Global Child Forum Benchmark - Additional Insight: Private and state-owned companies

GLO BAL CH I LD FO RU M IS I N ITIATED BY H . M . KI N G CARL XVI GUSTAF AN D H . M . Q U EEN SI LVIA O F SWEDEN

ADDENDUM TO:

THE CORPORATE SECTOR AND CHILDREN’S RIGHTS IN THE NORDIC REGION Additional insight: Private & state-owned companies

I N CO L L A B O R AT I O N W I T H :

COMPARISON NON-LISTED AND LISTED COMPANIES In the recent report The Corporate Sector and Children’s Rights in the Nordic Region, Global Child Forum and the Boston Consulting Group published the results from a benchmarking of how the 299 largest1 listed Nordic companies address children’s rights in their public

STATE-OWNED COMPANIES

reporting. To compare the findings from the screening of publicly listed companies, we assessed 30 non-listed Nordic companies; the 15 largest privately owned and the 15 largest state-owned. A summary of those results are presented here 2 .

PRIVATE COMPANIES AVERAGE SCORE

2.1

AVERAGE SCORE

3.7

HIGH-SCORING COMPANIES3 4

15 LARGEST LISTED COMPANIES AVERAGE SCORE

5.1

Of a total possible score of 9, the privately owned companies scored on average 2.1 points, while state-owned companies scored 3.7 on average. In contrast, the 15 largest listed companies scored 5.1 on average. One explanation for the difference could be that stringent regulations on sustainability, reporting, and board accountability that affect primarily listed and stateowned companies are in place in the region.

Due to the small sample size, not all industries are fully represented; approximately half of the private companies are in the CONSUMER GOODS industry, with the remainder spread across OIL, GAS & UTILITIES, FOOD & BEVERAGE and INDUSTRIALS. The state owned companies assessed are in all of the industries except ICT.

1 Based on revenue.

2 For more information about the methodology and the indicators used in the screening,

listed companies, please see The Corporate Sector and Children’s RIghts in the Nordic Region.

4 The IKEA Group is regstered in the Netherlands. As a consequence, they are not part of the sample of companies included in the total average score of private Nordic companies. However, because of their Nordic origins, their child rights practices have been analysed for the sake of knowledge sharing.

please see The Corporate Sector and Children’s Rights in the Nordic Region, www.globalchildforum.org/resources/childrens-rights-corporate-sector-nordic-region/ 3 Companies that score 6–9 points are considered high-scorers. Here, only state-owned and privately held companies are shown. For the high-scoring publicly

Addendum to: The Corporate Sector and Children’s Rights in the Nordic Region

2

COMPARISON RESULTS PER INDICATOR (%) PRIVATE

STATEOWNED

LARGEST LISTED

BOARD ACCOUNTABILITY

0

47

53

MATERIALITY & RISK ASSESSMENT

13

40

33

CHILD LABOUR POLICY

67

87

93

ADDRESSING CHILDREN’S RIGHTS ISSUES OTHER THAN CHILD LABOUR

20

40

67

PERFORMANCE REPORTING

13

7

47

COLLABORATIONS WITH CHILD RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS

13

20

47

CHARITY AND/OR PROGRAMS RELATED TO CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

73

40

80

When looking at the results for each of the indicators, it is notable that: • None of the privately owned companies have received points on Board Accountability and only two companies (13%) have identified their potential impact on children’s rights in risk assessments and materiality analyses.

• The private and state owned companies are lagging behind the listed companies when it comes to

reporting on the results of their policies, for example against child labour, and establishing strategic collaborations with child rights organisations.

• The privately owned companies have an opportunity to improve in addressing children’s rights issues other than child labour, such as product responsibility, responsible marketing or sexual exploitation.

Addendum to: The Corporate Sector and Children’s Rights in the Nordic Region

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INITIATED BY H . M . KING CARL XVI GUSTAF AND H . M . QUEEN SILVIA OF SWEDEN

Global Child Forum 2017 DESIGN This Way Up

MARCH 2017