2020 COMPANY SELF-ASSESSMENT: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS NOW AVAILABLE

11/04/2021
Report

ICoCA is pleased to announce that the results of the 2020 Company Self-Assessment (CSA) are now available. The CSA is a questionnaire which all Member and Affiliate companies have to complete on a yearly basis. It offers companies an opportunity to reflect on successes, challenges and concerns on how the company implements the principles of the International Code of Conduct.

Read the full report here.

Approach

The Secretariat adapted the approach of the 2020 CSA to reflect what compliance with the main principles of the Code means in practice. An evidence-based system has been introduced to verify compliance and strengthen oversight of Member and Affiliate companies. The revised CSA will allow the Secretariat to systematically measure progress of Affiliates and Member companies over the coming years, including the analysis of trends over time, and to identify gaps where additional guidance may be needed. The CSA provides the opportunity for Member and Affiliate companies to receive tailored feedback in pursuit of continual improvement.

Member and Affiliate Company Requirements

To be in line with the Code, ICoCA Member and Affiliate companies are required to:

  1. Incorporate the main principles of the Code into their company policies (Human Rights Commitment).
  2. Develop appropriate due diligence measures to adequately identify, prevent and mitigate potential human rights risks and impacts (Human Rights Due Diligence).
  3. Continuously monitor and report on human rights risks and impacts and, where such impacts occur, provide effective remedy (Grievance Mechanism and Incident Reporting).
  4. Provide adequate initial and recurrent training to personnel to raise awareness of the Code requirements and familiarise them with their human rights and humanitarian law responsibilities (Training).

Response rate

The 2020 CSA was shared with a total of 105 companies (100 Member companies & 5 Affiliates) on 1 July 2020, with a deadline to submit by 23 September 2020. A total of 94 companies (90%) submitted the 2020 Company Self-Assessment. 7 companies were terminated because of non-submission of their CSA.

Recommendations

Based on the analysis of the 2020 CSA, ICoCA recommends that Member and Affiliate companies continue enforcing the following elements

  1. Further integrate the Code into management systems.
  2. Strengthen company human rights due diligence.
  3. Provide simple and understandable human rights training.
  4. Ensure accessibility of company grievance mechanisms.

Feedback

Feedback received on the process was overwhelming positive, with Member and Affiliate companies reporting that the exercise is helping improve their operations.

“The 2020 CSA is very easy to follow and makes it simple to address the requirements of the ICoCA CSA. This has been a very useful process for us and we have benefitted greatly from this year’s assessment. The structure is logical and easy to follow and clarity is clear and concise, with nothing overly complicated or unnecessary.”

ICoCA Member Company