What are the material issues the company has identified?            

In its 2019 Corporate Citizenship Report Cardinal Health identified a range of material issues, such as ethics and compliance, data privacy and security, environmental emissions and impact, supply chain management. Among these, promoting patient safety stands out as a key material issue for Cardinal Health.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 Cardinal Health engages with:

Stakeholder Group

Employees

Customers

Investors

Suppliers

Regulators

Standard-setters

Peer companies

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Cardinal Health asked internal stakeholders to respond to a survey to assess their level of concern about each topic.

What actions were taken by Cardinal Health to promote patient safety?

In its 2019 Corporate Citizenship Report Cardinal Health reports that it took the following actions for promoting patient safety:

• Implementing a quality management system
• Cardinal Health’s quality management system is built on the requirements and guiding principles of patient and user safety, regulatory compliance and continuous improvement. Cardinal Health implements quality procedures that take into account the regulatory requirements for the markets worldwide where it manufactures or distributes products. Cardinal Health tracks quality performance in its businesses and within its sites with metrics that are regularly reviewed at sites, in management review meetings and as part of its goal-setting process, also maintaining quality certification to global industry standards. More than 100 of Cardinal Health’s manufacturing, distribution and other operating facilities are certified to ISO 13485:2016 (Medical Devices — Quality Management Systems) standards.

• Providing product quality training
• Cardinal Health employees responsible for product quality are trained in current good manufacturing practices. Non-manufacturing teams receive product training, including regulatory and quality standards, as appropriate.

• Measuring and monitoring effectiveness
• Cardinal Health conducts internal audits to verify that its global quality system conforms to internal and external requirements and is effectively implemented and maintained. Worldwide health authorities also review Cardinal Health’s performance to ensure quality and compliance. During FY19, Cardinal Health had more than 300 external regulatory inspections across all its businesses.

• Applying corrective and preventive action (CAPA) systems
• Cardinal Health maintains corrective and preventive action (CAPA) systems that assist it in investigating actual or potential product quality or safety issues to find root causes and prevent occurrences or recurrences. Cardinal Health initiates corrective actions (such as product advisories, field actions or recalls) as necessary to help ensure quality and safety issues are quickly and effectively addressed.

• Meeting product materials restrictions
• Cardinal Health’s global strategies and programmes help to make sure that it meets product materials restrictions, including the EU RoHS2 Directive, EU REACH Regulation and others. As part of its product quality reviews, Cardinal Health consults several lists, including California Proposition 65, EU Medical Devices Regulation, EU REACH Substances of Very High Concern, EU RoHS and Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

• Implementing supplier quality programmes
• Cardinal Health has supplier quality programmes for the materials and components used in the products that it self-manufactures and the selection, qualification and oversight of suppliers that manufacture products on its behalf. These programmes focus on patient safety and regulatory compliance. Controls such as quality system audits and CAPAs are designed to provide assurance that the facilities manufacturing the materials or components that Cardinal Health procures have quality systems in place, so that final product complies with its specifications and adheres to regulatory requirements. Cardinal Health conducts routine quality audits of suppliers as required by law.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.
References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Cardinal Health, 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/

Note to Cardinal Health: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?            

In its 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report Vion identified a range of material issues, such as traceability and product integrity, animal welfare, fair pricing, working conditions, carbon footprint of processing. Among these, promoting food safety stands out as a key material issue for Vion.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 Vion engages with:

