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Human Rights
Ecolab is committed to enhancing the well-being of people and communities around the world and has established formal policies and procedures to help ensure human rights are respected across our global operations and supply chain.
Our Policy
We are committed to respecting international human rights standards, as defined by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which include the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labor Organization (ILO) 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. We operate in alignment with the policies and procedures outlined in the SA8000 Standard which seek to protect basic human rights of workers. We aspire to create an inclusive and respectful work environment, establish decent working conditions and work to eliminate all forms of child and forced labor, discrimination, anti-corruption and bribery. We have regional programs in place to assess conformity with these policies and commitments. In addition, Ecolab undertakes compliance and ethics assessments to better understand human rights related risks.
- Our Code of Conduct contains detailed human rights aspects relevant to our operations and requires Ecolab employees to report any potential human rights issues.
- Our Ethical Sourcing Standards communicate to our vendors and business partners our expectations on human rights and ethics and our standards for operation, including addressing implications of the UK Modern Slavery Act and the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act.
- Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets out expectations for suppliers in the areas of integrity, ethical and legal standards and compliance among other topics.
- Our Anti-Human Trafficking Policy communicates expectations around slavery and human trafficking.
- Our Conflict Minerals Policy supports human rights organizations to end violence and atrocities in Central Africa, specifically the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and nine adjoining countries.
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Disclosures
It is Ecolab’s policy to disclose any human rights controversies which may relate to child employment, female or minority rights infringement, or other issues pertaining to human rights as defined by the EEOC. No fines related to human rights issues have been levied against the company by any governmental organization in the past five years.
Business Ethics
We are committed to upholding the highest legal and ethical standards, regardless of when and where we conduct business. Our Code of Conduct applies to all Ecolab directors, officers and employees and serves as a guide for how to act and make ethical decisions in compliance with the Code and the laws of the countries where we do business.
Our Code of Conduct was updated in 2023 to enhance ease of functionality for our employees and to emphasize our company’s values. Our annual goal is to have 100% of global employees, including all senior managers, complete a training course and certify compliance. In 2023, we had a 99% global completion rate.
Employees have the option to report a Code concern to their manager, the Human Resources, Compliance or Law departments, or Ecolab’s third-party Code of Conduct helpline or web reporting service, which are utilized by internal and external reporters to convey concerns and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Reports of potential Code of Conduct violations are thoroughly investigated, and appropriate actions are taken or mitigation steps are put in place. We also have a whistleblower program, which ensures that reports are investigated in a timely manner and consistent action is taken based on the results of the investigation.
Anti-Corruption
Ecolab monitors and identifies issues through a comprehensive anti-bribery and anti-corruption program, which includes a detailed policy, required training, guidance, resources and tools.
As part of the company’s internal audit program, approximately 30 audits are completed each year focusing on internal/financial controls and operational processes, out of approximately 107 auditable units including countries, divisions and departments. Of these units, approximately 50 are individual country operating locations which are audited over a four to five-year cycle. In these operational audits, procedures include testing controls relevant to Ecolab’s anti-corruption program. In addition, nine anti-corruption specific audits were completed in 2023 as part of Ecolab’s anti-corruption program.