Assignmnent 3 - CSR assisgnment 3 on Primark PDF

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CSR assisgnment 3 on Primark...

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Jorawar Singh ASSIGNMENT 3

Unit 20: Investigating corporal social responsibility Assignment 3 of 3: CSR in action at a major private sector business Learning aim: review CSR record of a major private sector business - Jorawar Singh

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Jorawar Singh ASSIGNMENT 3

Contents page: Page 1: Title page Page 2: Contents page Page 3: Introduction, Background and Section 1 Page 12: Section 2 Page 21: Section 21 Page 26: Judgement Page 28: Bibliography Page 29: Screenshots of some of the website I have used

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Jorawar Singh ASSIGNMENT 3

Introduction I'm looking for a career that requires and involves corporate social responsibility, and the effect it has on big companies as well. As part of my work in a small business article service, it is my duty to study a large private sector company's CSR, looking at both advantages and disadvantages and to if it has importance in the way it helps the business be the way it is. This article will include an evaluative report on the role of a CSR policy, the recognition of an external body, and the role it has played in helping to transform my chosen company. The article would also have a reasonable conclusion that is clearly justified by well-balanced, advanced arguments and backed by use of research and facts at the end.

Background Primark is a clothing retail store which originally started out in Ireland and is currently owned by the ABF (Associated British Foods). There are a total of 384 stores worldwide with 215 being in the UK and the company is continuously expanding due to stores having customers come in frequently thanks to its low prices and good quality clothing as well as having products or goods suited to all target markets from babies to men and women of elderly age. At the time of writing, Primark has approximately 21, 827 employees. The Irish based clothing retailer is known for being a company that thrives off being on the high street despite the decline of it and due to this it does not have any online websites to shop.

Section 1: CSR in action at a major private sector business CSR reports / social audits: A CSR report for any business is a comparison of their business performance overall (which takes all business aspects into account) measured against how ethical the business has been in pursuing those tasks over 12 months to 24 months.

Stakeholders: Within a business there are stakeholders who affect the way the business operates both internally and externally and can be a sole reason for a business to either achieve a profit or loss. Internal stakeholders are members that are part of a businesses structure and those include managers, staff, board of directors and shareholders. Stakeholders with an outside influence could be customers, local and wider communities, governments, competitors, and suppliers.

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Jorawar Singh ASSIGNMENT 3

Primark’s positive ethical practices sourced from their CSR record To avoid the consequences of having bad ethical practices Primark have invested into a department called the responsible Trading and Environmental Protection Team of Primark which is responsible for applying ethical guidelines through their extra schemes and policies for Primark to adhere to such as: 

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Primark signed the Cotton Pledge in2015, pledging not to intentionally source cotton from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to produce any goods until the Government of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan ends the practice of forced child and adult labour in its cotton industry. This commitment means that any cotton created through forced labour does not come to Primark stores to highlight that Primark does not comply with these current problems. The Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy of ABF has been adopted by Primark. Wherever business is conducted, ABF is committed to providing the highest standards of behavioural ethics and compliance with all relevant laws. Stopping all bribery and corruption that involves the disadvantage to someone or illegal gain for someone is the forefront of ABF'S aims. Primark also shares our clients' concerns with respect to the equal and ethical treatment of animals. This covers both their clothing products/brands as well as fabrics and materials. Primark manufacturers can also not supply materials containing any of the following for Primark goods: real fur, duck or goose skin or feathers, exotic skins, mohair, and angora fibre. In addition, Primark's own branded cosmetics have never been tested on animals and are recognized for products free from animal testing from the Cruelty Free International Leaping Bunny Programme. Primark is also ethically invested in the environment as the main goal is to minimise the environmental impact of its activities, including the Primark network of shops, offices, transport, and distribution centres, while ensuring that the diverse range of goods they deliver from their global supply chain is generated in an environmentally friendly way. In addition to complying with environmental legislation in each of the countries in which it operates, they constantly raise awareness of environmental protection where and when possible. Within this, they focus on six main targets: Responsible Procurement-They source materials and goods from renewable and traceable sources via supply chain. Control of chemicals and emissions - Primark is collaborating with its supply chain to reach zero usage and discharge of contaminants known to be hazardous. They also spend time and resources in researching better alternatives to processing goods and materials in facilities so that they have effective measures in place to avoid and monitor emissions. Resources and waste-Primark always focuses on lowering the number of non-renewable materials in goods, reducing packaging ratios, and

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Jorawar Singh ASSIGNMENT 3 seeking product reuse and recycling opportunities. Energy production and greenhouse gases-They are seeking to boost energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in chain stores, offices, and the supply chain, as well as collaborating with them to improve energy efficiency. Water management and conservation-In farming and manufacturing processes, Primark and its supply chain aim to boost water efficiency.

