What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2018 Global Sustainability Report WSP identified a range of material issues, such as employment practices, environmental compliance, occupational health and safety, climate change resilience, employee training and education. Among these, promoting business integrity stands out as a key material issue for WSP.

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 WSP engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Employees	·      Employee surveys ·      Townhall meetings ·      Information cascaded from leadership, via team meetings ·      Global internal communications (intranet, emails) and local intranets ·      Annual and Sustainability Reports ·      Leadership interviews
Investors and analysts	·      Investor relations activities including: investor days, meetings, roadshows, conferences, discussion with senior executives and market sector experts, conference calls ·      Website postings ·      Financial reports ·      Press releases and media relations ·      Annual Information Form and Annual Report ·      Annual Meeting of Shareholders ·      Site visits to explain WSP’s project work
Clients	·      Project communications ·      Project feedback received from clients ·      Client interviews ·      Thought leadership communications
Business partners, including subcontractors, joint venture and consortium partners	·      Project communications
Suppliers	·      Procurement
Governments, including regulatory authorities	·      Project work communications involving government agencies
Industry bodies	·      Participation on key industry association committees ·      Attendance at industry functions ·      Sponsorship of industry events and research ·      Trade show displays ·      Thought leadership
Local communities	·      Consultation on behalf of clients within projects ·      Local community involvement/charity work ·      Sponsorship and donations

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics WSP reviewed sustainability topics with external and internal stakeholders via questionnaires and individual conversations. External stakeholders were comprised of investors and clients, while internal stakeholders included employees, regional sustainability leaders and corporate function leads overseeing areas related to WSP’s environmental, social and governance impacts.

What actions were taken by WSP to promote business integrity?

In its 2018 Global Sustainability Report WSP reports that it took the following actions for promoting business integrity:

• Implementing a Code of Conduct
• On a global level, WSP has a Code of Conduct, a Gifts, Entertainment and Hospitality Policy, a Working with Third Parties Policy, an Anti-Corruption Policy, and a Global Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Code”), which apply to all operating entities as well as WSP’s directors, officers, employees and contract workers. The Board of Directors is responsible for approving the Code of Conduct, which was last amended and approved in March 2019. The Code is accessible to all employees through WSP’s intranet sites, and to the public via its website. It is available in several different languages, to facilitate its use in regions where WSP primarily operates. Additionally, WSP’s Third Party Code of Conduct summarises the values set out in the Code as they apply to third parties, providing a set of governing principles for ethical behaviour when interacting with WSP or on its behalf.

• Showing zero tolerance for corruption
• WSP has a zero-tolerance policy to all forms of corruption, whether direct or indirect. It is subject to strict anti-corruption laws, including the Canadian Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA), the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and the UK Bribery Act (UKBA). WSP’s commitment to maintaining zero tolerance to all forms of corruption extends beyond regulatory compliance and includes an extensive e-learning onboarding and refresher training, live training sessions for key employees, communications with employees, and tailored compliance tools. WSP manages and assesses risks for corruption in several ways, which include the following:
  • Enterprise Risk Management
  • Due diligence procedures for business partners, as described in the Working with Third Parties Policy. These are notably based on country, transaction, and relationship risks.
  • Global and regional Delegation of Authority policies
  • Global and regional project risk committees
  • “Guidelines for High Risk Countries and Regions”, which list the countries and regions deemed “high risk” for corruption, safety and security and establish requirements to conduct business in such locations. The guidelines are available to all employees via WSP’s intranet, are updated regularly and were last updated in February 2019.
• In addition, to identify and manage Gifts, Entertainment and Hospitality (GEH) and Conflicts of Interest, WSP uses the GEH and Conflicts of Interest Registry. The link to the online Registry is available on WSP’s intranet sites, and user guides, video tutorials and regional guidelines on using the Registry are also available.

• Encouraging employees to raise concerns
• WSP’s “Confidential Business Conduct Hotline” provides a means for employees as well as the public to raise issues of concern anonymously, with a third-party service provider. Access to information about the hotline is highly visible through a direct click from the front page of global and regional intranets, the website, regular internal communications, videos, presentations and poster campaigns in certain regions.

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

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures

Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures 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: Anti-corruption

 

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 WSP, 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 WSP: 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 Huawei identified a range of material issues, such as broadband inclusion for all, compensation and benefits for employees, green products and services, supply chain sustainability management, product safety. Among these, promoting operational compliance stands out as a key material issue for Huawei.

