At the end of 2005, we adopted the Heineken Supplier Code (for the full text, download the PDF below). Supply chain responsibility is a priority issue for many of our stakeholders and, in line with our Business Principles and recent actions, also high on our own agenda. It is one of the seven focus areas of our sustainability agenda.
Supply chain responsibility as such is not new to our company: certain environmental and social considerations have been part of our operating companies’ criteria for responsible purchasing.
The risks that we run into when purchasing goods are different than those of other sectors. For the majority of purchased goods we believe that risks related to integrity, human rights and the environment are relatively low, as many of our suppliers are located in well-regulated countries with decent compliance mechanisms. With the adoption of our supplier code, we believe to have created a framework that in our opinion is adequate in relation to the level of risk, meets stakeholder requirements and takes into account legal constraints and other realities in our purchasing process. Our own Business Principles are central to this framework. We state our principles on business integrity, human rights and environmental care explicitly and expect our suppliers to help us fulfil our commitments by reflecting similar principles in their own business practices. We further encourage them to comply with internationally recognised standards on business conduct, human rights and the environment with due consideration to the Heineken Values & Principles.
In practice, we will focus on co-operation to achieve our goals, rather than termination of contracts in instances of non-compliance. We believe this approach goes much further towards creating a positive impact for a well-guided improvement programme than simply telling suppliers they no longer qualify to do business with us.
Full implementation of our Supplier Code at all our group suppliers and major operating companies will take quite some time and is expected to be completed by the end of 2008.
For an update on the implementation status, please check our most recent Sustainability Report and Sustainability Data Sheet.
| 
