Human rights and labour practices

For Sampo Group, managing human rights is not only about doing the right thing and obeying the law, but also about protecting the bottom line. Failure to identify and respond to human rights issues can lead to, for example, legal action, investor divestment, reputation damage, and financial loss. The risk of human rights violations may arise directly from the Group’s own operations or indirectly from customers, investments, and/or supply chains, for example.

Approach

The group level guidance document regarding human rights and labour practices is the Sampo Group Code of Conduct, which is reviewed annually and approved by the Board of Directors of Sampo plc. Sampo Group is also a signatory of the UN Global Compact, which supports work on human rights. In addition, each Group company has adopted supplementary policies and guidelines for its own purposes. Sampo Group is committed to continuous development of policies and processes related to human rights, including conducting human rights due diligence, applying the precautionary principle, and providing remedy. In addition to employees, communication of human rights-related policy commitments to different stakeholders is done, for example, through training, the intranet, contractual discussions, questionnaires, audits, and site visits.

Human rights impact assessment

Sampo Group has conducted a human rights impact assessment to identify and prioritise risks on human rights across its value chain, including its own operations, corporate customers, suppliers, and investments. The assessment investigated potential impacts that Sampo Group may directly cause, contribute to, or be linked to through its business relationships.  

Through its supply chains, investee companies, and corporate customers Sampo Group can have an impact on human rights that goes beyond its own operating countries. This can, for example, include a risk of forced labour, unhealthy working conditions, or discrimination and harassment, as these risks exist in industries or regions where the suppliers, investee companies and corporate customers operate. The impacts may affect workers in the value chain, local communities, consumers, and vulnerable groups such as migrant workers, women, and children. As these risks materialise further down the value chain, Sampo Group’s possibilities to limit the impacts is limited. In general, these potential impacts within the value chain are more severe in nature in comparison to impacts occurring in Sampo Group’s own operations. 

Own operations

In Sampo Group’s own operations, issues such as privacy, discrimination, and healthy and safe working conditions have been identified as key human rights risk areas. These risks are mitigated through human rights policies which all employees have a responsibility to comply with, as well as mandatory and voluntary training on the topic.Sampo Group respects employees’ freedom of association, and the company’s business processes are designed to ensure equal treatment regardless of unionisation, based on employees’ constitutional rights. All employment conditions, whether they are covered by a collective agreement or not, are largely regulated by local labour legislation and apply to all employees.

Sampo Group strives for a constructive and trustful dialogue with employees and their elected representatives with the purpose of developing the company and safeguarding the correct treatment of all employees. Forums for dialogue include, for example, leader-employee discussions, work environment councils, meetings with union representatives, exit interviews, and bi-annual employee engagement surveys.  Employees are encouraged to report unethical practices or possible violations of laws, regulations, or internal policies directly, for example, to their leader, HR contact person, union representative, or the Compliance unit, or through one of the reporting channels available on the intranet. Sampo Group systematically tracks and monitors employee feedback and ensures that concerns are addressed, and feedback included in organisational development processes. 

Customers

Sampo Group may be indirectly linked to human rights impacts through its corporate customers and the impact they have on their workforce, value chain, and local communities. Some of these impacts may be systemic based on certain sectors and geographies which may be more exposed to human rights risks. Key risk areas include, for example, unsafe working conditions, discrimination, and forced labour and child labour.

Sampo Group has integrated sustainability considerations into underwriting standards and customer due diligence process for corporate clients. The frameworks are based on the UN Global Compact principles and cover, for example, human and labour rights. To assess whether corporate clients respect the principles of the Global Compact, Sampo Group utilises research by external service providers.

In terms of all customers, data breaches and misuse of customer information may result in human rights violations. Sampo Group has stringent policies and processes to ensure that all collected data is protected through data privacy and information security measures, and adequate employee training. 

Suppliers and other business partners

Through its supply chains, Sampo Group can have an impact on supply chain workers, local communities, and consumers. Human rights impacts relating to, for example, working conditions, discrimination, and forced labour can occur within Sampo Group’s supply chain in industries such as property and motor repairs, construction, transport, and facility management.

Sampo Group is committed to encouraging suppliers and other business partners to respect and comply with human rights. This is communicated, for example, in the Sampo Group Code of Conduct, which suppliers and other business partners are encouraged to adopt. Furthermore, the Group companies have more specific policies on these matters for their own suppliers (e.g. supplier codes of conduct). 

Investments

Through its investments, Sampo Group may be exposed to human rights risks relating, for example, to forced labour, poor working conditions, privacy, and consumer health. Sampo Group strives to minimise risks through its responsible investment policies. Investments are screened against international norms and standards, including those related to human rights, and there are processes in place in case of violations against these principles.

Goals and ambitions

Sampo Group aims to respect and protect human rights throughout its operations.