ESG policies: not just paperwork

Let’s talk ESG policies. 

We might be wrong, but the word policy probably doesn’t spark joy or make your heart beat faster in excitement. 

But when done right, they’re not just empty words on a screen. They’re the foundation for what you do, the very baseline of your operations. 

If you have no policies, you have no baseline to audit yourself against.

What should they contain?

Good policies aren’t just “we care about sustainability.”

What they should include depends on if they’re internal or external.

Internal:

  • Clear expectations (what’s required)

  • Targets/goals (where you’re going)

  • Concrete actions (how you’ll get there)

External:

  • Clear expectations of suppliers and their actions

  • Requirements based on international guidelines and conventions

 

So, which ones should you have?

While internal policies, like an internal Code of Conduct or a grievance mechanism, are nice to have, it’s not where we would start. 

The most important external policies to focus on at first are:

  • Code of Conduct

  • Anti-slavery & child labour

  • Chemical requirements (e.g. REACH, AFIRM/RSL)

  • Environmental policy

  • Animal welfare (depending on your products) 

Who owns this?

Someone has to. Policies don’t update themselves. 

Assign a clear owner (often ESG departments, product teams) responsible for:

  • Annual updates (at least)

  • Doing your Due Diligence; making sure policies are followed — not forgotten 

And remember: Policies are not legal documents, and it’s a good idea to separate your legal documents and policies – that way, you don’t open up to negotiation. 

So, make sure your contracts, supplier manual guidelines, and policies are separate. 

 

And then what?

Once you have the policies, they shouldn’t just be filed in a folder somewhere in the cloud, collecting virtual dust. 

Send the external policies to your tier 1 suppliers and follow up. 

For internal policies, make sure people actually know they exist, and embed them into daily workflows. 

Oh, and if you’re thinking about doing a VSME report, you’ll need to keep them at hand too, because one of the very first disclosure points is about – you guessed it – your policies. 

 

We have plenty of policy templates ready for you to use – reach out and let’s see what makes sense for you! 

Policy templates? Yes please!
ANNE KATRINE BLIRUP