Mondelēz International Strengthens Commitments to Human Rights and Endorses Call to Action to Advance Living Wages
Company demonstrates continued commitment to pay all its employees a living wage
CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mondelēz International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDLZ) today joins IDH (The Sustainable Trade Initiative) Living Wage Roadmap to help advance living wages in global supply chains and confirms a continued commitment to pay its employees a living wage. This builds upon the company’s long-standing focus on promoting human rights with the introduction of a dedicated Human Rights Policy in line with the United Nations Human Rights Guiding Principles alongside Mondelēz International updated Supplier Code of Conduct. These advancements strengthen the company’s commitments to human rights due diligence and serve to guide and reinforce existing approaches to respecting the rights of those across its value chain.
“We recognize rising inequalities and poverty as underlying drivers of other human rights risks,” said Dirk Van de Put, Chairman and CEO Mondelēz International. “Today we are proud to join forces with leading industry peers and governments through our endorsement of IDH’s call to action to advance living wages in global supply chains, as a further demonstration of our continuation of paying our own employees around the globe a living wage.”
“Now is the time to take a next step towards creating a living wage economy,” said Daan Wensing, CEO of IDH. “We applaud Mondelēz International for joining the movement and taking action on living wage. Only together, business, governments and civil society, can we pursue a world where workers are valued, treated equally, and where living wages are an integral part of a sustainable, resilient economy.”
Mondelēz International uses the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) as a framework for preventing and mitigating human rights risks. The dedicated Human Rights Policy applies to all employees of Mondelēz International worldwide, including temporary and contract employees, as well as the company’s consultants, agents and any other third party who acts on behalf of the company. The Policy is aligned with Mondelēz International’s Code of Conduct, and the corresponding updated Supplier Code of Conduct that sets out human rights requirements applicable to suppliers and business partners, regardless of whether they work at Mondelēz International-owned or independent facilities. Together, these policies guide the way the company conducts business across its entire value chain.
“Training our 80,000 plus employees on our newly published Human Rights Policy is a significant step forward in helping all our employees understand the role they play in respecting internationally recognized human rights,” said Paulette Alviti, Chief People Officer and EVP Human Resources Mondelēz International. “Living our purpose, mission and values starts with putting people first. The implementation of policies like this is part of our ongoing efforts to build our employees’ awareness of our commitment to human rights whilst strengthening our internal capabilities to continue to improve due diligence practices.”
Today’s advances are part of Mondelēz International’s ongoing evaluation and review of best practices in strengthening its approach to respecting human rights. To identify human rights risk, the company is committed to undertaking practical, proactive due diligence in its owned operations and seeks to work with suppliers who share the same level of commitment. The company takes action to mitigate identified risks, prioritizes areas of focus through signature sustainable sourcing programs, and advocates for systemic solutions through public-private collaboration.
Links
Mondelēz International Human Rights Due Diligence Report
Mondelēz International Human Rights Policy
Mondelēz International Supplier Code of Conduct
IDH Call to Action Towards a Living Wage
About Mondelēz International
Mondelēz International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDLZ) empowers people to snack right in over 150 countries around the world. With 2020 net revenues of approximately
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Words, and variations of words, such as “will,” “may,” “expect,” “intend,” “commitment,” “target” and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements about Mondelēz International’s actions to support human rights and advance living wages and related due diligence; and Mondelēz International’s environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) strategies, goals, targets and initiatives. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Mondelēz International’s control, which could cause Mondelēz International’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated in Mondelēz International’s forward-looking statements. Please also see Mondelēz International’s risk factors, as they may be amended from time to time, set forth in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including its most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K. Mondelēz International disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation. In addition, historical, current and forward-looking ESG-related statements may be based on standards for measuring progress that are still developing, internal controls and processes that continue to evolve, and assumptions that are subject to change in the future. The information included in, and any issues identified as material for purposes of, this document may not be considered material for SEC reporting purposes. In the context of this disclosure, the term "material" is distinct from, and should not be confused with, such term as defined for SEC reporting purposes.
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