Human rights
BG Group supports the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and has committed to abide by the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR), to which we are a signatory.
Human rights issues are relevant to all aspects of BG Group’s business, from employment rights and supply chain practices to the management of relationships with indigenous people.
We are also putting in place systems developed in collaboration with a selection of key contractors to collect data on screening of significant contractors and suppliers, including whether contracts were either declined or subject to other actions as a result of human rights screening.
During 2009, we analysed our human rights risk profile and began to develop an integrated approach to managing these issues which aims to bring together a number of the Group’s professional functions, including:
- Human Resources, with oversight of core labour standards;
- the Group’s security and social performance experts, bringing greater consistency to the Group’s management of security and human rights risks;
- the Group Contracts and Procurement function, with responsibility for managing human rights risks throughout the supply chain; and
- the Group Legal function, which advises on national and international regulatory requirements.
In 2009, BG Group carried out VPSHR risk assessments in Bolivia, India and Trinidad and Tobago and revised internal implementation guidelines for the Voluntary Principles based on insights gained over the previous two years.
The revised guidelines are designed to ensure consistency across the Group as well as compatibility with external guidelines such those developed by the international peace-building Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), International Alert1.
The guidelines set out how best to report and address human rights incidents and provide clear procedures for the management of relationships with police, military and other state security forces as well as with private security contractors.
BG Group will carry out one further VPSHR risk assessment in 2010, and will update existing risk assessments for other countries using the revised guidelines. We will continue to implement management actions in relevant operations.
BG Group continues to engage with the office of the UN Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, Professor John Ruggie, both at individual meetings and through the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA).
http://www.bg-group.com/sustainability09/society/Pages/society_focus.aspx