Human Rights Statement
Everywhere we work, we respect and support all internationally recognized human rights, in line with the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We are the first “True Multicultural” Australian investment holding company to embrace Indigenous land rights in the Pilbara, Australia, and we were also one of the first companies in Australia with a standalone human rights policy. We are proud of these achievements but know we have more to do.
Respect for human rights starts with everyday actions. It is a responsibility we take seriously every day, every engagement and every service we provide – from governance, overseen by our management team, to processes like pre-screening suppliers, partners and affiliates.
Through investments and services, we’re helping businesses to mitigate risks and grasp opportunities. We’re driving positive, sustainable change for clients, our people, and society at large.We lead with a commitment to quality and consistency across our global network, bringing a passion for client success and a purpose to serve and improve the communities in which member firms operate. In a world where rapid change and unprecedented disruption are the new normal, we inspire confidence and empower global change in all we do.We are committed to conducting our business with respect for all internationally recognized human rights and are dedicated to doing so consistently with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact. We respect all internationally recognized human rights, including those set out in the International Bill of Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and applicable standards of international humanitarian law.
The core conventions of the ILO Declaration cover the following topics :
- Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise
- Right to Organised and Collective Bargaining
- Abolition of Forced Labour
- Minimum Age
- Worst Forms of Child Labour
- Equal Remuneration
- Discrimination (Employment and Occupation)
Our Human Rights Policy and our Code of Conduct set out the principles for how we relate to our employees, partners, contractors, and suppliers, as well as those communities affected by our business activities.
The Human Rights Policy was adopted by the Board of Directors and is based on recommendations of internal consultation held within relevant business areas and functions, union representatives and international experts, along with consultations with a range of stakeholders and experts on business and human rights in Australia and internationally.
We focus our efforts towards identifying and appropriately addressing our main risks for negatively impacting the human rights of people. Topics of particular relevance to HLG Australia are non-discrimination; safe, healthy and secure working conditions; avoiding human trafficking, forced labour and illicit forms of child labour; human rights of people in communities, as well as security and human rights.
To this end, we give priority to meaningful engagement with communities, including indigenous peoples. Another priority is to build capacity among our staff, suppliers, and other business partners. We are continuing our training efforts on staff groups particularly involved in making decisions and taking actions that affect people’s human rights, as well as using internal communication and training platforms to raise awareness of human rights for all our employees.
Working With Our Suppliers, Portfolio Companies and Partners.
We expect our partners, portfolio companies and suppliers to maintain high standards of safety, security, and sustainability, including respecting human rights in ways similar to our approach, throughout their value chain when performing work for us.
Safety, security, and sustainability requirements apply throughout all phases of our procurement process. Most of our suppliers, based on certain criteria, must confirm that they will comply with our minimum standards for ethics, anti-corruption, security, health and safety, and human rights issues including the ILO core conventions, by signing our Supplier Declaration. Suppliers whose performances for HLG Australia would entail a certain risk from an integrity or sustainability perspective may also be subject to a more extensive screening and review before contract awards. We have internal procedures for monitoring (including on-site verifications) and collaborating with suppliers to manage identified gaps and risks.
Human Rights and Security
Sometimes, we must engage security providers to protect our people and assets. At the same time, we acknowledge that the use of security providers may imply a risk for severe human rights impacts on people. We are therefore committed to performing our security activities in line with our commitment to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Our commitment to the principles is reflected in our policies and procedures for risk assessment, deployment, training, and follow-up of security providers in high-risk locations.
Access to Remedy
In line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we are committed to providing or cooperate in providing appropriate remediation if we have caused or contributed to adverse human rights impacts. To this end, we strive to implement effective grievance mechanisms for affected community members. We also have feedback and Ethics Helpline available to all our employees and third parties who want to communicate concerns.
