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We understand that our activities might have both positive and negative impacts on human rights. These impacts could occur in our own operations, in the surrounding communities, along our value chains or in society as a whole.
We are committed to respecting human rights, and we adopt measures to identify, prevent, mitigate and, if necessary, remediate any human rights violations with which we may be involved either through our own activities or as a result of our business relationships1.
Human rights are basic rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, nationality, social class, religion, physical characteristics or any other condition. These include the right to life and freedom, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, the right to well-being, among many others2. Our commitment is aligned with the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and encompasses all internationally recognized human rights contained in the International Bill of Human Rights (consisting of the Universal Declaration of Human, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and in the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work3.
We consider internationally recognized human rights as the foundation of our sustainable development strategy and uphold them in our business activities, including in joint ventures and the value chain. The Global Sustainable Development Policy , approved by the Board of Directors, reinforces this commitment and outlines the behavior expected and the responsibilities of our members and business partners in order to continuously and proactively identify, prevent and mitigate exposure to the risks of violation of human rights, as well as to remedy the current impacts of its operations, products, services or commercial relations. This topic is also reflected and provided for in the Code of Conduct and the Code of Conduct for Third Parties .
As a signatory to the UN Global Compact, since 2007 Braskem has been committed to its Ten Principles, related to human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Since 2016 we have been dedicating more attention to this issue, with the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles. In order to prevent and address eventual negative impacts on human rights, we have adopted a human rights risks management, which include the identification, assessment and prioritization of human rights risks, and the construction, implementation and monitoring of mitigation action plans for those risks.
In compliance with our commitment with transparency, we also report our work on human rights in our Annual Reports .
1 We are also engaged in supporting and promoting human rights, and we do this by increasing our positive social, environmental and economic impacts, in particular through our social investments. Learn more about our social investments in https://www.braskem.com.br/communities and in our Annual Reports .
2 https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/human-rights/
3 These include the International Labor Organization Conventions that are relevant to our business and ratified by the countries where we operate.
Braskem’s first human rights due diligence started in 2016 and resulted in the first Human Rights Violation Risk Matrix in 2017, where we identified all possible risks involving our business enterprise. We had the support of an independent external human rights expert in this process, which involved the review of documents4 and the consultation of relevant stakeholders, such as leaders and specialist of various teams in Braskem, clients, suppliers and associations. Learn more about this process here .
Analysis of petrochemical companies are working on Human Rights.
Consultation Process:Analysis of how Braskem’s current policies and processes enable it to effectively protect and promote human rights, as well as final recommendations.
Consultation Process:4 Among them, the Study on Image and Reputation carried out in 2016 consolidated 5,190 responses from members, clients, suppliers, academia, non-governmental organizations, local communities, business associations, government, press and the final consumers.
As a result, we identified 17 risks of human rights violations related to our own operations, products or services and the main risks related to our value chains. We also identified the respective impacted right-holders: team members and contractors who work at Braskem's facilities, workers in the value chain (particularly those working in small businesses and rural areas, third- or fourth-party truck drivers and collectors), consumers and local communities (including traditional peoples, such as indigenous people, fisher communities and quilombola communities), and society as a whole.
To ensure an integrated enterprise risk management, Braskem included the risks of violation of human rights in the Corporate Risks Matrix, which is monitored by the Board of Directors and by Senior Management. In addition, the risks included in the corporate matrix are reassessed every two years. This ensures a periodic and systematic review of risks and opportunities in human rights. This assessment will also be reinforced in the process of reviewing Braskem's Materiality Matrix, which evaluates the relevance of sustainability topics based on a survey among stakeholders to devise the company's strategy to contribute to sustainable development.
Below, the Human Rights Violation Risk Matrix presents the 17 risks identified and classified based on the severity, extension and probability of the impact, as well as the company’s control and influence over these risks. The targets of Braskem’s Sustainable Development macro goals contribute to Human Rights and, hence, were correlated to the risks. Learn about Braskem’s macro goals here . The following image shows the value chain where each of these risks may occur under Braskem’s priority attention viewpoint. Note that those related to safety, health and environment (including post-consumption) are common to any industry.