To identify and prioritise material topics Vion engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement (in 2019)
Consumers	·      Yearly Food Service Consumer Trend Analysis ·      Questions and remarks from consumers; each remark from a consumer is answered personally
Customers	·      Ad hoc direct talks by the Sales and Quality Assurance Departments ·      Biennial Client Satisfaction Analysis
Suppliers	·      Ad hoc dialogues by the Purchasing and Quality Assurance Departments ·      Workshops ·      Annual meetings of farmer’s associations ·      Events for suppliers ·      Lectures at producer meetings ·      Guided plant tours for suppliers
Farmer associations	·      Ad hoc bilateral meetings ·      Yearly sector meetings ·      Yearly farmers’ association supervisory boards ·      Presentations at annual meetings
Financial stakeholders	·      Ad hoc direct talks by the board ·      Quarterly supervisory board meetings
Public authorities	·      Ad hoc direct talks by the Public Affairs and Quality Assurance Departments and the Line Management ·      Engagement in Topsector Agri & Food, as well as round table discussions on other specific projects and dialogues ·      Yearly benchmark on the CSR in the Netherlands
Round table groups	·      Round table meetings and technical advisory group meetings ·      Member of the Steering Committees
NGOs	·      Ad hoc direct talks, council or round table discussions with some NGOs ·      Collaboration in the European Animal Welfare Platform
Workers and works councils	·      Frequent (at least) monthly informal meetings ·      Annual performance planning and review meetings ·      Town hall meetings ·      Annual Top 150 management meetings
Trade unions	·      Frequent (at least monthly) informal meetings ·      Quarterly formal meetings ·      Collective bargaining agreements ·      FNLI Taskforce Human Capital Agenda Food
Trade organisations	·      Membership on the Board of COV, VDF and BGN ·      Membership on the Board of FNLI and Innofood Twente ·      Member of CoViVa
Competitors	·      Ad hoc or in trade organisations ·      SAI Platform
Certifications schemes	·      Yearly audits ·      Direct membership in the governing bodies or technical advisory groups of a number of certification schemes ·      Chair of the Dutch mirror group NEN-ISO for Animal Welfare ·      Member of the Board of GlobalGAP and IFS
Science	·      Ad hoc direct talks ·      Joint research projects ·      Scientific publications ·      Diplomats and residents of ECVPH ·      Member of the Editorial Board VMT / Food Safety
Media	·      Yearly congress and workshops ·      Regular meetings and open communication ·      Proactive dialogues and messaging ·      Daily answering of media requests ·      Member of the jury
Neighbours	·      Open days in the case of (re)new(ed) production sites ·      Formal dialogues in the case of specific enlargement approval procedures ·      Meetings with sounding board of neighbours

What actions were taken by Vion to promote food safety?

In its 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report Vion reports that it took the following actions for promoting food safety:

• Promoting research into the potential of modern technologies in microbiology
• Vion cooperates with several academia and other scientific groups, e.g. with Freie Universität Berlin, Wageningen University (WUR), Utrecht University, Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR) and IBM. For example, Vion works with IBM and WUR on the topic of whole genome sequencing (WGS) and microbiome analyses. This project offers insight into how groups of bacteria live together in biofilms, and whether they form or prevent an ideal environment for harmful bacteria such as Listeria or Salmonella. All sampling occurred at Vion Boxtel during 2018 and 2019. Analyses were carried out with so-called next-generation sequencing techniques.

• Combatting Listeria and Toxoplasma
• Vion recognises Listeria as a relevant food safety hazard. This means that products and the production environment are routinely monitored for the presence of Listeria. Ready-to-eat foods in which Listeria can multiply are subjected to a so-called negative release programme: multiple samples of the product are taken from each batch and screened for the presence of Listeria. The batch is released only when the bacterium is not detected in these samples. For a number of years, Vion has also cooperated with Wageningen University and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) on toxoplasma. The research showed that only a few farms face a challenge in controlling toxoplasma infections in their pigs. Using an intervention study on these farms, the prevalence of toxoplasma was reduced. Biosecurity is one of the key elements in the control strategy of toxoplasma, e.g. stray cats that enter the farm are considered a relevant risk. On other farms, the hygienic storage of feed paid extra attention to keeping cats and rodents out.

• Decreasing exposure to hepatitis E
• A few years ago, Vion and other meat industry partners showed how to control hepatitis E virus in meat products with the aim of reducing foodborne risks. Not processing pork liver into raw fermented products was shown to substantially effect humans’ exposure to hepatitis E. In January 2019, Vion began a scientific research project together with Utrecht University, Wageningen University and seven supply chain partners. A PhD student studied the possibilities of controlling the virus on pig farms, with the aim of reducing the infectivity of pigs at slaughter and to reduce the associated public health risks. By taking control measures at the farm, Vion also tackles other transmission routes, including direct contact with pigs and environmental transmission. The results of this project are expected in 2022.

• Reducing the salt content of meat products and bacon
• For several years, Vion has had an ongoing strategy to reduce the salt content and especially the nitrite concentration of its meat products and bacon. Vion lowered the salt content in its consumer products, such as cooked ham and bacon, by between 10% and 50% during recent years. Concerning bacon, Vion is participating in a project which aims to reduce the added nitrate content from 150 particles per million (ppm) to 15 ppm, without compromising food safety.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.
References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Vion, 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/

Note to Vion: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report Tenneco identified a range of material issues, such as ethics & compliance, global human rights, responsible sourcing, environmental initiatives and goals. Among these, promoting product safety stands out as a key material issue for Tenneco.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 Tenneco engages with:

