GLOBAL COMPACT
Pilgrim is a member of the UN Global Compact. The Global Compact is the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative. Pilgrim has made an explicit commitment to share the conviction that business practices rooted in universal principles can contribute to a more stable, equitable and inclusive global market. In addition, this commitment includes supporting the development of prosperous and thriving societies. The Global Compact is a tool that helps us ensure that we conduct our business responsibly.
Our many initiatives in accordance with ethical business and the Code of Conduct are testaments to this.
As members of Global Compact, we are committed to producing an annual Communication on Progress (COP) report, which communicates our progress in relation to implementing the ten principles of the Global Compact in our business activities.
For more info about the Global Compact, please visit WWW.UNGLOBALCOMPACT.ORG
CODE OF CONDUCT
Social Responsibility is one of our core values at Pilgrim, and we want to influence our suppliers and make them understand why proper conduct is essential. We have established a department within our China office to work in accordance with the Code of Conduct.
Pilgrim has a Code of Conduct, which has been signed by all our suppliers. As we do not own our own production facilities, our influence is limited. However, we have made great efforts to establish close and good relationships with our suppliers.
We will continue to improve conditions at our suppliers, but this is not an overnight project. It is important to emphasise that working on improvements is a process that takes time. It can take years, just like the fight for equal opportunities and equal pay in the West. We work closely with our suppliers and encourage them to see the benefits and the importance of complying with the Code of Conduct. Due to the socio-cultural and economic differences that exist between China and countries in the West, this is a complex task, but one that we will make every effort to continue to improve upon. Fortunately, the social conditions in China are improving every day, and this too will influence our suppliers in a positive way.
FACTORY AUDITS
We have previously used the services of the auditing company SGS, but as we now have an office in China working in accordance with the Code of Conduct, we perform these audits ourselves.
We have chosen to conduct the audits because it is important to us to create a trusting relationship with our suppliers. They need to believe that we want to work with them and that our initiative will ultimately benefit them.
Our auditing system has been drawn up by us and consists of what we call positive auditing. Bearing in mind the limited influence we have on the work procedures that are carried out, we focus on working towards ensuring good conditions within the plants and have therefore developed a form of auditing that places the emphasis on learning, trust and cooperation.