RESPONSIBLE COMPANY

Corporate Governance

Palsgaard is driven by the objectives of its owner, the Schou Foundation, and the needs and preferences of our customers. We promote transparency and accountability in all aspects of our operations, never losing sight of our responsibility as a global business working in an international community.

READ OUR CURRENT ESG REPORT

Structure and responsibilities

Palsgaard A/S is ultimately owned by the Schou Foundation. Being foundation-owned protects Palsgaard from takeover and provides us with the freedom to consider our business in a more visionary way, focusing on long-term, responsible goals rather than short-term financial returns. Our CSR Steering Committee – supported in practice by our CSR Working Committee, our Carbon-Neutrality Workgroup and our RSPO Workgroup – is responsible for carrying out our strategy.

The UN Global Compact

Palsgaard aligns itself with the 10 principles set out by the UN Global Compact, addressing human rights, employee welfare, environment and anti-corruption. Our mission, vision, values and policies support these principles, and our ESG and CSR reports also functions as our annual Communication on Progress (COP).

We aim to exclusively work with ethical and responsible suppliers that recognise and support the UN Global Compact's principles. Our Responsible Sourcing Programme is used to assess key suppliers based on these principles along with a number of our internal policies.

CSR policies

Palsgaard has formalised seven policies that guide our activities and help us achieve our objectives. These policies closely reflect our commitment to the UN Global Compact principles, and to comply with EU and local regulations in the countries in which we operate.

Responsible sourcing

Management of our supply chain is integral to our quality assurance system. We need to ensure that our raw materials meet quality and reliability standards. We also work with our suppliers to implement improvements in their work practices.

Our raw materials are grown and therefore sourced from countries worldwide. This naturally comes with a diverse mix of local rules and regulations, which can be challenging when it comes to prioritising sustainability and fair labour conditions. This is, of course, in contrast with Palsgaard's own ambitions and principles. The Responsible Sourcing Programme helps us to address some of these issues.

In particular, influencing suppliers one or more links away is a challenge. However, our Corporate Code of Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct establish requirements for suppliers and partners in business ethics, human rights and employee welfare. We ensure that our stance in this area is clear to all suppliers and we aim to maximise opportunities to influence them.

Palsgaard has supported Sedex (the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) since 2008. As a member, we answer in-depth questionnaires about all our production sites, the results of which can be made available to customers that are also members of Sedex. We have also conducted the four-pillar SMETA Sedex audit at our facilities based in Denmark, the Netherlands and Malaysia.

Our ESG and CSR reports further detail our commitments.