To identify and prioritise material topics Tenneco engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Team members	·      Town hall and team member meetings, global webcasts, picnics and special events, training and development, and recognition programmes ·      Euroforum ·      Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability Council ·      Enterprise Risk Management ·      Team member engagement surveys
Customers	·      Ford’s Partnership for a Cleaner Environment (PACE) programme ·      Host Customer Technology Days and step-level meeting with customers ·      Participation in OEM Sustainability initiatives, e.g. BMW Sustainability Training for Suppliers, Scania Sustainability Supplier Day ·      Participation in Automotive REACH Task Force
Investors	·      Annual shareholder meeting ·      Quarterly webcasts to discuss financial results ·      Regular participation in global investor and industry conferences ·      Quarterly/annual Form 10 SEC filings
Communities	·      Providing site visits and plant tours, outreach programmes, partnering with local charitable organisations and schools, and environmental stewardship and reforestation projects to communities in which Tenneco’s facilities are located ·      Many of Tenneco’s US-based locations support United Way and Tenneco’s Southfield, Michigan location provides support through a fundraising campaign
Suppliers	·      Participation in Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) and European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA) Sustainability/ CSR Expert Group ·      Supplier Diversity Programme
Government and Regulatory Agencies	·      The Clean Air Division is currently working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on emissions reduction strategies
Trade Associations	·      Tenneco participates and has a seat on the board of directors of the AIAG, and the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) ·      Tenneco is active within the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, the AutoCare Association and Women in Autocare, the Original Equipment Suppliers Association and the Manufacturers of Emissions Controls, European Automotive Suppliers Association

What actions were taken by Tenneco to promote product safety?

In its 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report Tenneco reports that it took the following actions for promoting product safety:

• Establishing a Global Warranty Committee
• Tenneco established a Global Warranty Committee (GWC), a cross-functional group representing C-suite executives and functional leaders including Engineering, Quality, Operations and Legal, which holds management oversight for Product Safety and Quality issues, at the corporate level. The GWC is governed by a formal policy document, including communication and escalation of warranty and product safety issues. The GWC obtains legal advice from the Legal Department about Tenneco’s regulatory and financial reporting obligations concerning potential Warranty Events, TREAD Events, and Recall Events after soliciting and receiving information from many sources within Tenneco, including information elevated by its business groups.

• Implementing a Product Safety process
• Tenneco benchmarked best practices and the current state of product safety to better develop processes for identifying risks and preventing issues, and assessed roadmaps for product risks and opportunities, identifying immediate process improvements in addition to holding several workshops to improve the way it assesses product safety risk in Its engineering process. Additionally, the GWC created and implemented an internal escalation procedure that requires escalation of potential product safety issues. Location managers, quality managers, or designated person(s) are required to notify management of potential issues, which are then reviewed through the escalation process and generally brought to the Quality and/or Legal departments to determine the level of escalation and corrective action process required to address the issue. Tenneco’s Product Safety process works across functions of its business groups through the GWC to improve the relevant business processes that put safe products on the market, aiming to:
  • Reduce risk of future safety defects
  • Reduce risk of launch delay due to compliance
  • Respond to safety issues over the product life cycle

• Carrying out risk assessments
• Risk assessments inclusive of safety metrics were incorporated within all Tenneco’s product manufacturing processes, such as its New and Leading Technology Introduction processes. These processes are consistent with ISO 26262. For example, Tenneco’s safety programme was continuously evaluated using the following nine components:
  • Traceable safety decision process
  • Show safety is highest priority
  • Include product safety in PDP
  • Independent auditing
  • Integrate safety upfront
  • Train organisation in product safety
  • Outside eyes/diversity in reviews
  • Continuous improvement
  • Controlled process at all levels

• Conducting supplier audits
• Tenneco expects all direct material suppliers to certify to, at minimum, the ISO 9001 quality management system. Additionally, as part of the supplier approval process, new direct material suppliers are audited by Tenneco on Quality Management Systems (QMS) topics to ensure conformance to Tenneco’s QMS requirements as highlighted in its Supplier Manual.

