In April 2020 Ethical Consumer viewed PZ Cusson's website. Ethical Consumer viewed the company's Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement (https://www.pzcussons.com/good-4-business/csr-policies/) which stated:
Supply chain policy - rudimentary
"Under the Supplier Code of Conduct, our suppliers are expected to commit to all applicable laws and
our Good 4 Business principles, including a ‘zero tolerance’ policy when it comes to unethical
business behaviour such as forced and child labour; prohibitions on the use of slavery or
human trafficking in the supply chain; and freedom of workers to form associations for
collective bargaining."
"We comply fully with legislation relating to the limitation of working hours and minimum
pay in all countries where we operate."
Stakeholder engagment - poor
No information could be found regarding it working with external stakeholders.
"The Group has in place a long-established whistle-blower system (our “Speak Up Policy”) which encourages and enables employees as well as suppliers to raise confidentially (and anonymously if desired) any concerns or issues related to business conduct or activities, including in respect of slavery or human trafficking. This is in operation in all of the countries where the Group operates and is regularly refreshed and promoted."
Auditing and reporting - rudimentary
"A full global audit programme is in operation across all third party manufacturing suppliers. Audits are conducted every 2-3 years, with more regular audits (annual or twice yearly) conducted in respect of any supplier which has given rise to any concerns or in respect of which an action plan has been established. Our preliminary assessment is based upon geography (including an assessment of countries considered to be at higher risk of slavery or human trafficking), the commodity purchased, supplier performance and the nature of the business transaction.
In the past one year, the number of our third party suppliers in our home care and personal care categories who are accredited with the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX) has increased from 50% to 79%.
We terminate relationships with suppliers if issues of non-compliance with our policies are identified and/or non-compliance is not addressed in a timely manner."
Diffiult issues - No mention found.
PZ Cusson's did not appear to have a supply chain policy which covered its suppliers and guaranteed workers' rights based on the ILO six conventions which would be expected of a company this size. No information could be found regarding it working with external stakeholders. Its information on auditing did not articulate disclosure of audit results. There was no mention of a remediation strategy or who paid for the cost of audits. As for difficult issues found in supply chains there was no information provided.
Overall PZ Cusson's received a middle rating for supply chain management.
Reference:
http://www.pzcussons.com (March 2020)