Does the company have a policy on human rights in its supply chain?

Supply chain human rights policy: individual answer, shared evidence

No, this is not a yes/no answer that stands alone: it is the question of whether there is a documented policy that identifies human rights risks in the supply chain, and whether that policy is also applied. A verbal agreement or an intention in an email does not count in practice; portals ask for a document, usually with title, version and date of adoption. If that document exists, the answer is "yes" with that document as evidence. If it does not exist, or if it only addresses quality or environment without mentioning human rights, "no" is the factually correct answer — even if that feels uncomfortable.

This topic overlaps with the code of conduct for own suppliers: many organisations capture human rights policy and supplier code of conduct in a single document. That is permitted, provided the document explicitly mentions human rights — forced labour, child labour, discrimination, freedom of association are the recurring terms that portals scan. A code of conduct that only addresses price, quality and delivery time does not cover this question. Also note the connection with the grievance mechanism for supply chain partners: a policy without a reporting channel is often assessed by purchasers as incomplete, even though strictly speaking this is a different question.

Where this comes from: CSRD, supply chain reporting

The question stems from the reporting obligations of Directive (EU) 2022/2464 (CSRD), which requires companies to report on their policies regarding their own staff and supply chain partners, including human rights aspects in the value chain. Purchasers who are themselves CSRD-obligated translate that obligation to their own suppliers via questionnaires — which is why this question also reaches organisations that are not themselves subject to the directive. The supply chain file contains the answer only if a source document has been uploaded; without that document, the system does not propose a "yes".