25 June 2011 | Angeline Albert
Human rights training for buyers at France Telecom-Orange will be rolled
out globally across the group.
According to the company’s corporate social responsibility report,
published yesterday, the training courses are aimed at raising awareness among
purchasers about the importance of suppliers complying with basic human
rights.
In 2007, a course on responsible purchasing,
which includes human rights issues (in particular the prohibition of child
labour), was introduced at France-Telecom. It is now being redesigned for
international use.
As part of France Telecom-Orange’s
responsible purchasing policy, all contracts with suppliers listed at group
level, plus a growing proportion of local purchasing contracts, include a human
rights clause on ethical practices that sets out the company’s expectations.
France Telecom-Orange said it is working to
raise awareness among its purchasing staff about the need to monitor suppliers’
compliance with its code of ethics and work with them to overcome any issues.
The group’s suppliers are regularly assessed
to ensure they comply with CSR and performance targets. In 2010, suppliers were
asked to complete an online questionnaire on basic human rights compliance and
on site audits were conducted as part of a joint initiative undertaken with The
French Federation of
Telecommunications.
