Forced or compulsory labour (GRI 409)

Management approach forced or compulsory labour

Preventing forced or compulsory labour serves to uphold basic human rights. Forced and compulsory labour are categorically rejected. Violations give rise to fundamental reputation risks that can cause lasting harm to the company’s public image, as well as to legal risks. Preventing forced and compulsory labour is, therefore, not only an ethical obligation, but also crucial in terms of avoiding legal, reputation and financial losses.

Geberit commits itself to the protection of human rights in its Code of Conduct, including a categorical rejection of forced and compulsory labour. Geberit’s exposure with respect to forced and compulsory labour within the company is considered very low because of its industry, business model, high level of vertical integration and high-quality requirements.

The basic principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Suppliers explicitly include compliance with the ILO core labour standards for the exclusion of forced or compulsory labour. The raw materials and semi-finished products procured by Geberit primarily come from suppliers in Western Europe (84.2% of procurement value). Owing to the high level of vertical integration as well as the very high share of Western European suppliers, the general risk profile of the supply chain in terms of social risks is relatively low. Regarding Geberit’s risk management and the avoidance of social risks in the supply chain, see Procurement.

Cases of forced or compulsory labour (GRI 409-1)

According to the annual Group-wide survey of the Code of Conduct, there were no cases of forced or compulsory labour revealed in 2023. There were likewise no such cases uncovered during the audits carried out at suppliers, see Procurement.