In response to changing regulations and increased stakeholder expectations, we have resolved to increase our focus on transparency. In this context, the Saga Furs CSR leadership team, together with executive management, has created a new written Code of Conduct to which every employee must sign up. During the first-quarter 2017, the Code was approved by the company’s Board of Directors and has just been launched internally.
Documenting what we already do
Saga Furs has always been committed to operating in compliance with the rule of law as well as the highest ethical standards in all markets, cultures, and geographical regions where we do business. In developing the Code, we have not set out to build a new way of working but rather to confirm and document what we already do – and in a way that’s clear and accessible to all Saga Furs’ people.
Communicating the Code
Saga Furs’ approach to implementing this Code will be open and fair. As a Finnish company working a lot with foreign cultures, questions of interpretation may occasionally come up, in particular, regarding the need to sensitively balance local cultural needs with global guidelines and standards.
However, the code of conduct has no value unless our people understand it and act accordingly. Saga Furs will communicate the Code to all employees through a compulsory training and a written prospectus, which links the main ethical risks in their respective jobs as well as sets out clearly why the Code is important for them and the success of the company.
While the supply chain in the fur trade is long and complex, often involving local suppliers in a number of countries, Saga Furs is also committed to promoting the principles of its Code of Conduct with its business partners with the aim of increasing responsible sourcing throughout the supply chain.
The 7 basic principles of the Saga Furs Code include:
- Ethics and law
- Fair Employment
- Fair trade
- Supply-chain and Animal Welfare
- Environment and Climate Change
- Transparency and reporting
- Good Corporate Citizenship