Modern slavery Primark understands that women face increased risks of modern slavery and realises that their company can play an important role in helping to achieve a United Nations Goal of "Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.". Primark train all staff on sexuality affairs and work with all stakeholders to concentrate and build on women's rights and women's empowerment. This may be outside of the UK within the workplace and in supply chains. Identifying it involves engaging between with men and women by teaching, information, training, and active conversations. This is to show that they are doing their bit in defeating a current issues. Primark does research using previous CSR reports and publicly credible records to build an evaluation of each supplier they supply from. This consists of political, economic, social and prison evaluation. Reports cover all sectors and industries in Primark. This enables them to: know exactly what's happening, which include the most necessary risks like forced and child labour an in 2020, they began enhancing how likely a country will allow pressured labour. They also recognize the reasons of these risks and pick main stakeholders and projects operating on who can rectify the issue. Each member of the Ethical Trade and Environmental Sustainability (ETES) team at Primark must sit once a year in the online AntiBribery and Corruption training module of ABF. In addition, ABF lawyers visit teams in supply chain countries every 18 months to provide face-to-face instruction, to discuss and allow specific questions or concerns to be addressed and answered if Primark feels that place may be needed of it. Primark adopt an open environment in all matters and promote efficient and truthful communication. Their whistleblowing policy offers advice, for people who feel they need to raise concerns with Primark and is structured to protect the person against any sort of harm.

Sustainable Textiles Evidence Another way Primark are ethical is through their textiles such as the way its produced, sourced, transported, sustainability and awareness. Primark has a list of targets for their textiles with some being achieved such as:    

Creation of a wool policy - muesling Chemical and environmental management Raising awareness – such as discrimination, working hours, child labour etc. Knowing more about their supply chain and how they work – farming and sourcing textiles.

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Jorawar Singh ASSIGNMENT 3 

Engagement with customers – letting them know about extra sustainable fabric procurement

They also outlined current goals they intend on reaching through time and money invested by them to show they’re making effort such as: 

Increased sustainable cotton – to create more flow of cotton coming in

Investing in Employee Schemes Primark value employees and respect their contribution toward the company’s success. That is why it's vital to Primark that their health and safety is considered. Primark are also devoted to having a diversified and broad working environment in which everyone is respected, there are equal possibilities for promotion which is why they created:    

133,245 jobs provided £46 million of Primark’s profits were reinvested into health and safety risk avoidance for staff. 53% of employees are women as well as there being 37% of women that have senior management jobs A 1.3 million hour of training to help employees across the year.

Environmental Responsibilities The world's resources are under increasing pressure from the high needs of a growing population, and these problems are affected more through climate change. Primark is working hard to minimize their environmental impact by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, allowing more effective use of electricity, water, and natural resources, and encouraging biodiversity through having:  55% of energy being renewable energy like wind or solar.  84% of rubbish sent for recycling instead of landfill  Reusing 25% of previously used water before it was returned to the ocean  £25 million invested into environment risk management

Monitoring supply chain Primark is very cautious with who they work with. Before placing an order, they select and authorize every factory and demand that anyone producing Primark goods comply with the Primark Code of Conduct standards to be a supply chain. In order to assess each manufacturer against these globally accepted requirements, Primark has checks and audits in place to regularly monitor them. A member of the Ethical Trade and Environmental

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Jorawar Singh ASSIGNMENT 3 Sustainability Team meets with the factory before Primark places its first order to clarify the necessary standards they expect and to carry out a detailed audit of current factory conditions. Inspections help in assessing the effectiveness of a factory and the way it operates. A report will help Primark to be sure that the conditions in the factory are suitable for new suppliers and their factories to be a part of Primark. It will then be audited again at least once a year once a factory has been audited and certified. In general, more than 3,000 audits are conducted each year. Primark pay for audits of supply chains to happen so that they have their own record of conditions. Reports from the Primark supply chain allow them to get a clear picture of working conditions in the manufacturer. They use various methods to get data, including fire or machine safety tests, management evaluations of people in positions such as HR, plus paperwork reviews. Confidential worker interviews are also an important and compulsory part of monitoring. They give employees the chance to confidentially tell Primark what their daily life is like and raise any problems they might have so that supply chain bosses do not have any future retaliation. In Bangladesh and Pakistan, Primark has also launched a new programme to test durability of machinery following the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh. It is important to independently inspect any factory producing goods for Primark. They have employed their own chartered engineer to amend any issues. Primark acknowledges that many employees depend on the company for a living. That's why their preference is to collaborate with suppliers and their factories in order to make the necessary improvements based on CSR report assessments to allow employees to be valued. However, if Primark discovers something important, such as corruption, they will act upon it. When they're satisfied and the problem is resolved, they'll carry on placing new orders. Furthermore, if the situation is not corrected, they will stop working with a supplier if they believe their trust has been lost or if a supplier is unwilling to change.