• Reporting on materials used
• Tenneco reports on materials used in its products to IMDS (International Material Data System) for traceability and compliance. In addition, Tenneco issued a restricted substance management standard (RSMS) to help make sure that its customers are using parts and components that fully meet applicable legal and customer standards regarding materials used in Tenneco’s products and theirs. This standard seeks to inform Tenneco’s suppliers of the materials that must be excluded from Tenneco’s products altogether and the limits on the amount of certain other materials. These restrictions are primarily based on environmental or other related concerns.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

2) Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services

 

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
• Targets: 16.3

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.
References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Tenneco, 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/

Note to Tenneco: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2017 Corporate Sustainability Report Getac identified a range of material issues, such as corporate governance and transparency of information disclosure, economic performance, operational risk management, social/economic compliance, information security and customer privacy. Among these, promoting product safety stands out as a key material issue for Getac.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 Getac engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Employees	·      Performance appraisal ·      Internal announcement ·      Employee meeting ·      Labour management meeting/supervisor meeting/training ·      Employee consultation hotline
Customers/resellers	·      Customer service section on corporate website ·      Non-disclosure agreement ·      Telephone customer service hotline ·      Channel partner conference ·      Consumer service mailbox
Suppliers	·      Supplier visit ·      Supplier procurement contract ·      Supplier audit ·      Supplier query mailbox
Shareholder/investor	·      Shareholders’ meeting/ investor conference ·      Corporate website ·      Market observation post system ·      Investor query mailbox/ hotline
Government	·      Official documents ·      Regulatory meetings and training ·      Seminars

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Getac engaged with its stakeholders through a questionnaire survey, retrieving 184 questionnaires.

What actions were taken by Getac to promote product safety?

In its 2017 Corporate Sustainability Report Getac reports that it took the following actions for promoting product safety:

• Limiting the use of hazardous substances
• Since establishing a dedicated Green Product Team in early 2005, Getac has been promoting green designs and limited the use of toxic hazardous substances, as well as monitored the latest directions of green initiatives. In recent years, Getac has incorporated sustainability issues into its supply chain management indicators, requesting full compliance of its suppliers. Getac makes sure that the supply chain and manufacturing processes are in line with ethical and environmental standards at all times, in order to protect users’ safety and health. All of the products comply 100% with international environmental directives, including RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances), REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), and SVHC (Substance of Very High Concern). Getac has also installed an online green product management system and classified restricted substances into three categories:
  • Class A. There are currently 202 Class A substances, which are substances prohibited or restricted for use in existing products, materials of critical parts, or production processes.
  • Class B. Class B substances are prohibited or restricted for use in packaging materials.
  • Class C. Class C substances are prohibited or restricted for use in batteries or battery packs and must comply with the restrictions of the EU 2006/66/EC directives.
• For new raw materials, a product inspection report must be provided within two years in order to make sure that the product does not contain any hazardous substances. A new report must be provided every two years, otherwise the system will suspend the use of the material and critical parts involved. Getac Kunshan, which specialises in the assembly of electronic products, MPT Kunshan and MPT Suzhou, which specialise in the production of plastic injection mechanical parts have incorporated the IECQ QC 080000 Hazardous Substance Process Management (HSPM) system for electrical and electronic components and products, and comply with international directives for environmental protection, including the REACH, SVHC, and RoHS, to prevent the use of materials, parts, or products containing hazardous substances which would otherwise impact the ecosystem. The quality assurance division inspects incoming materials from eligible suppliers and, in 2017, all incoming materials passed the inspection, and no hazardous substances were found. Additionally, 100% of the automotive parts produced and metal materials purchased in 2017 complied with the specifications of automobile customers, and were also in line with national environmental protection regulations and the EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS).

• Complying with international environmental and safety standards
• In 2017, all of Getac‘s products complied with international environmental regulations. As required by product environmental regulations adopted in the country of origin of the product, electronic products were certified by international safety standards, in compliance with regulations on product safety, radio frequency, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), and other safety issues adopted in the country of origin (e.g., UL and FCC in the U.S., CE and RED in the EU, and BSMI in Taiwan). Getac‘s products and packages are also labelled with information on safety regulations, energy conservation, and environmental communication certification and, in 2017, there were no violations of product labelling regulations.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

2) Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services

3) Disclosure 417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling

4) Disclosure 417-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning product and service information and labeling

 

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services corresponds to:

• 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: Compliance with laws and regulations

Disclosure 417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Business theme: Product and service information and labeling

• 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: Compliance with laws and regulations

Disclosure 417-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning product and service information and labeling corresponds to:

• 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: Compliance with laws and regulations

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

FBRH GRI Standards Certified & ISEP recognised Sustainability Course | Venue: London LSE

By registering for the next 2-day FBRH GRI Standards Certified & ISEP recognised course you will be taking the first step in gaining the many benefits of sustainability reporting.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Getac, 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/

Note to Getac: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2019 Global Responsibility Report General Mills identified a range of material issues, such as climate change, human rights, responsible sourcing, employee health, safety and well-being, responsible marketing. Among these, promoting food safety stands out as a key material issue for General Mills.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 General Mills engages with:

Stakeholder Group

Suppliers

Customers

Consumers

Employees

Investors

Regulators and public policymakers

Communities

NGOs

Industry associations

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics General Mills created and distributed a materiality assessment survey to both internal and external stakeholders, including academics, consultants, customers, investors, nongovernmental organisations and suppliers.