Importance (Severity, Extension, Remediability, Probability)
1st Focus (Potential Risks with the need to improve management)
1. Dignity and Diversity (MG Strengthening of Practices)
2. Ethics and Transparency at Braskem (MG Strengthening of Practices)
3. Traditional Peoples (MG Local Development)
4. Decent Work in Value Chain (MG Strengthening of Practices)
5. Post-Consumption (MG Post-Consumption)
2nd Focus (Controlled Risks with continuous improvement in progress)
6. Consumer Health and Safety – Resins (MGs Safety and Development of Solutions)
7. Consumer Health and Safety – Petrochemicals (MGs Safety and Development of Solutions)
8. Safety in Surrounding Communities (MG Strengthening of Practices)
9. Safe Work in Value Chain (MG Safety)
10. Work and Career Conditions in Value Chain (MG Strengthening of Practices)
11. Ethics and Transparency in Value Chain (MG Strengthening of Practices)
3rd Focus (Residual Risks with consolidated management)
12. Work and Career Conditions at Braskem (MG Strengthening of Practices)
13. Process Safety (MG Safety)
14. Healthy Environment (MGs Renewable Resources, Water Efficiency, Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Solution Development)
15. Occupational Health and Safety (MG Safety)
16. Property Security (MG Strengthening of Practices)
17. Private Property (MG Local Development)
1. Dignity and Diversity (MG Strengthening of Practices)
2. Ethics and Transparency at Braskem (MG Strengthening of Practices)
3. Traditional Peoples (MG Local Development)
4. Decent Work in Value Chain (MG Strengthening of Practices)
5. Post-Consumption (MG Post-Consumption)
6. Consumer Health and Safety – Resins (MGs Safety and Development of Solutions)
7. Consumer Health and Safety – Petrochemicals (MGs Safety and Development of Solutions)
8. Safety in Surrounding Communities (MG Strengthening of Practices)
9. Safe Work in Value Chain (MG Safety)
10. Work and Career Conditions in Value Chain (MG Strengthening of Practices)
11. Ethics and Transparency in Value Chain (MG Strengthening of Practices)
12. Work and Career Conditions at Braskem (MG Strengthening of Practices)
13. Process Safety (MG Safety)
14. Healthy Environment (MGs Renewable Resources, Water Efficiency, Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Solution Development)
15. Occupational Health and Safety (MG Safety)
16. Property Security (MG Strengthening of Practices)
17. Private Property (MG Local Development)
The Human Rights Violation Risk Matrix defined Braskem’s operational priority by identifying five potential risks with need for management improvement (called focus 1 risks):
The other risks were classified as controlled risks with continuous progress improvement (focus 2 risks) or residual risks with consolidated management (focus 3 risks). Some of the risks assessed as high risks were classified as focus 3 because they have excellent consolidated management.
Focusing on the 5 priority risks, we prepared action plans to reduce their probability or associated impacts. Below, we detail each of them, as well as the most recent results and actions for their mitigation.
Since 2015, we have supported a participatory fishing monitoring program that has been tested and implemented in the communities of Ilha da Maré (Bahia, Brazil), in the surroundings of our operations. The objective of the program is to promote the sustainable management of artisanal fishing in the region, the mantainance of traditional local cultures and livelihoods, and emancipatory environmental education:
*Suppliers that, although registered at Braskem, do not have supply agreements.
**100% of the committed supplier mills and a sample of their sugarcane suppliers are audited by third parties every two years.
Since 2010, Braskem has participated in the Na Mão Certa Program, developed by Childhood Brazil. Within the program, we implement awareness-raising actions with our logistics and transportation suppliers, in order to promote the protection of children against sexual abuse and exploitation:
5 Learn more about our positioning in Circular Economy in https://www.braskem.com/principal/circulareconomy .
6 Learn more about WeCycle in https://www.braskem.com.br/wecycle/home-en .
Braskem takes action to promptly address any allegation of misconduct, contrary to the Codes, our Values or the Law. The Ethics Line is a confidential, dedicated channel that Braskem Team Members, Suppliers, Contractors, Clients and other stakeholders can use to report incidents of misconduct. The reports received through the channel help to maintain a business environment grounded in ethics, integrity and transparency.
The Ethics Line channel is available 24 hours / 7 days a week on the external portal ( www.ethicslinebraskem.com ), on the internal portal and through toll-free phone numbers in the language of the countries where Braskem operates.
All allegations received through the Ethics Line channel are registered by an independent and specialized company, ICTS, ensuring absolute confidentiality and appropriate investigation or treatment for each situation by Braskem's Compliance team and senior leaders, without any conflicts of interest. All allegations and the results of investigations are periodically reported to the Global Ethics Committee which, in turn, reports to the Board of Directors via the Chief Compliance Officer.
See the main results of the Ethics Line channel (including remediation measures) on our Annual Reports .
Braskem also has communication channels open to all communities where it operates. In some units, in addition to a 0800 emergency hot-line and the contact area available on the company’s website, the community may interact with the company through periodic meetings, factory visitation programs, training, and interface with the government – initiatives usually promoted by the Community Consultative Councils (CCC’s) of each location.