Primark’s negative ethical practices sourced from their CSR record Rana Plaza On April 24,2013, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, a building housing five garment factories that produced goods for approximately 28 brands collapsed, claiming the lives of 1,138 employees, and injuring more than 2,000 people. Not only was the disaster call for the international fashion industry to band together to protect the most vulnerable in their supply chains, but Primark, who came from New Waves Bottoms, a supplier in Rana Plaza, was also an urgent call to action to take a closer look at its ethics and CSR, to see where it could change. Since then, Primark has continued to collaborate with different authorities and non-profit organizations to ensure that financial advice and guidance is given to ensure families and workers financial safety.

Environmental problems 7

Jorawar Singh ASSIGNMENT 3 Since 2002, Primark has been known for its paper bags instead of plastic bags and has also launched waste and packaging reduction measures. In the United States, Primark has collaborated with the Delivering Good charity, where shops donate unsold goods to those in need. European Primark outlets have given their unsold clothing and sample sales to the New life charity since2010, which helps children with disabilities. The company has also committed to removing dangerous chemicals in its products, a pledge it made as part of the Greenpeace Detox campaign for2020, but there is no proof that it is on track to achieve its goal suggesting that Primark has made false claims which is unethical as it is technically lying to all stakeholders. In addition, greenhouse gas emission reduction measures beyond energy efficiency in stores have not been published and a reduction goal has not been set.

Labour conditions Primark witnessed the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement and the Cotton Promise, which is committed to boycotting cotton from Uzbekistan. Primark is also a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and has adopted its Code of Conduct, but a living wage payment is not guaranteed by the code. While factories are audited at least once a year at the final stage of production to track their compliance with the Code of Conduct, it is unclear if Primark is doing the same for the first and second stages of production and if it is aware of when and how the final product is produced. Primark does not manage the supply chain and can simply pass off any actions that don't comply with code of conduct for factory employees and any potential labour concerns. In addition, in the Fashion Transparency Ranking, it obtained a score of 31-40% and shows insufficient policies or protections to protect suppliers and staff in its supply chain from the effects of COVID-19.

Child Exploitation As well as this Primark were exposed for exploiting children by using them to produce clothing as young as 12 years old who were forced to work hours of 14 hours according to, Paul fletcher (journalist), to deal with ongoing surge in supply and demand especially for stores in Truro. Primark denied the accusations, arguing that it had made a lot of progress in places such as India to improve the conditions of workers. Over the past few years, Primark has also disputed claims of forced labour at its factories and frequently stated that it "knows its responsibility" to workers. In2014, however, a £10 dress purchased at a Swansea branch featured a cry-for-help label sewn with the message "forced to work exhausting hours" and a cheap top from the same store read: "Degrading sweatshop conditions". In2011, another customer who bought a pair of jeans from Primark in Belfast reported a handwritten note from China. She sent the note to Amnesty International, which said it was wrapped around a prison identification card, pleaded for help, and blamed the Chinese government for alleged abuses of human rights. The worker who wrote the message was a prisoner in the Hubei Province of China's Xiang Nan Prison and was forced to work 15 hours a day. Primark's child labour guidelines may state that no young people under the age of 15 are working in its

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Jorawar Singh ASSIGNMENT 3 supply factories, there are loopholes in the legislation that could result in a child as young as 14 entering the workforce.

Animal welfare Primark is a part of the Leather Working Group, which ensures effective leather practices and does not, as mentioned before, use fur, angora, down feather or exotic animal skin or hair in its products. However, without mentioning its suppliers, it uses leather and wool and there is no evidence that it traces any animal product to the first stage of manufacture, which is another false claim or hiding the truth. The lack of reports as evidence, despite their claims for using good methods source of materials, does not describe how animals are treated when the skin is coming off, neither is what happens to those animals after and nor is there any evidence to show how the material is transformed and it effect on the environment.

Primark’s CSR actions (positive and negative) affects on internal and external stakeholders Internal stakeholders: Employees: Due to Primark having a bad CSR image and issues with topics like child and forced labour both media and customers will be looking close at Primark especially within their stores to see if the problem happens there as well for publicity. This has led to Primark managers adopting a ‘’diverse and inclusive workplace’’ to show that they are trying to rectify the issues by investing into making workers happy such as better working conditions, training and health and safety improvements and more over opportunities for progression which is a benefit for employees as if they get this accolade it can mean they have an increase in wages.

Managers The forced labour and child labour claims will affect managers as much as employees but in a negative way. This is because the adoption of having a ‘’diverse and inclusive workplace’’, to show the media the contrast of before and after of Primark’s attitude and value for employees within the business as a whole, managers will have to identify ways the media will further destroy the company’s reputation and it is in their hands to make decisions around stores to not let that happen. Having to make important decisions that can affect a stores income of cash or morale is an important and requires time so this job on top of running the store at the same time can mean more workload and stress for managers which is not beneficial for them.

Shareholders 9

Jorawar Singh ASSIGNMENT 3 Despite Primark’s aims to better the company through multiple ways like £46 million in health and safety risk avoidance, the media can easily spread news on Primark’s bad decision-making choices which can mean the more people the news reaches the worse Primark’s looks and a stakeholder won’t want to hold s...