We are aware that respecting human rights is the most important part of business operation. The ‘Global Human Rights & Labor Policy’ was enacted and announced in 2016. The human rights policy of LG Chem respects and supports the spirit and purport of international human rights as regulated in labor laws of all nations and regions that comply with the international standards, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UNGC Human Rights Principles, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights , and conventions of the International Labor Organization. The human rights policy of LG Chem is applied to all global plants and shared with all stakeholders that are affected by its businesses, including customers and suppliers.
LG Chem evaluates human rights impact of business activities on stakeholders. In the case of the supply chain that has an indirect but large effect on businesses of the company, we conduct CSR evaluation on suppliers to identify risks related to human rights.
LG Chem developed a self-assessment checklist for each domain to evaluate and inspect human rights impact at each plant in accordance with the ‘Global Human Rights & Labor Policy.’ We conduct surveys using this checklist and execute on-site assessments with third party verification. A feedback report is prepared to come up with matters of improvement. Employees of subcontractors are most vulnerable to human rights violation. The domains of the assessment indicators include the human rights management system, respecting dignity, prohibition of forced labor, abolition of child labor, elimination of discrimination, labor hours, wage and welfare benefits, and freedom of association and collective bargaining. Primary methods of identifying risks include document review, interview, questionnaire and onsite assessment.
We have completed a human rights impact assessment with third party verification on Ochang and Choengju Plant in the first half of 2019. This assessment was carried out on 7 subcontractors of Ochang Plant and 3 subcontractors of Cheongju Plant by conducting surveys and interviews of employees, as well as document review. There are rooms for improvement such as the implementation of policy at each subcontractors, reinforcement of monitoring, and prevention of human rights violation. We are going to monitor the Global Human Rights and Labor Policy and the Code of Conduct for Suppliers while promoting preventive activities, reinforcing the supplier management system, and expanding educations on the scope and procedure of grievance handling. In the second half of 2019, the scope of impact assessment will be expanded to include overseas subsidiaries.
