Hermes International

Stakeholder engagement
The company’s stakeholder engagement covers nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. Since 2012, Hermès has been a partner of the Livelihoods Carbon Fund, which aims to improve the living conditions of disadvantaged communities in a sustainable manner by developing large-scale projects with real impact against climate change.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company’s biodiversity footprint has been assessed using the Global Biodiversity Score tool. This has enabled an understanding of the impacts caused by the company on a large part of its value chain; in its scope of direct operations and its suppliers, which includes the supply of raw materials.

Water
The company has a target to reduce industrial water consumption by 5% per year (m3 per million euros of turnover, constant scope) over the period 2018 to 2023, and reports progress against this target. The company engages with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. The company requires access to water and sanitation, including refraining from negatively affecting access to safe water, to be included in contractual arrangements with its business relationships.

Solid and air pollution
The company reports some activities to reduce plastic use and waste in its own operations. For example, Hermès Perfume and Beauty was able to avoid the use of 22 tonnes of PET by replacing the plastic sleeves of promotional campaigns by cardboard sleeves.

GHG emissions
The company’s scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions targets are aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. While the company discloses some sustainability targets, no evidence that the company has group wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain based on the SBTN Sectoral Materiality Tool could be found in the public domain. The company reports consistently against all its targets. Although the company discloses 10% of the executive chairmen’s variable remuneration is subject to meeting CSR criteria, it has an opportunity to disclose whether the objectives cover nature and social. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
The company does not disclose an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. The company does not disclose its process for engaging with stakeholder groups beyond its materiality assessment.

Lobbying
While the company discloses some trade associations of which it is a member, this is not a complete list covering all geographies. The company does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. The company does not report (potential) misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company does not disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations. The company does not disclose any assessment of dependencies on nature of its upstream business relationships.

Key areas and species
The company does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company has a commitment to ensure zero conversion. The company discloses some activities to achieve conversion-free supply chains through sourcing wood-based materials from certified sources. The company does not disclose time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company does not disclose activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company does not disclose a commitment to restore ecosystems. The company does not disclose details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
No evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to work towards a circular economy or which organisms it exploits. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health.

Water
No evidence that the company reduces water withdrawal across the company’s own operations was found. The company does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company reports a decrease in water pollution. The company does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company does not regularly report on water pollution. The company does not disclose targets to reduce water pollution. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. The company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
No evidence that the company reduces the production of hazardous substances was found. The company does not disclose a commitment to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties.
The company reduced its total hazardous waste from 5,189 tonnes in 2020 to 2,787 tonnes in 2021. No evidence that the company reduces plastic use and waste in its own operations was found. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company does not report on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants. The company does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
The company’s scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased by 3% from 2020-21. The company discoses a target of -50.4% reduction in absolute value for scopes 1 and 2 emissions over the period 2018 to 2030. The company has a target of -58.1% reduction in relative value for scope 3 emissions over the period 2018 to 2030. However, no evidence that the company reduces its scope 3 emissions was found.

Invasive species
The company has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Safe, healthy, clean environment
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous peoples’ and land rights
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

The company describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. The company describes the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its business relationships. The company has an opportunity to describe a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. While the company discloses that it conducts routine human rights risk assessments and that it remediates in locations with the highest risk, no evidence was found that it has a global system to act on all its salient human rights issues. No evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found. The company has an opportunity to disclose the stakeholders it engages with on human rights risks.

The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers. The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. The company discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage/ that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. The company describes how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers. The company has an opportunity to disclose the coverage of collective bargaining agreements. The company has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The company discloses a tax strategy, but it is not applicable to all its operations. The company takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. In a public policy statement, the company discloses its approach to lobbying and political engagement. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it does not make political contributions was found.