What actions were taken by General Mills to promote food safety?

In its 2019 Global Responsibility Report General Mills reports that it took the following actions for promoting food safety:

• Implementing food safety systems
• General Mills’ global food safety systems focus on prevention, intervention and response, and include:
  • Processes: Food safety is integrated into all General Mills’ processes, beginning with R&D (research and development) and extending across its supply chain.
  • Risk mitigation: General Mills conducts internal risk-based surveillance and food safety testing at all its facilities to identify and prioritise specific areas of risk.
  • Audits: General Mills’ Global Internal Audit team periodically audits the effectiveness and efficiency of food safety controls and operating procedures. Results are reported to the company’s Global Governance Council and Board of Directors.
  • Traceability: General Mills’ inventory control and supplier management systems include the ability to trace the sources of ingredients, which is key to isolating risks in the event of food safety concerns. General Mills evaluates suppliers’ systems, to make sure they meet its traceability requirements.

• Providing food safety training
• General Mills provides food safety training through its global centres of excellence and online training academy. In fiscal 2018:
  • The General Mills food safety team included more than 400 trained quality professionals.
  • General Mills conducted Auditor Academy training sessions attended by 25 participants from two countries. These sessions help improve General Mills’ ability to identify and fix issues, as well as prevent food safety problems from occurring.
  • General Mills provided food safety training to more than 3,500 professionals across its supply chain.

• Applying a Food Safety and Regulatory Policy
• Governance of General Mills’ food safety and regulatory matters begins with a corporate Food Safety and Regulatory Policy signed by its Chief Executive Officer. This corporate policy is supported by 18 detailed policies with accompanying standards and guidance documents. These global policies cover a broad range of food safety areas, including regulatory compliance, trace and recall, labelling, claims, physical, chemical and biological hazards, transportation, and good manufacturing practices and sanitation.

• Conducting product recalls when appropriate
• When General Mills learns about illnesses that may be linked to its products, it takes quick action. General Mills collaborates with health officials to investigate the situation, communicate with consumers and issue voluntary product recalls to remove affected products from store shelves, when appropriate. General Mills conducted five voluntary product recalls globally in fiscal 2018 (compared to nine in fiscal 2017), including recalls of snack bars, cereal, yogurt, and fat and tallow products.

• Auditing and training suppliers
• To help ensure the safety of the raw materials (ingredients and packaging) it uses in its products, General Mills continues to expand the number of supplier and co-producer audits it conducts globally. General Mills performs direct audits and also encourages third-party audits and/or certification, such as through GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative), as an additional preventive control measure. In 2018, 836 supplier and 98 co-producer audits were conducted. Additionally, General Mills carries out supplier training in classroom settings tailored to the needs of each market. The seminars address topics such as biological and physical hazard controls, allergen management and production facility sanitisation. In 2018, over 300 suppliers were trained through supplier schools and webinars.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

2) Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services

 

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services corresponds to:

• 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: Compliance with laws and regulations

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by General Mills, 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/

Note to General Mills: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Wharf identified a range of material issues, such as socioeconomic compliance, customer privacy, anti-corruption, environmental compliance, non-discrimination. Among these, promoting customer health and safety stands out as a key material issue for Wharf.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 Wharf engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Employees	·      Surveys and focus groups ·      Town hall meetings ·      Intranet and internal publications
Shareholders, investors and financial analysts	·      General meeting(s) ·      Financial Reports, announcements and circular(s) ·      Corporate communications and company websites
Customers	·      Surveys and focus groups ·      Social media platforms ·      Service centres and hotlines
Government, regulatory bodies and industry associations	·      Regulatory taskforces and committees ·      Industry operational meetings ·      Forums and conferences
Media	·      Media briefings and luncheons ·      Executive interviews ·      Instant updates on internet
Business partners (including suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors)	·      Tendering ·      Operational meetings ·      Contract and performance review
Local community	·      Community investment programmes ·      Company visits ·      Social media platforms
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)	·      Programme partnership meetings ·      Regular programme review and assessment ·      Forums and conferences

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Wharf engaged, through an online survey, interviews and focus group discussions, with more than 700 stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors, tenants, investors and financial analysts, and community partners.

