The purpose of the Norwegian Transparency Act, which came into force on July 1, 2022, is to ensure that Norwegian companies work towards good working conditions and compliance with human rights throughout their supply chains.
All enterprises covered by the Act are required to carry out due diligence assessments and to report on these annually.
AS Wilfa publishes its due diligence report in accordance with the Transparency Act, through the Ethical Trade Norway report and on our website in general. The report can be read here.
At AS Wilfa, we strive to assure our customers and business partners that we monitor, understand and address negative impacts on society and the environment through responsible business conduct. This includes, among other things, carrying out thorough due diligence processes in line with the OECD framework.
At AS Wilfa, we have long worked to embed transparency, responsible business practices and sustainability (ESG) across our entire business structure. Our responsible business conduct is anchored in both the board and senior management. As a member of Ethical Trade Norway, we report in accordance with the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct. The report is submitted to Ethical Trade Norway, an organisation that works to promote sustainability and responsible business practices across sectors.
AS Wilfa recognises that our products may pose a risk of negative environmental impact, and that the production of our products may involve breaches of human rights. Since the vast majority of our products are manufactured in countries where there is a risk of human rights violations, we have introduced measures to prevent and counteract this. The greatest environmental impact also lies in the materials used in our products and in the production process itself. Our most important risk-reducing measures therefore, take place at the procurement stage and in relation to our products.
AS Wilfa currently uses 59 suppliers on the production side of our products. 58 of these come from China. Our primary goal for avoiding human rights violations has therefore been to map our factories.
Through long-term efforts, we have managed to get all of our factories except one approved by Amfori BSCI (amfori.org). This is an organisation that carries out factory inspections to ensure that no human rights violations are taking place and that trade is conducted on ethical terms. AS Wilfa has also been a member of Amfori BSCI since 2021.
In addition to Amfori approval, all factories must undergo a factory inspection carried out by our China office, which also assesses how well the factory works with ethics, social responsibility and the environment. This inspection results in a score across different areas that clearly shows where the factory has room for improvement. These areas for improvement are reviewed with the factory and will be followed up at the next factory inspection. We carry out inspections at all factories at least every three years. All factory inspections are reviewed by the category manager and compliance manager, and procurement cannot proceed until the factory inspection shows satisfactory results.
All our employees and our partner factories must also follow our ethical guidelines, known as the Code of Conduct. This can be read here: supplier_coc_3.0.pdf
Wilfa also wants to build a clear picture of our environmental impact, and since 2019 we have been certified by Eco-Lighthouse (Miljøfyrtårn). Through this, we have reported on our environmental footprint, although without the footprint generated by the products themselves. We have therefore chosen to partner with Normative to map Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. This includes production, transport, use and recycling of our products, so that we can gain a complete overview of where the greatest potential for improvement lies. Wilfa does this through material lists, lifecycle analyses, data from recycling companies and data from our factories. This has given us a clear picture of our CO2 consumption per product.
AS Wilfa is covered by the Transparency Act, and the statement above provides an overview of how we work with due diligence assessments and how we address potential negative impacts on fundamental human rights and decent working conditions. If you have questions about how we work with due diligence assessments or would like more information about our corporate responsibility efforts, you can contact us at contact@wilfa.com.