Act ethically
While subsidiary BIL has a clear policy against bribery and corruption, the parent company lacks public evidence of a similar stance. The parent company could disclose its methods for identifying corruption risks, particularly in specific regions or operations. There’s also room to include anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in contracts with business partners. Although a grievance mechanism exists for corruption concerns, it’s unclear if it can be used without fear of reprisal. Regarding political engagement, while subsidiary BBTCL refrains from lobbying and political donations, the parent company hasn’t made a similar public policy. This provides an opportunity for the parent company to disclose its lobbying expenses and set guidelines for third-party lobbyists.
Provide and promote decent work
While the company maintains a health and safety policy, there’s room for a stronger commitment in this area, particularly in expecting the same from its suppliers and disclosing how it monitors their performance. Additionally, although the company adheres to minimum wage standards, it has an opportunity to take a stand on living wages by setting a time-bound target and providing details on how it calculates these wages regionally and supports their implementation among suppliers. On the issue of gender equality, the subsidiary BBTCL has declared a commitment to equal opportunities, but the parent company itself lacks a public commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. It could benefit from setting and disclosing time-bound targets for gender equality, and while it reports that 28.57% of its board members are women, it has yet to disclose salary and remuneration ratios between genders across its operations.
Respect human rights
While the company’s subsidiaries, BBTCL and BIL, have made statements affirming their commitment to human rights and creating a discrimination-free work environment, the parent company itself has an opportunity to disclose a publicly available policy statement on these issues approved by its highest governance body. The company has multiple opportunities to strengthen its human rights stance. Specifically, it could issue a publicly available policy statement that requires its suppliers to adhere to the ILO’s core labour rights. It could also delineate the processes by which it identifies and assesses human rights risks in both its own operations and its supply chain. Finally, it could disclose the results of these risk assessments and establish a global system to act on, prevent, or mitigate its most salient human rights issues.
