New human rights principles strengthen Neste's com

Neste Corporation News 16 November 2017

New human rights principles strengthen Neste's commitment

Neste published its new human rights principles on its website. The principles set the standard on how we uphold best practices and ethical business conduct on crucial human rights issues such as fair employment, workers health and safety, equality and non-discrimination, rights of children and young workers, prohibition of forced labor, fair treatment and access to remedy, as well as business' role in social and economic development of the society.

Neste Executive Board approved the seven key human rights principles in December 2016, after which formulation of these principles in more detail has continued based on rigorous consultation rounds with internal and external stakeholders. The process was completed at the end of summer, and the principles became effective immediately after they were signed-off by Neste's President and CEO Matti Lievonen in August.

Human rights work guided by three key elements

Neste human rights principles are one of three elements that define how Neste as a company upholds its responsibility to respect human rights. The second key element is our human rights commitment which we published in December 2015 in line with the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGP) . We updated our commitment in parallel with the formulation of the human rights principles.

The third element in our approach has to do with how we act on our principles. This practical part of our commitment is centered on carrying out due diligence to assess, identify and mitigate impacts on human rights that stem from our business activities, as well as on a remediation process for any adverse human rights the company may cause or contribute to. In our approach, we focus on responsible sourcing practices, training and capacity building, as well as stakeholder engagement.

With these three key elements, our commitment to respect human rights and remediate adverse human rights impacts now goes beyond our own operations. We require the same commitment to respect and remediate also from all our business partners.

The implementation program of our newly adopted human rights principles for the next one and a half years includes various activities to assess and strengthen our internal management systems to ensure that we as a company are compliant with the principles. We also plan to carry out training programs to build awareness and human rights capacity in the company as well as among our stakeholders. We continue engaging with our business partners to encourage them to set their own development programs to uphold mutual obligations to respect human rights.

We see a strong link between our human rights activities and our role as a developer and producer of renewable solutions to mitigate climate change.

More information:

Johan Lunabba, Director, Sustainability, tel. +358 50 458 0795, johan.lunabba(@)neste.com Yan Peng Ng, Sustainability Specialist, +358 50 458 4514, yanpeng.ng(@)neste.com

Neste among the most sustainable companies in CDP's Climate, Forests and Water programs Neste listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index already for the 11th time Neste's work on ensuring human rights in its palm oil supply chain strives to set good examples

Neste in brief

Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) builds sustainable options for transport, business and consumer needs. Our global range of products and services allows customers to lower their carbon footprint by combining high-quality and low-emission renewable products and oil products with tailor-made service solutions. We are the world's largest producer of renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, and we are also bringing renewable solutions to the aviation and plastics industries. We want to be a reliable partner with widely valued expertise, research and responsible practices. In 2016, Neste's net sales stood at EUR 11.7 billion, and we were on the Global 100 list of the most sustainable companies in the world. Read more: neste.com