The importance of human rights
We are committed to respecting human rights across our global operations. Guided by our Human Rights Policy, respect for human rights is fundamental to the way we conduct business and manage our operations.
Our Human Rights Policy is guided by legal norms, as well as common principles from the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
Our human rights due diligence process
At LYB, we identify and prioritize salient human rights issues in our operations, as well as those of our direct and indirect suppliers, and joint ventures. We consider our salient human rights to be those most at risk of severe negative impact in our own operations or in our supply chain.
Our iterative human rights assessment process, informed by international best practices, involves mapping our business footprint and assessing potential impacts based on severity and likelihood, leveraging on-going stakeholder engagement. The assessment focuses on our workforce, supply chain workers, and communities located close to our operations or our suppliers’ operations, with particular attention to vulnerable groups such as women and children.
Through this approach, we have identified the following salient human rights issues:
Human rights aspects of health, safety and environmental protection were identified as salient human rights issues in our own operations and in our supply chain. In addition, we identified fair and just working conditions as a salient human rights issue for supply chain workers.
To address our salient human rights issues, we implement management actions, aim to integrate them into existing business processes and track their effectiveness. Our systems for monitoring and respecting health and safety related human rights in our own workforce and in communities surrounding our operations are integrated into our Operational Excellence management system for delivering continuous improvement in safety, environmental responsibility, and reliability across all our activities. Moreover, our Sustainable Procurement program is our principal system for monitoring human rights risks in our supply chain.
We prioritize management efforts and resources on our salient issues. Additionally, we strive to avoid complicity in any human rights violations, and we expect those with whom we do business, including our suppliers and contractors, to commit to not violating applicable law, including human rights laws, and upholding human and labor rights principles as set forth in our Supplier Code of Conduct.
For additional information, see the LYB Code of Conduct, HSES Policy and Product Safety and Stewardship Program.
Access to remedy
A key aspect of human rights management is enabling access to remedy by ensuring that feedback mechanisms are available to both internal and external stakeholders. Our feedback mechanisms include our EthicsPoint website and hotline, which are accessible to employees, contractors, customers, suppliers, community members or any other LYB stakeholders. We also maintain site-specific community feedback mechanisms at certain sites.