Responsibilities to others (continued) 74 John Lewis Partnership plc Annual Report and Accounts 2016


How is sustainability in the Partnership governed?


We have refreshed our governance arrangements to ensure they provide strategic direction and a sound system of internal control.


In 2015/16, oversight of Corporate Responsibility became the responsibility of a newly created Corporate Responsibility Committee, see page 88.


In turn, the Divisional Management Boards, supported by Divisional CSR Committees and steering groups, are responsible for implementing our Corporate Responsibility Policy within their Division. The Partnership’s Corporate Responsibility team is responsible for developing the sustainability strategy, policies and objectives for the business. The team, with its technical knowledge and expertise, supports the Divisional teams and the wider business by providing guidance and support to deliver a wide range of projects and initiatives.


Human rights


Respecting the rights of the people that we interact with has always been integral to the John Lewis Partnership. Our business is underpinned by an intricate and often complex value chain. We depend on farmers and growers, producers and manufacturers, packers and drivers, suppliers and – of course – the Partners who serve our customers every day.


As we grow and develop as a business and predict and respond to external trends, we must stay true to the commitments set out in our Constitution and strive to uphold the rights of those people with whom we interact.


The people we interact with


In 2015, we carried out a detailed review of our approach to human rights drawing on stakeholder insight, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and a detailed analysis of our potential business impacts.


We identified Partners, customers and workers in the supply chain as the groups where our sphere of influence is greatest. We have followed the UNGPs and the recently published Reporting Framework to analyse these groups and have engaged stakeholders along the way to understand the challenges that they face and identify the most salient issues.


Given the complexity of retail supply chains and the challenges that this brings, we have focussed much of our work on workers in the supply chain. An important part of this has been the development of our strategic plan for the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).


Framing our activity


To better understand the systemic issues and risks for workers, we mapped our supply base and analysed a range of external resources including the Maplecroft Global Risk Assessment Tools and industry reports. We then tested our thinking with a range of stakeholders. For example, in 2015 we held a stakeholder breakfast with leading thinkers in this area and used their feedback to refine our strategy.


This analysis of underlying trends across our supply chains has led to the development of programmes to drive improvements in priority areas where the human rights risks are significant and where we can have the greatest impact.


These programmes build on our established due diligence, monitoring and remediation programmes. They include activities to improve worker engagement, protect vulnerable workers, manage informal supply chains, health and safety and worker wages.


As a Partnership, we believe that by sharing knowledge and power with our Partners we create a more successful business and a more satisfying place to work. Building on this ethos, we want to ensure that a core part of our strategy is to promote the principles of worker engagement through our supply chain.


Identification and support for vulnerable workers is a key priority for the Partnership. Within temporary, migrant and seasonal worker populations there are risks of forced labour and human trafficking – sometimes referred to as modern slavery.


We welcomed the UK’s Modern Slavery Act and the duty it places on businesses to publicly disclose the steps they are taking to tackle forced labour and human trafficking.


Victims of modern slavery experience some of the most severe breaches of human rights in the world today. This is irreconcilable with the values of the Partnership and we are committed to tackling this crime.


Addressing modern slavery is a core part of our human rights and responsible sourcing strategy. We have published a human rights report to share this strategy.


For further detail, see our Human


Rights & Modern Slavery Report 2015/16 www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk


Groceries (Supply Chain Practices) Market Investigation Order 2009 (‘the Order’) and the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (‘GSCoP’)


As required by the Order and the GSCoP, the Code Compliance Officer is obliged to present a report detailing Waitrose’s compliance to the Partnership’s Audit and Risk Committee. The Audit and Risk Committee noted that during the period two suppliers had claimed specific breaches of the GSCoP and that both instances had been satisfactorily resolved by the Commercial Buying team.


Given the above, Waitrose has remained compliant with the Order and the GSCoP during the period and continues to ensure that its comprehensive Partner training programme (including annual refresher and new starter training), together with the ongoing monitoring of supplier contracts, promotes the necessary awareness and behaviours in order to ensure compliance.


The Audit and Risk Committee also noted that Waitrose’s approach to GSCoP compliance reflects the Partnership’s commitment to its overarching principle of fairness that has always governed its relationships with suppliers.


The Audit and Risk Committee, which met on 12 April 2016, approved the Code Compliance Officer’s report on Waitrose’s compliance for the 52 weeks ending 30 January 2016 and agreed onward submission to the Groceries Code Adjudicator and Competition and Markets Authority.


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