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Modern Slavery Statement

ANTI-SLAVERY & HUMAN TRAFFICKING STATEMENT

30th September 2021

1. Introduction

This statement sets out the measures Certis Europe BV has taken to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place within our organisation or our supply chains. This statement is made pursuant to the UK’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the “Modern Slavery Act”).

Certis Europe BV operates under the corporate guidelines of its parent company Mitsui & Co. Ltd, whose current Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement can be found by clicking here.

 

2. Organisation

Certis Europe BV is a crop protection development and distribution company incorporated under the laws of The Netherlands, regulated by the laws of that country. It is headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. Certis Europe BV has subsidiaries incorporated in Netherlands and France, which are regulated by the relevant regulatory bodies In those countries.

For more information on our organisation, please visit the following link:

https://www.certiseurope.com/our-company/structure/

 

Certis Europe B.V. is a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. Ltd (“Mitsui”), headquartered in Japan. Mitsui is a publicly listed company that has been a participant in the United Nations Global Compact (the “Global Compact”) since 2004. Mitsui has been and is a member of the Global Compact Network Japan, and Mitsui continually strives to comply with the Global Compact principles as part of its own corporate guidelines, including Principle 4 (the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour) and the promotion of SDG target 8.7. Currently, Mitsui conducts a group-wide survey every other year in order to check compliance with the Global Compact principles, and is working to comply with and to put into practice those principles on a global group basis, including Certis. For more details, please refer to the Mitsui Website.

 

3. Our Business

Our business is European crop protection specialist providing sales and marketing services to its suppliers alongside development and regulatory support, with branches in Austria, Belgium, Czech, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, United Kingdom.

Our annual consolidated turnover for the financial year ended 31/03/2020 was above the £36M threshold specified in the Modern Slavery Act.

For more information on our business, please visit the following link: https://www.certiseurope.com/

 

4. Our Supply chains

Supply chains is one of the critical source of competitive advantage and value creation. To ensure sustainability of our business we engage our suppliers and other stakeholders to understand and evaluate continuity and sustainability of the value chain. Most of our supplier base is located in developed economies including Europe & USA. Some of the actions we execute are listed below;

Perform a Supplier Survey every 24 months which is followed up with an action plan and performance measures.

Perform audit of high risk service providers such as Toller’s to review areas such as health and safety records to ensure we are working with compliant service providers

We share our CSR policy with all Suppliers of services and goods to raise awareness of the importance of the areas covered in the policy and also shares the commitment from the Supplier which we keep records of.

 

5. Policies

Respect for human rights is stipulated in Mitsui’s Human Rights Policyand Mitsui supports its group companies in the practice and implementation of its CSR policies. Mitsui’s Group Conduct Guidelines “With Integrity” also state that “We will comply with laws and regulations, and act to the highest ethical standards. We will respect human rights”.

Being a subsidiary of Mitsui, Certis recognizes its responsibilities that surpass legal compliance with respect to its business activities and works to ensure the protection of human rights in its supply chains.

 

  • Certis Corporate Social Responsibility Policy
  • Certis Corporate Social Responsibility Supplier Letter
  • Employee Code of Conduct
  • Whistleblowing policy
  • Corporate Social Responsibility Statement:

https://www.certiseurope.com/terms-conditions/

  • Recruitment Policy

For more information on our policy, please visit the following link: https://www.certiseurope.com/terms-conditions/

 

6. Measures

  1. Perform a Supplier Survey every 24 months which is followed up with an action plan and performance measures
  2. Perform audit of high risk service providers such as Toll Manufacturers to review areas such as health and safety records to ensure we are working with compliant service providers
  3. We share our CSR policy with all Suppliers of services and goods to raise awareness of the importance of the areas covered in the policy and also shares the commitment from the Supplier which we keep records of
  4. Whistleblowing – We take this issue seriously and have a whistleblowing framework in place to encourage staff to report any suspicions they may have, including where they believe our Business Conduct Guidelines have been breached.
  5. Workforce – Certis employs 320 people across Europe and its employment, recruitment and remuneration practices are designed to comply with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which we operate.
  6. Suppliers – Certis Europe procures a variety of goods and services as part of its business. Our supplier base is mainly located in developed economies including Japan, Europe and USA. We purchase highly specialized and regulated goods of chemical nature. Certis Europe contracts out the manufacturing, warehousing, contract research services to 3rd parties. We aim to buy from reputable suppliers and undertake due diligence on certain key suppliers. This due diligence includes checking the health & safety records, inspecting the facilities as well as asking for a business reference. We highlight to these supplier our CSR policy and ask for supplier commitments to it.
  7. Clients – Certis Europe B.V.  clients are predominately located in Europe. Our clients are subjected to due diligence and monitoring such as a six monthly check against an updated sanctions list provided by our shareholders and in line with our internal rules and regulations.

 

To ensure that we tackle the issue of modern slavery in supply chains, we explicitly communicate our CSR to the supplier network to clarify our expectation and insist for their response and commitment to this policy. Many of our suppliers share with us the documentation they have earned for the business safety, sustainability, employee satisfaction and employee development. Much of our suppliers are located in developed economies, however our intention is that in high risk regions, we plan to implement strict due diligence prior to awarding business contract and work collaboratively with supplier to focus on improvement areas.

 

7. Training

Staff awareness is a key measure in preventing slavery and human trafficking. Accordingly, we provide relevant training to employees on Corporate Social Responsibility

 

8. Annual Review

This statement is produced in line with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act and is for the financial year ended 31/03/2021. This Statement will be reviewed and updated annually.

 

The Board of Certis approved this statement on 30/09/2020 and it is signed by our CEO Mark Waltham.