What actions were taken by Wharf to promote customer health and safety?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Wharf reports that it took the following actions for promoting customer health and safety:

• Offering accessible and caring facilities
• The design and features of Wharf’s premises take into consideration the different needs of its customers. Accordingly, Wharf’s shopping malls and hotels provide barrier-free facilities, such as elevators, electric stair-climbing wheelchairs, accessible toilets and designated parking slots, offering to customers safe and convenient access to the premises. Portable induction loop systems are also provided at the shopping mall concierge, to offer hearing aids for the people in need. In addition, the provision of family- and mother-friendly facilities contributes to a pleasant experience for visitors and guests. For example, there are six baby nursery rooms at Chengdu IFS, equipped with thoughtful amenities.

• Keeping premises safe
• Wharf carries out regular safety inspections and annual maintenance of facilities in all its premises, and also selects and monitors suppliers based on the health and safety performance of their products and services. During daily patrol at the premises, security personnel inspects facilities or items that may have possible health and safety risks, and makes sure that the conditions of escape stairs, corridors and other fire compartments comply with fire safety regulations. Wharf also provides fire safety training to all staff, equipping them with skills on escape planning, evacuation and fire extinguishing. At Chengdu IFS, Wharf’s committed staff conducted door-to-door fire safety trainings for more than 400 tenants, enhancing their awareness of fire safety. In addition, to enable all customers to fully enjoy public spaces, Wharf carefully plans and deploys crowd control measures, especially during large-scale events. Wharf’s premises are also equipped with adequate first aid equipment and automated external defibrillators and, in cases of emergency, Wharf’s qualified first aid team will arrive at the scene quickly to offer medical assistance. Additionally, Wharf seeks to provide a hygienic and healthy environment for customers while they enjoy their time at its premises, making sure that the premises achieve excellent indoor air quality through the regular monitoring and installation of fresh air systems. For example, besides adhering to an indoor smoking ban, Shanghai Wheelock Square obtained LEED Gold certification, with excellent performance in indoor air quality.

• Promoting food safety
• At Wharf Hotels, Wharf strictly complies with the Food Safety Law and Operating Rules for Food Safety in Catering Services in Mainland China. Wharf’s Marco Polo Hotels carry out weekly food safety inspections and monthly food safety training and assessments, for all catering staff. Wharf also conducts monthly audits on high risk food suppliers, to ensure that they always meet Wharf’s required safety standards. There were no incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes resulting in a fine or penalty, during the reporting year.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services

 

Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services corresponds to:

• 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: Compliance with laws and regulations

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Wharf, 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/

Note to Wharf: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2016 Sustainability Report GM identified a range of material issues, such as customer satisfaction, vehicle efficiency & emissions, employee relations, operational waste, product innovation. Among these, promoting vehicle safety stands out as a key material issue for GM.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 GM engages with:

Stakeholder Group

Customers

Investors and analysts

Employees

Suppliers

Dealers and dealer councils

Communities

Governments

Nongovernmental organisations

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics GM carried out two online surveys among GM employees and external stakeholders, asking respondents to prioritise the importance of sustainability topics and subtopics. The surveys were completed by 1,052 GM employees and 367 external stakeholders.

What actions were taken by GM to improve vehicle safety?

In its 2016 Sustainability Report GM reports that it took the following actions for improving vehicle safety:

• Appointing a Vice President of Global Vehicle Safety
• GM has structured its decision-making process for safety issues to include executives at the highest levels of the company. This includes appointing, in 2016, a first-ever Vice President of Global Vehicle Safety. In addition to leading GM’s product safety organisation, this senior executive has global responsibility for developing GM’s vehicle safety systems, confirming and validating GM’s vehicle safety performance, identifying emerging issues and conducting post-sale safety activities, including recalls.

• Expanding product safety resources
• GM has been expanding its Product Safety organisation, adding over 200 employees since 2014. This includes more than 40 new internal product investigators in North America who help identify and quickly resolve possible vehicle safety issues, and 32 safety forensic engineers responsible for early identification of potential vehicle safety issues. Additionally, GM reorganised its Global Vehicle Engineering organisation to improve its cross-system integration and address functional safety and compliance in the vehicle development process.

• Implementing a Speak Up for Safety programme
• GM’s Speak Up for Safety programme aims to offer employees, suppliers and dealers an easy, consistent and unfiltered way to report potential vehicle safety issues. Through a toll-free phone number, a smartphone app, email or the Speak Up for Safety website, submitters can report any potential vehicle safety risks, suggesting safety-related improvements. Subsequently, GM’s dedicated safety team funnels employee concerns to the appropriate departments and, through the entire process, potentially interconnected risks that cross products can be better identified. Employees across GM have embraced Speak Up for Safety and, since the programme’s beginning, over 12,000 concerns and/or suggestions by employees and dealers have been logged globally.

