaisons · Education initiatives · Clinical researchers · Advisory boards · Support and education programmes for caregivers |
| Socially Responsible Investors | · Annual report · Annual sustainability report · Annual shareholders meeting · Investor releases · Quarterly earnings · Road shows · Completion of surveys · Johnson & Johnson website · Conferences · Dialogue · Direct engagement |
| Local Communities | · Direct local engagement · Philanthropic efforts · Employee volunteers · Sponsorships · Collaborative partnerships |
| NGOs
| · Direct engagement · Dialogue · Collaborative partnerships · Sponsorships · Organisational memberships · Conferences · Social media |
| Quasi-Governmental Organisations/Academic Institutions | · Direct engagement · Collaborative partnerships · Face-to-face meetings · Research · Academic studies |
| Suppliers | · Direct engagement · Collaborative partnerships · Responsibility Standards for Suppliers · Outreach by category leaders · Supplier scorecards · Face-to-face meetings · Trainings and workshops · Supplier diversity initiatives · Surveys · Assessments and audits |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Johnson & Johnson carried out a survey among over 1,500 stakeholders, who were asked to rank topics by importance to them and by their potential for social, environmental and economic impact.
What actions were taken byJohnson & Johnson to respect and promote human rights?
In its 2018 Health for Humanity Report Johnson & Johnson reports that it took the following actions for respecting and promoting human rights:
- Implementing Global Labor & Employment Guidelines
- Johnson & Johnson’s Global Labor & Employment Guidelines articulate its expectations for labour and employment practices at its sites, including preventing forced labour and child labour, and non-discrimination, among other matters. Johnson & Johnson provides the freedom to establish a formal employee organisation or representation structure across the Enterprise, including in Johnson & Johnson’s operating companies. Company sites can establish an employee representation structure or framework, except where prohibited by law. Minimum notice periods, the management of reorganisations and layoffs, and the policies associated with such actions vary depending on the location, nature, size and scale of the action and applicable law. Local operating leaders try to communicate significant plans of operational changes to employees and their representatives in a timely and practical manner, in advance of actions being taken. Many of Johnson & Johnson’s collective bargaining agreements contain negotiated provisions covering severance or separation pay and benefits. Where there is no legal minimum notice period, Johnson & Johnson operating companies typically provide 30 days of notice.
- Promoting human rights among suppliers
- The Johnson & Johnson Responsibility Standards for Suppliers outline Johnson & Johnson’s expectations of supplier business conduct. The Standards align closely with relevant provisions of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Consumer Goods Forum Forced Labor Resolution and Priority Industry Principles. In 2018, Johnson & Johnson’s updated and launched its online training on Human Rights, a training that is mandatory for all Global Procurement employees and is available to other relevant functions. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson’s cross-functional Human Rights Working Group – comprised of Global Procurement, Law Department, Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability, and Corporate Governance functional groups – meets regularly, and rolled out the social audit programme in 2018.
- Developing grievance mechanisms
- The Johnson & Johnson Credo Hotline – a grievance mechanism available to all employees, suppliers and other business partners – offers a secure mechanism for anonymous reporting of suspected concerns or potential violations of Johnson & Johnson’s policies or the law. Johnson & Johnson communicates the hotline access broadly, and the visibility of this access and hotline functionality are in scope for enterprise-wide audit procedures. Concerns raised through the hotline are reported at an enterprise level. In addition to the Credo Hotline, employees can anonymously report potential violations to the Human Resources function within each operating company locally.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 402-1 Minimum notice periods regarding operational changes
2) Disclosure 406-1 Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken
Disclosure 402-1 Minimum notice periods regarding operational changes corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
- Business theme: Labor/management relations
Disclosure 406-1 Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
- Business theme: Non-discrimination
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
- Business theme: Non-discrimination
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
- Business theme: Non-discrimination
78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Johnson & Johnson, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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