Get to Know ERG | Our People and Company Culture

Our commitment

Respect for human rights is a fundamental principle we strive to uphold throughout our value chain, with a view to sustainable development.

Starting from the Code of Ethics, and including the Sustainability Policy, the Human Rights Policy, the D&I Policy, the Gender Equality Policy, and the Policy to Prevent Violence and Bullying, we have established tools to ensure respect for human rights that apply to all employees and third parties ERG interacts with (including, for example, business partners, suppliers, and third parties involved in acquisition projects).

All our policies are inspired by international best practices on human rights, including: the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (MNE), the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), labour-related human rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ERG is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), among other human rights-focused associations.

We are committed to preventing and penalizing child labour and forced labour, ensuring freedom of association, equal pay, and non-discrimination for all individuals we engage with: employees, women, children, workers from third-party companies, and local communities.

Within our supply chain, ERG Group has adopted a Supplier Code of Conduct outlining the principles and behavioural standards each supplier must comply with.

Supplier selection is overseen by the Procurement function, which ensures adherence to ERG Group’s values and behavioural rules. Before establishing any relationship, suppliers must sign the Code of Ethics, the Supplier Code of Conduct, the 231 Model, and Anti-Corruption Guidelines.

According to our internal policies, all counterparties are subject to:

  • Global reputation assessment: Verified violations of the principles set out in our reference documents, or the presence of alerts on monitored issues, result in the cancellation of ongoing evaluation and award processes, termination of existing contracts, and exclusion from our Vendor List;
  • On-site inspections: All companies operating on our sites—whether contractors or subcontractors—must comply with all health, safety, environmental, and human rights requirements, which are mandatory for awarding contracts of any kind and value.
  • Ongoing supplier monitoring: Since 2020, a Vendor Rating dashboard has been in place, including ESG indicators, to provide a risk profile for each supplier. Those with inadequate performance in severe cases (e.g., violations of human rights, forced labour, child labour) are blacklisted.

To raise awareness among our employees, we organize Evolving Talks, a format by ERG Academy focused on sharing a wide range of topics—including human rights—through the voices and experiences of individuals active in international advocacy, research, and outreach, offering insights relevant to the countries where we operate.

We have also conducted internal surveys to assess employees’ perceptions regarding potential discriminatory or non-inclusive behaviour.

Due Diligence Processes

To prevent human rights violations and promote gender equality and equity, the Group:

  • Has implemented a system of policies that all counterparties must follow, involving relevant stakeholders;
  • Defines and maps risks at least once a year: including internal and external risks, involving suppliers and potential business partners;
  • Has established control bodies, such as:
    • Supervisory Board: acting as an Ethics Committee, it monitors the proper application of the Code of Ethics, especially concerning human rights and equal opportunities. It also manages any reports received via designated email or standard mail channels, accessible to all employees and third parties;
    • Human Capital Committee: monitors the effective implementation of the Human Rights, Diversity & Inclusion, Anti-Violence, Anti-Harassment and Bullying, and Gender Equality Policies, and handles reports of non-compliance (via our whistleblowing system).
  • Performs continuous monitoring, for example through ESG audits along the supply chain;
  • Has implemented corrective and disciplinary measures;
  • Has set increasingly ambitious goals to promote equality and equal opportunities.

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