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 organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

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 Huawei engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Customers/Consumers	·      Customer satisfaction surveys ·      Customer meetings ·      Huawei Fan Club (for consumers) ·      Participation in audits, surveys, and collaborative projects on sustainability (e.g., joint audits with the ICT industry’s Joint Audit Cooperation [JAC])
Employees	·      Meetings with employee representatives ·      Employee surveys (e.g., organizational climate survey) ·      Manager feedback process
Suppliers	·      Supplier meetings and audits ·      Supplier contracts and questionnaires ·      Supplier training sessions and conferences (e.g., the Huawei Global Supplier Sustainability Conference)
Governments	·      Government policy meetings ·      Inputs to government standards and consultations ·      Governmental and inter-governmental conferences ·      Participation in government projects (e.g., green projects of the Chinese government)
Industry/Standards Associations	·      Industry forums and working groups (e.g., ITU, GeSI, EICC, and QuEST Forum) ·      Industry standards workshops ·      Publication of research reports (e.g., the ICT Sustainable Development Goals Benchmark Report )
NGOs and Communities	·      Participation in community projects ·      Attending conferences organised by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and inviting them to attend Huawei’s conferences ·      Meetings on specific issues of mutual concern ·      Responding to requests for information
Media and Opinion Leaders	·      Individual meetings and interviews ·      Specific events for the media and opinion leaders in key markets (e.g., the Huawei Global Analyst Summit) ·      Inviting the media and opinion leaders to attend Huawei’s events ·      Engagement through social media
Research Institutes/ Academia	·      Joint research projects and technology collaboration (e.g., cooperating with a research institute on the ICT Sustainable Development Goals Benchmark Report) ·      Participation in events

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Huawei carried out surveys among multiple stakeholders, who ranked topics according to importance.

What actions were taken by Huawei to promote operational compliance?

In its 2016 Sustainability Report Huawei reports that it took the following actions for promoting operational compliance:

• Fostering a culture of compliance
• Huawei continuously fosters a culture of compliance, both internally and externally, to make sure it can reinforce its compliance system. Thus, in 2016 Huawei shared its compliance concepts and achievements during several meetings with government agencies and partners and continues to implement an individual accountability mechanism to discipline acts of non-compliance, thereby gaining more benefits from its robust compliance culture.

• Building a global operational compliance system
• In 2016, Huawei went to great lengths to build an operational compliance system in its subsidiaries outside China. In terms of organisation, Huawei appointed and trained compliance officers for 97 countries and regions. In terms of business development, it engaged with world-class consultants, as part of its wider effort to promote compliance. For example, Huawei ran a pilot project in its German subsidiary, using Germany’s IDW PS 980 standards to comprehensively evaluate the maturity of the unit’s compliance management system. Huawei also established supervisory organisations in subsidiaries, to systematically oversee operational compliance and align the objectives of compliance management with corporate compliance strategy. All these efforts, helped Huawei’s subsidiaries operate in compliance with local laws and regulations.

• Protecting intellectual property rights
• Huawei respects the intellectual property rights (IPR) of others, complies with international IPR laws, and resolves IPR issues through negotiation, cross-licensing, and product cooperation in an open, positive and friendly manner. Additionally, Huawei employs legal means to protect itself against malicious infringements on its IPR. In 2016, Huawei became a member of over 360 standards organisations, industry alliances and open source communities, and holds over 300 positions of responsibility within these organisations.

• Showing zero tolerance for bribery and corruption
• Huawei adheres to all applicable laws and regulations of the countries and regions in which it operates as well as relevant international conventions, and has launched various activities to increase employee awareness of business ethics and legal compliance. For example, all employees are required to understand and sign its Business Conduct Guidelines (BCGs) and pass an online test on the subject every year, to increase their awareness of anti-bribery and anti-corruption efforts. Employees also receive training on the BCGs, with special training and awareness campaigns targeting staff in sales, procurement, and other key positions. In addition, to increase its positive influence on suppliers, Huawei includes strong ethical provisions in all contracts with suppliers, and requires them to understand and sign its Honesty and Integrity Agreement. Huawei has also established complaint channels through which employees and other parties can report unethical and illegal behaviour, and carries out compliance risk appraisals, to identify all potential risks and non-conformances.

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

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption

2) Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures

3) Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken

4) Disclosure 419-1 Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area

 

Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption 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: Anti-corruption

Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures 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: Anti-corruption

Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken 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: Anti-corruption 

Disclosure 419-1 Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and economic area 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 Huawei, 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 Huawei: 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 Hemtex identified a range of material issues, such as customer health and safety, emissions, diversity and equal opportunity, occupational health and safety, effluents and waste, freedom of association and collective bargaining. Among these, fighting corruption and bribery stands out as a key material issue for Hemtex.

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 organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

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 Hemtex engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Customers	·         Hemtex’s store staff and customer service ·         Instagram and Facebook ·         Hemtex customer club ·         Customer surveys
Suppliers	·         Central and local supplier meetings, supplier visits and regular contact ·         Participation, with suppliers, in initiatives focusing on sustainability issues
Colleagues and Potential Colleagues	·         Employee surveys
Owners	·         Annual General Meeting ·         Shareholder meetings ·         Seminars ·         Individual meetings ·         Reports on financial development and sustainability
Local Communities	·         Collaboration with local suppliers ·         Partner of SOS Children’s Villages
Industry peers, Academia & Science, Policy makers and other Stakeholders	·         Participation in various forums for dialogue with industry peers, policy makers, student associations and other organizations, through networking, workshops, lectures and direct dialogue

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Hemtex conducted, in 2017, a new materiality analysis, with contributions from both internal employees and representatives of several stakeholders.