• Using data analytics to identify possible vehicle safety issues
• GM has been making greater use of data analytics, to identify potential vehicle safety issues. A data analytics team is merging multiple inputs (such as Speak Up for Safety submissions and dealer service records) to build a unique, comprehensive database. Statistical analysis and modelling can identify possible issues much earlier, by linking perceived disparate issues.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by GM, 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/

Note to GM: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2017 Corporate Responsibility Report Woolworths identified a range of material issues, such as employee conditions, wellbeing and communications, energy and emissions, end-to-end reduction of waste, labour rights in the supply chain. Among these, making healthy choices easier for its customers stands out as a key material issue for Woolworths.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 Woolworths engages with:

Stakeholder Group

Consumers

Customers

Employees

Government

Investors

Peers

Suppliers

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics, Woolworths carried out an assessment of its material sustainability issues using, among others, customer insights and employee surveys.

What actions were taken by Woolworths to make healthy choices easier for its customers?

In its 2017 Corporate Responsibility Report Woolworths reports that it took the following actions for making healthy choices easier for its customers:

• Improving the nutritional profile of brand foods
• In 2009, Woolworths adopted the Food and Health Dialogue targets, a joint government and food industry initiative focusing on reducing the sodium content of foods from nine commonly consumed categories. In 2017, Woolworths met all targets when it completed a 20% salt reduction across seven hams and 30% salt reduction in Woolworths cheese slices.

• Committing to health and nutrition targets
• When the New Zealand government launched the Obesity Action Plan in 2016, Woolworths’s New Zealand team pledged to commit to health and nutrition targets. This included nutrition renovations, at least one confectionery free checkout in 95% of stores, nutrition information on the website and health stars on front of pack.

• Using the health star rating
• Over 80% of Woolworths’s own brand range – that’s more than 2,000 products – has the voluntary health star rating on front of pack. Customer research found shoppers like the simplicity of the health star ratings, to make ‘at 
a glance’ choices. These ratings appeal to time poor shoppers, to those less confident in their food health knowledge and to families, making it easy to point out healthier choices to children.

• Collaborating with nutrition experts
• Woolworths has a team of accredited nutritionists to guide healthier product development, food labelling and communications. Transparent labelling, the removal of additives and an improved nutritional profile of Woolworths’s products help its customers make better-informed choices when shopping.

• Joining the Healthy Food Partnership
• Woolworths is an invited member of the Healthy Food Partnership. This is a joint initiative between government, industry, retailers and public health advocates, to improve the dietary habits of all Australians by making healthy food choices easier.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

2) Disclosure 417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling

 

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Business theme: Product and service information and labeling

• 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: Compliance with laws and regulations

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Woolworths, 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) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Woolworths: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2016 Integrated Report Sanofi identified a range of material issues, such as carbon emissions, waste management, talent development, business ethics, medicine pricing and innovation. Among these, protecting patient safety stands out as a key material issue for Sanofi.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 Sanofi engages with:  

Stakeholder Group

Employees

Healthcare professionals

Authorities and payers

Business partners

Patients

International and local organisations

Investors

Local communities

Media

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Sanofi organised an international stakeholder panel, gathering more than 40 external stakeholders from around the globe, and also set up internal working groups.

What actions were taken by Sanofi to protect patient safety?

In its 2016 Integrated Report Sanofi reports that it took the following actions for protecting patient safety:

• Promoting effective quality management
• Sanofi’s Global Quality vision involves five key areas: quality systems, inspection readiness, quality risk management, quality performance and quality culture. The company’s quality team is dedicated to making sure that products and services provided are fully compliant with all requirements, effective, safe and easy to use. Sanofi uses a mature risk management process, handling quality issues including recalls when necessary, and identifying emerging quality risks, taking measures to avoid them or mitigate their consequences. Sanofi also monitors the quality performance of its own entities and key suppliers or subcontractors through audits, taking appropriate corrective and preventive measures if needed.

• Enhancing product security
• Sanofi seeks to ensure optimal product security through a number of initiatives. These include controlled transport conditions and anti-counterfeit measures, such as tamper evidence, authentication technologies, and serialisation. In addition, Sanofi makes sure it adapts to evolutions in the regulatory environment and supports digital health software development, while at the same time making sure all applications are compliant with applicable legal requirements. 

