There is currently limited comparative information on the social responsibility performance of transport and logistics companies. To make reporting meaningful, readers must be able to understand how results compare to the industry as a whole.
We participate actively in initiatives such as the Logistics and Transport Sustainability Group of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and base our report on the G3 and the GRI sector supplement to improve transparency in performance. In addition to initiatives related specifically to social responsibility (SR), we are also involved actively in initiatives such as the European Express Association (EEA), the Global Express Association (GEA), CAPEC and the International Postal Corporation. Besides these formalised initiatives, we lobbied independently in 2007 with respect to the postal law in the Netherlands, the European postal directive and the European Union Emission Trading Scheme.
TNT integrity programme
In January 2006, the TNT Annual Senior Management Meeting (ASMM) subscribed to the TNT integrity programme. The ASMM agreed that management should “walk the talk” and take responsibility for rolling out the integrity programme across the organisation. The integrity programme consists of four parts: Guidance, Awareness and Compliance, Embedding, and Monitoring.
Guidance is given by the TNT Business Principles to which the ASMM subscribed at the same meeting and which were thereafter formally adopted and approved by TNT’s Board of Management and Supervisory Board. The TNT Business Principles, which together with other integrity-related policies and procedures can be found on our corporate website, www.group.tnt.com, deal with topics such as compliance with the law, accurate and timely disclosure, transparency, equal opportunities, fair treatment, conflicts of interests, corruption, fair competition and social responsibility. The TNT Business Principles are aligned with the UN Global Compact and with the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative principles. Our integrity-related policies and procedures include the TNT Group Policy on Whistleblowing and the TNT Group Policy on Disciplinary Actions. The latter policy makes clear that non-compliance with these policies is not tolerated.
Awareness and Compliance are enhanced by communication, web-based training and face-to-face training. Our Group Integrity department has given and will continue to give interactive integrity workshops for senior and higher management in all parts of the world. Thereafter, senior managers cascade this training and communication down into their organisations using the “train the trainer” principle, thus fulfilling their responsibility for rolling out the integrity programme. Group Integrity facilitates and monitors this process. In 2007, 1080 managers were trained directly by Group Integrity, after which many more managers were trained through the “train the trainer” model.
The TNT Business Principles and related policies are being embedded in TNT processes, including finance and human resources. In this vein, an integrity due diligence procedure has been made part of TNT’s Mergers and Acquisitions process and new TNT employees are required to certify their acknowledgement and understanding of the TNT Business Principles when they enter employment.
The TNT integrity programme is monitored in several ways: (i) senior management sign-off in a Letter of Representation every half year, (ii) internal audits, and (iii) yearly engagement surveys. The TNT integrity programme is part of the entity level controls and compliance is self-assessed annually by management.
Integrating social responsibility throughout our supply chain
At TNT, we acknowledge the significant ecological and social impact that we have in our supply chain and on our suppliers’ local communities. As such, we are committed to raising our social and ecological standards as well as those of our suppliers and subcontractors.
Suppliers
TNT has a large number of suppliers located all around the world. In 2007 we focussed on that part of the supply chain in which we purchase goods for TNT. Within TNT, local entities are responsible for procuring the goods and services needed for their business.
Due to this diversity, we are developing a company-wide Code of Conduct for suppliers and contractors based on the TNT Business Principles and our SR policies. This Code of Conduct defines our expectations regarding health and safety of the products and services, labour standards, adherence to national law and human rights, prohibition of bribery and traceability of all business transactions with TNT. The divisional procurement departments are responsible for implementing the Code of Conduct in close cooperation with the divisional SR directors and operational managers which indicates further integration of social responsibility in our functional areas.
We have developed a supplier risk assessment aimed at managing the social responsibility risks in our supply chain and will assess our suppliers in 2008.
Subcontractors
Through our Code of Conduct for suppliers and contractors, we have further engaged our subcontractors in our SR objectives. As demonstrated by our subcontractor dialogues in 2006, our subcontractors recognise the importance of social responsibility, although obstacles such as the cost-driven strategy and lack of cost-effective greener technologies need to be overcome. We believe strongly that action taken by the entire sector on these obstacles will accelerate social responsibility approaches by subcontractors. In 2008, this sector-wide approach will be initiated as the social responsibility of subcontractors will be on the WEF’s agenda. As most of our subcontractors are based locally, TNT contributes positively to the economic development of these local communities.