Labour in the value chain

Labour-related rights for vulnerable persons 

BLS's procurement takes place in a demanding international environment and relies on complex supply chains. Even in this challenging environment, the company assumes responsibility and has, therefore, set out its understanding of its duties and the resulting measures in the guidelines for responsible procurement, which function as its supply chain policy. The guidelines, which came into force on 1 November 2024, supplement existing requirements such as the Code of Conduct for Suppliers. 

Since the end of November 2024, there has been an option to report violations of the guidelines or the Code of Conduct via the externally managed whistleblowing system. No reports of misconduct in the supply chain were received in the 2024 reporting year. 

In order to identify any risks of child labour or other practices that violate human rights at an early stage, BLS regularly identifies the countries of origin of the products it purchases. In 2024, the product master data to be analysed for this comprised around 29,000 products from around 560 suppliers. BLS makes an initial risk classification based on the country of origin, and this then dictates whether an in-depth investigative check is carried out. In 2024, a total of 20 suppliers were subjected to an investigative check, although none of the suspicions were substantiated.