DSV is committed to ensuring that there is no modern day slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains nor in any part of our business.
‘Modern Day Slavery’ is an umbrella term, which in the context of global supply chains often relates to cases where individuals are subject to human trafficking, forced labour, or debt servitude; where coercion, threats or deception are used to intimidate, penalize or deceive workers, thereby creating situations of involuntary work and exploitation.
We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern day slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains nor in any part of our business. Our Code of Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct reflects our commitment to act ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships and to implement and enforce effective systems and controls to ensure modern day slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in our supply chains.
Due diligence processes in our supply chain
As part of our initiative to identify and mitigate risk, we aim at integrating sustainability into our purchasing processes by measuring and ensuring compliance with social and environmental standards contained in DSV's Supplier Code of Conduct. Further, we strive to ensure that all suppliers are, as a minimum, required to follow our Supplier Code of Conduct, suppliers own equivalent or international standards. If a risk is identified, we assess the level of that risk and take steps to prevent, monitor and mitigate it.
A whistle-blower programme exists to allow employees to report any violations of applicable laws, internal rules and procedures and the DSV Panalpina Code of Conduct. All reports are processed, investigated as applicable, and when justified, appropriate measures are taken.
Supplier adherence to our values
To ensure that all stakeholders in our supply chains (suppliers) comply with our code of conduct, we have in place different processes for assessing more than 200,000 suppliers in 80 countries.
The Supplier Code of Conduct is based on the Group’s Code of Conduct and thus the strategic goals and values of DSV. It is therefore an integral part of our supplier management and of the contracts formed with transportation subcontractors and other service providers. The Code describes in general terms what we consider appropriate and ethical business conduct on the part of our suppliers when they perform services on behalf of or supply products to the DSV Panalpina Group. As standard procedure, the Group communicates its Supplier Code of Conduct to all suppliers awarded contracts of a value of more than EUR 25,000 per annum.
The procurement of transport services is performed both centrally for our divisions and decentral by our local subsidiaries. Centralised divisional procurement processes are used to contract with transportation subcontractors that base their services on a global network like air and sea freight providers and for regional procurement of haulier services in Europe, South Africa and the USA. In supplement, localised procurement processes are used to select subcontractors for local business operations and needs. The Supplier Code of Conduct also applies to such local agreements.
Training and building capability
To ensure a high level of understanding of the impact of our business activities in our supply chains, we provide training to our employees at managerial level and other selected groups of employees in certain positions and functions. We do this to ensure that managers have thorough knowledge of the DSV Panalpina Code of Conduct and are able to act accordingly, share knowledge of this document and ensure a culture of compliance within their own organisation.
We also require our business partners to provide training to their employees and suppliers via our Supplier Code of Conduct.
Auditing suppliers
We regularly conduct audits and random spot checks of our suppliers to monitor compliance with DSV's expectations and legal requirements. If any issues are identified during an audit, the supplier is required to prepare a corrective action proposal and resolve all violations within an agreed time period.
This statement is made pursuant to section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our Group's modern day slavery and human trafficking statement and was approved by the Board of Directors at its board meeting on June 22 2017.
Any questions?
Contact Martin Andreasen, Executive Vice President, Group Compliance
