There is nothing new about Amgros demanding responsible business conduct. It is already included in our framework agreements for medicines and hearing aids. What is new is that we have now established a clear set of procedures for how we will focus more strongly on this area.
Firstly, the Amgros Executive Management - backed by the Board - has approved a policy for responsible business conduct. This means that we will work actively to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts on human rights and the environment in our business.
An important step in this work has been establishing a new reporting channel, which we call Speak Up. Through Speak Up, you can contact us if you suspect that we are causing, are contributing to, or are directly linked to adverse impacts on human rights and the environment - either in our own operations or in our supply chains.
- It’s always been possible to contact Amgros if you suspect adverse impacts on human rights and the environment. However, our new Speak Up scheme means we have a clear process for reporting that follows the UN and OECD guidelines, and it gives us important information so we can react," says Flemming Sonne, CEO of Amgros.
This was preceded by extensive work to identify the main risks of adverse impacts in our supply chain. Our responsible business conduct policy, risk assessment and reporting channel Speak Up, and our internal due diligence procedures mean that we have now implemented a process for managing responsible business conduct at Amgros.
Our process for following up on our responsible business conduct requirements is two-pronged.
Firstly, we will regularly follow up on selected suppliers. We will do this both to ensure that they comply with our framework agreements, and to learn how suppliers work with responsible business conduct. The second prong, as mentioned above, is that we will address specific cases based on external reports.
Many suppliers are already looking at how their business impacts the environment and human rights. We do not want to create unnecessary work for these suppliers by imposing a specific format for documentation. Both we and our suppliers need more knowledge and experience.
- Ultimately, it is about ensuring that, in creating a better framework for Danish patients, we do not compromise the health of employees in the supply chain or people in surrounding communities in Denmark and abroad.
We tightened the requirements for responsible business conduct last year in our framework agreements. All our suppliers of medicines and hearing aids must now have a due diligence process in place. This means that, in accordance with UN and OECD guidelines, they have to be able to identify, prevent and mitigate actual and potential adverse impacts on human rights, the environment and anti-corruption.
Amgros supplies public hospitals with medicines worth around DKK 10 billion every year. Many of the products we buy are produced in many different countries under very different conditions. As a manager of public funds, we have a special obligation to follow international guidelines for responsible business conduct. Therefore, it’s been natural and necessary to tighten the requirements for this particular area in our framework agreement. I'm delighted that we now also have clear processes and structures for follow up," says Flemming Sonne.
Contact
Karen Torgny
Senior Specialist- Communication
I’m responsible for overall communication at Amgros, including PR. And I help to ensure that we communicate with the surrounding world in an open and engaging manner.