The Polarica Berry Group is committed to developing its sustainability in all its areas (economic, social and environmental). We have realised we must take resolute actions in the area of social sustainability in particular and more specifically in human rights responsibility, which forms its foundation. Our Human Rights Policy will streamline, guide and strengthen our human rights responsibility work.

This Human Rights Policy applies to each person and entity in the Polarica Berry Group, and builds on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

To support the Polarica Berry Group’s work on human rights responsibility and this Human Rights Policy, at the end of 2022 we conducted a human rights impact assessment (HRIA) of the Polarica Berry Group’s actions and operations, with the help of an external human rights responsibility expert.

We respect and support human rights

Human rights belong to everyone, and they are specified in the internationally recognised human rights norms adopted by states at the international level.1 The Polarica Berry Group is committed to respecting and supporting all human rights, including labour rights. As required by human rights due diligence, we take our entire value chain into consideration.

The Polarica Berry Group’s operations essentially impact on four groups of people and their human rights: the people in our own work community, the people in the supply chains, the end-users of our products, and the people in the neighbourhood of our facilities.

Specific human rights issues and norms in focus

We must pay particular attention to our supply chains and to developing our human rights responsibility with respect to the people involved in these chains. We have detected human rights risks in our raw material sourcing, including wild berry picking. These risks have been mitigated by various verification procedures such as auditing, and we continue to develop our processes and practices to prevent adverse impacts on human rights. For example, we are taking steps to ensure that work is not performed in prohibited conditions and that such human rights as the prohibition of forced or compulsory labour, illegal child labour and human trafficking are respected. We also focus on realising the rights to life and health, and living wage and trade union rights issues.

1 The most central human rights norms to be taken into account in business are stipulated in the International Bill of Human Rights (including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

With respect to our own work community, we prioritise such human rights issues as protecting life and health (occupational health and safety), addressing inappropriate behaviour (harassment, bullying, mobbing) at work, and being able to combine work and other aspect of life such as family (work-life balance).

Regarding the end-users of our products, our vigilance in food safety supports their rights to life and health. We protect the people in the neighbourhood of our facilities by, for instance, strictly controlling the emissions of our production facilities.

We are committed to the principles of equality and non-discrimination that underscore all human rights and require that all individuals are treated equally and without discrimination irrespective of their personal characteristics, for example, gender, ethnicity, minority status or age.

We are committed to continuous improvement, transparency and cooperation

The Polarica Berry Group closely follows its impacts on human rights and is committed to continuously improving its performance in human rights responsibility in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We continue to develop our human rights due diligence process, i.e. to identify the impacts of our actions and operations on human rights, and to prevent, mitigate and account for any adverse impacts.

We are committed to improving the communication and transparency of our performance in human rights responsibility. We also work together in the spirit of dialogue and cooperation with all the relevant stakeholders, including our business partners, to advance respect for human rights.

This policy is adopted by the Polarica Berry Group’s Board of Directors on 3 March 2023

The policy is centered on respecting and supporting human rights, including labor rights, across the group's value chain. The group has identified human rights risks in its raw material sourcing and takes measures to ensure human rights are respected, such as prohibiting forced labor and illegal child labor. It also pays attention to the realization of the rights to life and health, a living wage, and trade union rights.

The group is committed to equality and non-discrimination and developing its human rights due diligence process to identify and prevent adverse impacts. It promotes transparency and cooperation with all stakeholders to advance respect for human rights. This policy was adopted by the Board of Directors on March 3, 2023.