BHP says the launch of the BHP Ethical Supply Chain program will engage its suppliers in efforts to manage human rights risks throughout their supply chains and position the miner to respond to the evolving human rights landscape across its own supply chain.

The company said it recognised many men, women and children are today victims of human rights abuses, and a growth in regulatory instruments around the world is indicative of the increasing expectations on businesses to help address applicable human rights risks.

“We remain committed to the ongoing partnership with our suppliers to build long-lasting, productive and sustainable relationships to unlock shared value for all of our businesses,” BHP said.

As one of the world’s leading resources company with a procurement spend of $20 billion across 10,000 suppliers, BHP was aware of the responsibility and opportunity it has to identify, understand and seek to mitigate human rights risks across its supply chain together, it said.

In this respect, the launch of the BHP Ethical Supply Chain program is a key next step in the company’s shared sustainability journey.

BHP’s Chief Procurement Officer, Sundeep Singh, said: “The Ethical Supply Chain program continues our commitment to increasing the level of transparency in our supply chain and partnering with our supply base to do this – it remains a critical consideration for anyone that wants to do business with us.

“With the current COVID-19 pandemic, we must continue our positive collaboration and recognise the need to be aware of and reactive to the risks for downstream supply chain workers and vulnerable people. Human rights violations are the furthest anyone could possibly be from the shared value we want to generate with our partners.”

BHP’s Ethical Supply Chain Guide provides industry standards and guiding principles to help suppliers develop their own policies and processes to meet the recently updated Minimum Requirements for Suppliers, it said.

Adhering to these minimum requirements are a prerequisite to doing business with BHP, it said.

The program will be underpinned by supplier due diligence processes, which will be managed by the company’s Ethical Supply Chain team, the company added.