As human beings we all have basic human rights that respect our dignity and integrity. These human rights are fundamental principles that, if respected, ensure all can live a life of dignity, free from deprivation and abuse, free to participate in their community, and freely able to express their beliefs.
Unfortunately, in many places around the world, human rights are not respected or upheld, due to a variety of factors including business and economic pressure, corruption, poverty and more.
As a global company committed to positive social impact, Symantec is committed to respecting human rights wherever we do business around the globe. We believe in the importance of upholding human rights, including in our supply chain, for many reasons, including:
- Human rights principles are aligned with our company’s values, and we have always conducted business according to the highest levels of ethics and integrity
- Adherence to human rights is ethically the right thing and our employees take pride in working for an ethical company
- It enhances brand reputation with the community, shareholders, non-governmental organizations, investors, government, and the media
- Proactively addressing human rights issues can mitigate risks and reduce legal action against the company
- A positive human rights record may benefit Symantec when entering new businesses or markets
- Some human rights assurances are becoming legally required (e.g., California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010)
- It supports the local communities where we live and work
Our commitment to human rights
There are a variety of resources we rely on to ensure our values around human rights are reflected in our day to day operations. Firstly, Symantec’s commitment to human rights is articulated in our Human Rights Policy and is embedded in our Code of Conduct. Additionally, we conducted an impact assessment to identify human rights focus areas that present the largest risks and opportunities for Symantec’s impact on human rights. These include:
- Privacy (Right to privacy, freedom from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment)
- Freedom of expression (Freedom of expression, freedom of assembly)
- Labor rights (Right to favorable conditions of work, right to join a trade union, freedom from discrimination)
- Gender equality (Freedom from discrimination)
We also support and respect internationally recognized human rights and labor standards as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Organization’s Core Conventions, the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social, Cultural Rights and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We are a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and its Lead Program.
Through the application of high standards we can create better social, economic and environmental outcomes for all those involved in the electronics and ICT supply chains. This includes increased efficiency and productivity for customers and suppliers, improved conditions for workers, economic development and a cleaner environment for local communities.
Continuous improvement
In addition to the current policies and programs we have in place, we place great emphasis on continually improving and refining our management of human rights:
- Our Human Rights Policy was recently translated into Portuguese and Spanish allowing us to communicate our commitment to a broader employee base.
- In 2012, our human rights policy was incorporated into Symantec’s internal country audits.
- In December of 2013 we issued our first policy on Conflict Minerals (see highlight below).
- In January 2014, Symantec was accepted as an Applicant Member of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC).
- And we recently held a targeted human rights training attended by nearly 200 employees from our legal, human resources and CRA teams.
Human Rights Highlight (Conflict Minerals)
Key minerals such as tin, gold and tantalum fuel the creation of electronics products. In the case of those sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo, they are also often fueling military groups that are committing major human rights atrocities in the region ranging from mass killings, to rape, corruption and more. For example, violence in the region is responsible for over 45,000 deaths per month.
To combat this, in July 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a rule under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that requires companies to disclose whether the products they manufacture or contract to manufacture contain conflict minerals that originated in the DRC or Covered Countries.
Under this rule, “conflict minerals" include columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite, or their derivatives (tantalum, tin, gold and tungsten), and others if later determined by U.S. Secretary of State to finance conflict in the DRC or Covered Countries.
Core to Symantec’s corporate responsibility strategy is ensuring our level of ethics, integrity and human rights are mirrored throughout our supply chain. We have therefore developed a policy on conflict minerals that outlines our commitment to complying with current conflict minerals legislation and working with our suppliers to procure conflict minerals through a validated supply chain - thus ensuring our products are “DRC Conflict Free.” To underscore this commitment we have also:
- created a governance structure to operationalize this conflict minerals policy;
- communicated this policy with our suppliers;
- engaged with the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (“EICC”); and
- developed a comprehensive due diligence process that is in line with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals From Conflict Affected and High-Risk Areas.
Our full conflict minerals policy is available here.
Debra McLaughlin is Symantec's Manager, Stakeholder Engagement.