Fyffes Releases Second Human Rights Report
Fyffes has recently completed its third year of comprehensive human rights assessment and has unveiled an update on its critical human rights concerns in its second-ever human rights report.
The report encompasses the outcomes and conclusions from its third human rights impact evaluation (HRIA), undertaken by the proficient team at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), as well as the key areas of focus aimed at mitigating pertinent human rights risks within Fyffes' operations and supply chain.
Notably, BSR conducted an extensive evaluation in Honduras and Guatemala in 2022, which included an on-site visit to Honduras and engagements with two of Fyffes' major and enduring business partners in Colombia, namely Banasan and Uniban.
Fyffes' overarching corporate vision centres around promoting global well-being. To materialise this vision, the initial stride taken involves positioning the company at the vanguard of human rights due diligence within the fresh produce sector.
An integral aspect of this approach entails the communication of Fyffes' commitments to prevent and mitigate pivotal risks to all stakeholders. This commitment to human rights due diligence is aligned with the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, firmly enshrined within Fyffes' ethical framework, the Fyffes Principles.
Presently, Fyffes stands as the sole entity within the fresh produce sector to have successfully conducted three consecutive years of rigorous human rights scrutiny. This pivotal achievement situates the company in a position of readiness to adhere to prevailing and emerging regulations encompassing human rights and environmental diligence.
This encompasses legislation such as the new German Supply Chain Act, the French Vigilance Law, the Swiss due diligence and reporting regulations, and the recently introduced European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and Reporting Directives.
As part of its proactive strategy, Fyffes has not only established a dedicated human rights core team, which is set to evolve into a comprehensive human rights and environment committee but also conducted a comprehensive Climate Change Risk Assessment during 2022. The next stride on this path involves identifying localised climate change impacts at individual operational sites.
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Caoimhe Buckley, while discussing the release of the present report, expressed, "By sharing our Human Rights Report, we aim to foster transparency with our communities, employees, stakeholders, and customers, ensuring a clear understanding of the challenges we confront and the strategies we are adopting to address them."
He went on to extend gratitude to both BSR and Fyffes' sustainability team, under the leadership of Julie Cournoyer, for their pioneering role in this sphere, underscoring Fyffes' prominence in the domain of human rights due diligence.
Fyffes' commitment to human rights due diligence is further reinforced through community needs assessments (CNAs) that were carried out in 2021 and 2022 across more than 50 communities surrounding Fyffes' farms in Latin America.
These meticulous assessments, executed in partnership with independent experts, entailed surveying over 2,200 individuals to discern their most urgent community requirements.
These encompassed aspects such as access to medical facilities, employment opportunities, and infrastructural development. Importantly, the CNAs reinforced the pivotal human rights risks in these localities and provided invaluable insights to inform Fyffes' prioritisation of community contributions and investments.
For those interested, Fyffes' comprehensive Human Rights Report for 2022 is available for download here.
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Source: Fyffes
