Respecting human rights

Respect for human rights

Companies bear responsibility for society and for the way we treat our planet. Be it in relation to a company’s own employees or to its influence on the local communities through its activities. Respect for human and environmental rights is an integral component of all business activities at Continental.

Continental has implemented binding codes of conduct on human rights across the entire corporation. In these, we commit to respecting human rights and the core labor standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO), in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We expect the same from our business partners.

We respect human and environmental rights in our own operations and transfer our respective requirements within our global, and very complex, supply chain. We therefore defined 13 commitments in the areas of labor standards, occupational health and safety, the environment, safety practices and land rights. We explicitly expect our business partner’s to respect these commitments and apply them to their own supply chain too.

We also established a comprehensive management system for ensuring due diligence to detect risks related to our commitments within our supply chain and in our own operations. For this purpose, responsibilities, rules, and processes are clearly defined, including risk mitigation measures and control mechanisms. The management system is guided by our 13 commitments and will further develop as dynamic economic, social and environmental contexts evolve.

Grievance mechanism

Employees and third parties outside of the company have the option to report violations of our commitments, the Codes of Conduct or suspicious cases through our Integrity Hotline. Where permitted by law, notices and information may also be handed in anonymously. Reports via this hotline are followed up and any misconduct will be sanctioned accordingly. In case of violations by our business partners, Continental reserves the right to request improvement measures or to ultimately terminate the business relationship.

More information on our human rights approach can be found in our integrated sustainability report.

Further information and training opportunities on human and environmental rights, e.g. for business partners, can be found among other sources at the Business & Human Rights Navigator (BHR Navigator) which guides companies around the world to better understand and address human rights impacts in their operations and supply chains.