Global Compact International Yearbook 2016

External feedback
A leading industry example
PMI’s approach to addressing child labor
has come a long way since Human Rights
Watch reported on tobacco-growing in
Kazakhstan in 2009. The US Department
of Labor has since removed Kazakhstan
tobacco from the list of goods produced
from child labor, following a review
and acknowledgement of PMI’s efforts
to eliminate it in the country. Human
Rights Watch has since acknowledged
PMI’s policy efforts and transparency,
both in the United States and in their
latest report on Indonesia: “Transparency
is a key element of effective and credible
human rights due diligence. Philip
Morris International appears to have
taken the greatest number of steps to
be transparent about its human rights
policies and monitoring procedures,
including by publishing on its website
its own progress reports as well as several
detailed reports by third party monitors.”
Looking ahead
PMI has established a long-term strategic partnership with Verité, a leading NGO
in supply chain responsibility, to support the ALP program globally. In the first
phase of the program, Verité helped PMI develop the ALP Code, roll it out among
PMI affiliate and supplier staff in tobacco-growing regions, and provide training on
labor issues to worldwide agronomy and ALP staff. Verité is also working with PMI
to establish partnerships with local NGOs and other stakeholders to address the
root causes of underlying labor problems and establish grievance reporting and
remedy mechanisms. Now that the ALP program has largely moved beyond the
initial setup phase in most markets, Verité continues to support PMI with ongoing
capacity-building, technical assistance on issues such as monitoring and impact
evaluation, and strategic advice about the ALP program.
“Verité continues to experience PMI as a partner that is open to external input,
responsive to stakeholder suggestions, valuing of others’ expertise, strategic
in its thinking, committed in its resourcing, and reflective on the need to adapt.
The company’s approach to the serious problems in its tobacco production over
the past five years puts it at the leadership level among multinationals.” [...]
“PMI continues to achieve a commendable level of disclosure. During this period
[2014–2015], the company published on its website third-party assessment
reports on ALP implementation in Brazil, Mexico, Italy, the Philippines, and the
United States with additional reports from audits conducted during 2014–2015
forthcoming. This monitoring is done against 32 measurable Standards on over
450,000 farms in approximately 30 countries – a massive undertaking that
bolsters the credibility and validity of PMI’s problem-solving interventions.”
Verité’s Chief Executive Officer, Dan Viederman, commenting in PMI’s Third ALP Progress Report
PMI is strongly committed to improving
living and working conditions and
addressing child labor and other labor
abuses in its tobacco-growing supply chain.
Alongside the many process challenges
of making sure risks are identified on
farms and effective steps are taken
to address them, these are difficult,
emotional, and culturally-sensitive issues
to resolve. PMI will continue to build on
the strong foundations of ALP program
implementation, ranging from improved
data collection and support to farmers
in meeting the ALP Code, to ongoing
farm-by-farm monitoring, and support
to help farmers continuously improve
and address problematic practices.
External assessments remain essential
in understanding the impact of activities
and to identify areas for improvement.
Close cooperation with government, civil
society, and other industry partners to
develop lasting solutions to these issues is
also a fundamental part of PMI’s approach,
together with openly sharing the learnings
of the program through transparent public
reporting on progress.
Global Compact International Yearbook 2016 93