Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an increasingly important issue in modern business development. With Ceradis’ international ambitions, cooperation with the Dutch government and rapidly growing outreach to international markets, suppliers and customers it was necessary to analyse and document Ceradis CSR position. This has resulted in a policy document for intyernal use. This is the summary of that document more suited to external use.
In the following ‘Ceradis’ is understood to include both Ceradis BV in the Netherlands and Ceradis Ltda in Colombia.
Ceradis supports and believes in CSR and sees it as a process of creating values in which Ceradis continually seeks the optimum between people, planet en profit. Ceradis wants to maintain a high standard of quality in all aspects of its work. It will actively seek to improve where it is lacking in this respect. The nature and purpose of Ceradis products themselves are in line with many CSR values such as environmental and user safety.
Through the analysis of CSR in terms of Ceradis’ stakeholders, workplaces, the environment, the company’s strong and weak points, (business) opportunities and finally short and long term goals and actions have been identified.
Some identified strong points in the ‘People, Planet, Profit’ domains are:
- Ceradis products undergo extensive registration procedures including years of field tests, toxicity tests etc etc…for each country where they are to be available.
- Ceradis products are packaged and sold with extensive user information.
- Corruption is not tolerated in any form or manner. The policy is to avoid and renounce corrupt practices and remain ‘clean’.
- Human rights respected and promoted in a general manner and more specifically:
- No form of child labour or forced labour is tolerated within Ceradis;
- Ceradis maintains good employment conditions i.e. equal to ‘civil servants’ which are set down contractually;
- Ceradis Colombia staff gain above average wages and enjoy additional benefits (training, free lunch, sports).
The identified weak points mainly concern the fact that CSR has so far not been used as a company asset in any active way. This omission is to be rectified now and in the future of which the elaborated CSR Policy and this summary may serve as proof.
Ceradis CSR policy features the following main short and middle term goals:
- Take an active position in CSR also vis-à-vis all external stakeholders.
- Express opinion and unequivocal position concerning human rights and especially child labour and corruption.
- Link or merge Ceradis product benefits with CSR in communication activities.
- Improve social care and services for Ceradis subsidiaries where possible.
Identified general actions that correspond to these goals are:
- Discuss and develop CSR policy issues regularly;
- Seek or demand information from suppliers of inputs concerning production methods and circumstances;
- Address adverse human rights impacts in supply chain in keeping with the Ceradis’ clear statements against child/forced labour and on corruption;
- Utilize and advertise CSR as an important asset of Ceradis in all its public relations;
- Draw attention to Ceradis’ commitment to CSR on Ceradis products and product brochures.
Contact Ceradis
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
