BioPak's Human Rights Policy

Our vision is to create the world’s best, future-focused packaging solutions that drive a thriving circular economy. To this end, it is fundamental to respect the dignity and rights of anyone affected by our business as well as the boundaries of our planet. At BioPak Group, (together the “Group”), we can – and will – contribute to positive change and more resilient societies.

Therefore, we commit to respect all internationally recognised human rights, including those outlined in the International Bill of Rights and the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) core conventions, including the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. We will uphold our commitment by conducting our business in accordance with the ten principles of the UN Global Compact, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

This human rights policy (this “Policy”) shall be read together with all other relevant, BioPak Group policies including, amongst others, our Code of Business Conduct, Sustainable Sourcing and Modern Slavery Policy. These policies set our framework for ensuring that we operate in accordance with applicable laws and regulatory requirements. Where local law or circumstances prevent us from upholding our commitment to respect human rights, we will find ways to respect human rights in line with this commitment to the greatest extent possible.

This Policy applies to all employees and directors of the Group, including all directors of the boards of each company within the Group, and temporary and contract employees as well as agency personnel who work at the Group premises or under the direction of the Group (all collectively referred to as “employees”). We will offer competence development to help employees understand their rights and duties under this Policy. The Group expects all our business relations throughout our value chain to respect internationally recognised human rights and apply the same standard of conduct when working together with us, for instance when supplying goods to us. Together, we will work to continuously improve our efforts for the benefit of those impacted by our and our business relations’ activities.

Our ability to address potential and actual adverse human rights impacts and environmental adverse impacts depends on how well we identify risks and incidents.

We review human rights and environmental risks and work to identify incidents of actual impact in our own operations and throughout our value chain, including by engaging internal and external stakeholders, potentially affected groups, and experts in a meaningful and timely way. Their input is important for our ability to identify and prioritise our most relevant human rights risks. This review of our adverse human rights impacts and environmental impacts is done periodically.

Where we identify a risk that we may cause or contribute to adverse human rights or adverse environmental impacts through our own actions or omissions, we will do our best to prevent or mitigate such impacts. We will, when necessary, consult the affected stakeholders and implement an action plan to address the identified adverse risks. 

Where we have acted or failed to act in ways that have negatively impacted someone’s human rights, we will provide appropriate measures to bring the adverse impact to an end or, if it is not possible offer remediation to minimise the impact for those who are affected in ways that correspond to our contribution to such harm. As part of our remediation efforts, we will provide or cooperate in providing effective grievance mechanisms to complement our ordinary Whistleblower Channel.

Where our business relations have acted or failed to act in ways that have negatively impacted someone’s human rights, but we have not ourselves contributed to such impact; we will seek to increase and use our leverage to cause our business relation to provide appropriate remediation. To achieve this, we will seek to collaborate effectively with peers, business partners, governments, non-governmental organisations, and other relevant parties.

Throughout our due diligence efforts, we will pay particular attention to those vulnerable to negative impact, including but not limited to women, children, disabled, elderly, indigenous peoples, other minority groups, and migrant workers. Understanding how they are or may be affected by our operations, products and value chains is of great importance to ensure that our efforts are effective. To this end, we also commit to continuously engage with internal and external stakeholders that can inform and help improve our efforts; including but not limited to those employed by the Group and throughout our value chains, unions, and other experts.

We acknowledge that to confirm our human rights and environmental due diligence is effective; we need to measure whether our efforts lead to positive change for those affected. We will therefore work to continuously improve how we implement this policy commitment in our own business and throughout our value chain. In addition, the Group is committed to being open about our risks, efforts, challenges, and progress, through various means of reporting and transparency. Such means may include our annual and sustainability report, but also continuous stakeholder dialogue and communicating progress on our website and other digital channels, including our social media, such as our LinkedIn account.