What actions were taken by Hemtex to fight corruption and bribery?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Hemtex reports that it took the following actions for fighting corruption and bribery:

• Implementing an ethics policy
• Hemtex applies an ethics policy to both its employees and external contracts, providing clear guidance on how to react to situations where gifts, samples, trips, discounts or other benefits occur. Additionally, Hemtex’s suppliers also have to comply, by contract, with Hemtex’s ethics policy. Moreover, Hemtex makes sure it does not provide grants or donations, directly or indirectly, to politicians, political parties or organisations acting in the political sphere.

• Providing ethics training
• Since the autumn of 2015, Hemtex is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the ICA Group and, by collaborating with ICA Global Sourcing (IGS), Hemtex has several purchasing offices in Asia. Accordingly, especially in high-risk countries – determined according to the BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) definition –, all staff at IGS participate in regular training on ICA’s Good Business Ethics. In addition, when recruited, staff are informed that IGS in Asia shows zero tolerance to receiving gifts. Suppliers also receive information about the IGS policy and IGS is additionally certified in accordance with the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards. In 2017, Hemtex was not subject to any legal action nor convicted of fines, at any time.

• Protecting customer and employee privacy
• In 2017, Hemtex carried out work to protect the privacy of both customers and employees, through new policies and measures that restricted eligibility for access to the personal data Hemtex deals with. Moreover, new and stricter personal data agreements were sent to partners with access to personal data and a Data Protection Officer (DPO) has been appointed. In addition, a management organisation, with designated roles and responsibilities, has been established.

Which GRI Standards have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 102-16 Values, principles, standards, and norms of behavior

2) Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption

3) Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures

4) Disclosure 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken

5) Disclosure 418-1 Substantiated complaints concerning breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data

 

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 Hemtex, 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 Hemtex: 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 and Corporate Responsibility Report Ericsson identified a range of material issues, such as the right to privacy, product energy performance, responsible sourcing (including materials sourcing), occupational health and safety. Among these, showing zero tolerance for bribery and corruption stands out as a key material issue for Ericsson.

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 organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

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 Ericsson engages with:   

Stakeholder Group

Customers

Shareholders

Employees

Suppliers

Governments

Civil society

Non-govern­mental organizations (NGOs)

Industry partners

Media

Academia

Gen­eral public

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify material issues and set priorities and goals Ericsson carried out, in 2016, a survey focused on sustainability and corporate responsibility among a representative sample of active employees and, also, sought feedback from customers and investors, through surveys and dialogue.

What actions were taken by Ericsson to show zero tolerance for bribery and corruption?

In its 2016 Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report Ericsson reports that it took the following actions for showing zero tolerance for bribery and corruption:

• Promoting top-level commitment
• [tweetthis]Ericsson’s zero tolerance for corruption is solidly supported by top management[/tweetthis] and emphasized during employee and executive-level meetings. In addition, Ericsson tries to make sure that anti-corruption is drawn attention to at every major leadership meeting.

• Monitoring compliance among business partners       
• In 2016 Ericsson tested an automated anti-corruption screening tool regarding supplier and third party due diligence, in the company’s operations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Ericsson also planned to set up, in 2017, “Business Partner Review Boards” to ensure business partners met Ericsson’s compliance and ethical standards.

• Raising employee awareness of corruption risks
• Over 95,900 active Ericsson employees completed, by the end of 2016, an anti-corruption e-learning course, while additional, specialized training is offered to key sales staff and other related functions, and to regional leadership teams. Moreover, in 2016 a new compliance e-learning course was introduced, concentrating on anti-corruption, competition law and trade compliance.

• Enabling employees and external parties to raise concerns through Ericsson’s whistleblower tool
• Ericsson employees and external parties can report suspected violations of the law or of Ericsson’s Code of Business Ethics through Ericsson’s independent whistleblower tool: the Compliance Line, available 24/7, 365 days a year, in 188 countries and in more than 75 languages.

• Complying with the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative’s (PACI) Principles
• Ericsson is a signatory, since 2012, to the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) and the latter’s Princi­ples for Countering Corruption, which commit companies to implementing a zero tolerance policy on bribery and an effective anti-bribery program.

Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?

The GRI indicator addressed in this case is: G4-SO4: Communication and training on anti-corruption policies and procedures and the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 205-2 Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures

 

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 and ISEP approved Sustainability Course | Venue: London LSE

By registering for the next 2-day FBRH GRI-Standards Certified and ISEP approved 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 Ericsson, 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 Ericsson: With each case study we send out an email to your listed address in request for a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.