• Monitoring product safety
• Sanofi’s Global Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology (GPE) organisation monitors the safety of its products around the globe: prescription medicines and vaccines, consumer health products, generics and medical devices. GPE constantly assesses the benefit-risk profile of Sanofi’s products at every stage of their life cycle to determine, together with the health authorities, the best conditions of their use. GPE also provides physicians, healthcare professionals and patients with complete, up-to-date safety information, including possible risks associated with a product. Additionally, Sanofi’s GPE Department collects pharmacovigilance data from all sources of information, building strong interactions with patients and healthcare professionals globally, during both clinical development and product life cycle management. In this way, it ensures the completeness of the safety data collection process and the effectiveness of Sanofi’s safety evaluations, in compliance with all applicable regulations and policies. Sanofi also makes safety information on its products available through its websites.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

2) Disclosure 417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling

 

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Business theme: Product and service information and labeling
• 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: Compliance with laws and regulations

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Sanofi, 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) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Sanofi: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2516/2016 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report CCE identified a range of material issues, such as energy efficiency and carbon reduction, innovation in packaging, water consumption, supply chain traceability, use of recycled materials. Among these, selling and marketing its products responsibly stands out as a key material issue for CCE.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 CCE engages with:

Stakeholder Group

Government/regulators

Customers

Academia and networks

NGOs/associations

Suppliers

Investors

Employees and Employee networks

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics, CCE carried out a series of stakeholder roundtables.

What actions were taken by CCE to sell and market its products responsibly?

In its 2516/2016 Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report CCE reports that it took the following actions for selling and marketing its products responsibly:

• Providing clear nutritional information
• CCE is committed to providing clear and transparent nutritional labelling on its products and has voluntarily included ingredients and nutrition information on all product labels, since 2003. In addition, since 2007, CCE has featured Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) and in 2013 joined with UNESDA (Union of European Beverages Associations) to feature front-of-pack Reference Intake (RI) labels across all products. In Great Britain, CCE joined, in 2014, the UK Government’s voluntary, colour-coded, front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme and committed to double its media investment in no- and low-calorie variants of Coca-Cola. CCE also provides extra information about ingredients on pack labels, to help consumers make the right personal choices. For example, energy drinks carry a statement indicating that they are not suitable for children and pregnant and breast-feeding women.

• Establishing Responsible Marketing Guidelines
• CCE has established Responsible Marketing Guidelines, to encourage the sale of no- and low-calorie beverages. CCE seeks to make no- and low-calorie beverages most prominent in any meal deal or snack promotion, and developed guidance for its sales teams on how to work with customers to develop meal and snack promotions that showcase healthier food choice options of a proper portion size.

• Never marketing products to children under 12
• CCE has, since 2009, committed to not market any of its products to children under the age of 12. Through UNESDA, CCE committed to not advertise in printed media, on websites or during broadcast programmes specifically aimed at children. In addition, CCE never provides free samples to children under 12, unless an adult or carer is present. CCE’s internet sites and content are also designed for visitors aged 12 or above, using features and elements that appeal mostly to visitors over the age of 12. CCE has additionally committed to not undertake direct commercial activity in primary schools, unless requested by school authorities or parents, and has signed the UNESDA initiative to ensure energy drinks are not marketed to under-16s.

• Responsibly marketing products in relation to alcohol
• CCE recognises that adult consumers may choose to drink its products in combination with alcohol. Accordingly, CCE provides guidance to its sales teams to ensure products promoted in association with alcohol are directed to consumers above the legal drinking age, and that materials depict moderate and responsible drinking, containing appropriate responsible drinking statements. Additionally, CCE promotes its drinks as a non-alcoholic alternative, and works in conjunction with the THINK! driver friendly programme in Great Britain to offer a free second drink during Christmas when ordering a Coca-Cola Zero, Schweppes or Appletiser product. In 2015, this programme was supported by approximately 8,000 bars and pubs across the UK.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

2) Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services

3) Disclosure 417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling

4) Disclosure 417-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning product and service information and labeling

5) Disclosure 102-2 Activities, brands, products, and services

6) Disclosure 417-3 Incidents of non-compliance concerning marketing communications

 

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services corresponds to:

• 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: Compliance with laws and regulations

Disclosure 417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Business theme: Product and service information and labeling
• 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: Compliance with laws and regulations

Disclosure 417-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning product and service information and labeling corresponds to:

• 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: Compliance with laws and regulations

Disclosure 102-2 Activities, brands, products, and services corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
• Business theme: Education for sustainable development

Disclosure 417-3 Incidents of non-compliance concerning marketing communications does not correspond to any SDG.

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by CCE, 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) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

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