OMV’s policies, actions, and targets are designed to address material positive and negative impacts, risks, and opportunities that are identified in relation to workers in the value chain. Inadequate application of human rights principles, such as failure to ensure adequate health and safety conditions or provide accessible grievance channels to address factors causing discrimination and harassment, could have a negative impact on workers in our value chain. This can result in potential reputational erosion driven by unequal treatment and opportunities for these workers, posing a substantial risk to OMV. Additionally, the loss of skilled employees and the decreasing quality of work carried out by suppliers and contractors due to unequal rights and opportunities could further exacerbate this risk.
Conversely, active supplier engagement on safety ensures the safe handling of OMV’s products and services, leading to a safe and healthy environment, which could have a positive impact on workers in our value chain. By promoting and protecting human rights across the supply chain through supplier engagement and customer excellence, OMV will achieve strong human rights principles along the value chain, resulting in another positive impact. By applying OMV’s social principles and promoting them to workers in the value chain, we can gain a competitive advantage. This approach enhances profitability through access to a skilled workforce across the value chain. Furthermore, OMV contributes to promoting a Just Transition by implementing timely measures that aim to develop workers’ skills and improve their employability in other sectors. OMV’s policies, actions, and targets are designed to address these material positive and negative impacts, risks, and opportunities that have been identified in relation to workers in the value chain. For details on our material IROs for S2 Workers in the Value Chain, see ESRS 2 General Information.
ESRS 2 SBM-3 Interaction of Material IROs with the Strategy and Business Model
All the workers in the upstream and downstream value chain materially impacted by OMV are included in the scope of disclosure. In the upstream sector, this includes workers of contractors (Tier 1) and subcontractors (Tier n) performing services at OMV’s sites or on behalf of OMV, such as drilling, road, water, and air transportation, maintenance, engineering, facility management, catering, security, drivers, and consultants working from their own offices. It also includes workers of Tier 1 suppliers delivering goods and materials to OMV, such as compressors, raw materials, pipes, and engines. In the downstream sector, this includes workers who handle our products and services, even if they do not work directly on our sites. Both upstream and downstream workers are subject to material impacts, including the potential inadequate application of human rights principles, promotion of strong human rights principles, and active engagement on safety. For detailed information on OMV’s material sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities across our value chain, see ESRS 2 General Information.
Workers identified as potentially vulnerable to negative impacts include migrant workers, people with special needs, minorities, women, young and elderly workers, workers from indigenous communities, those in hazardous roles or high-risk locations such as conflict zones and remote areas, workers with care responsibilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals.
In order to identify countries with a high risk for workers in the value chain from a human rights perspective, we use the Maplecroft global risk scoring system (Verisk Maplecroft is a company specialized in assessing and mapping geopolitical, environmental, social, and economic risks). Based on Maplecroft data, we consider countries with a high risk from a human rights perspective to be those countries scoring up to 5 out of 10 (the Verisk Maplecroft index score is presented on a scale of 0.00 to 10.00, where 0.00 represents the highest risk and 10.00 represents the lowest risk). These are Yemen, Libya, India, and China The potential negative impact related to the inadequate application of human rights principles is systemic and tends to occur in countries with a high risk from a human rights perspective. Our approach to managing our impact on workers in the value chain aims to avoid, mitigate, and remedy negative impact and to create a lasting positive impact. The material risks and opportunities stemming from impacts and dependencies on our value chain apply to all our value chain workers.
Some of the aspects of the negative impact are widespread and related to the insufficient monitoring of suppliers, JV partners, and other business partners, as well as the previous lack of access to an OMV grievance mechanism for all value chain workers before one was launched in Q4/2024. Other negative impacts are related to individual incidents that can occur related to health and safety conditions, discrimination, or harassment. To address identified material positive impacts, such as improving working conditions, we implement various actions. These include audits, impact and risk assessments, human rights compliance checks, and contractor safety improvements. Workers performing services at OMV’s sites or on behalf of OMV could be positively affected. Furthermore, we provide training, awareness raising, and skills development through webinars, HSSE training, and access to the TfS Academy and EcoVadis Academy platforms for workers performing services at OMV’s sites or on behalf of OMV and workers who handle our products and services, thus affecting them positively. Our own employees also receive awareness training on value chain workers’ rights through programs like mandatory human rights e-learning, which also contributes to the positive impact on workers in the value chain.
The material risks and opportunities arising from impacts and dependencies on value chain workers are related to access to qualified workers and to competitive advantage when entering business relationships. A significant risk identified is the potential loss of skilled employees and the diminishing quality of work carried out by suppliers and customers if they don’t benefit from equal rights and opportunities. Failing to ensure that the global workforce can develop professionally may lead to reduced work quality. Another risk involves reputational damage linked to working conditions, equal treatment, opportunities, and other work-related rights for value chain workers.
Conversely, several material opportunities have been identified: offering higher wages and opportunities for training and skills development enhances our access to a skilled workforce. Having skilled workers enables higher work efficiency and quality, thereby improving OMV’s profitability. Furthermore, our approach of supporting workers on a non-discriminatory basis by planning for a just transition – including timely measures to develop their skills and enhance their employability in other sectors – can lead to improved work quality enhanced by diversity and non-discrimination.
To understand how certain workers may be at greater risk of harm, OMV has identified several risk groups based on exposure to poorly regulated or monitored labor law and standards. Migrant workers might be at greater risk of harm due to their dependency on a specific job to keep their residence permit and their greater likelihood of not having a supportive social and family network nearby. People with special needs might rely on additional conditions to ensure equal opportunities, such as barrier-free access to facilities. Minorities, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and workers from indigenous communities might face unequal opportunities and working conditions in contexts where they are structurally or routinely discriminated against. Young and elderly workers often face heightened vulnerability due to their greater dependence on their job, either from lack of experience or limited options to find alternative employment if needed. Lone workers, lacking opportunities for professional exchange, are thus more at risk of harm. Workers exposed to hazardous substances, working at height, on offshore platforms, or in other challenging environments are more prone to health and safety impacts than others. Those in conflict zones or remote areas face risks to their security, physical, and mental integrity due to their location in high-risk areas. Workers with care responsibilities are more vulnerable due to the challenge of balancing professional duties with care responsibilities, particularly in cases involving the care of the elderly, those with permanent or long-term illnesses, or when single caretakers bear the sole responsibility for their dependents. All these groups are more likely to be exposed to harm in contexts of poorly regulated or monitored labor law and standards. We apply a thorough methodology to identify risks for these potentially vulnerable groups. This involves using surveys and data analysis, such as supplier risk reports and monitoring, and the internal incident reporting system. Monitoring and continuous improvement are achieved through regular assessments, including workplace audits, supplier and contractor audits, and feedback from workers in the value chain (e.g., Synergi, audits). An example of how we integrate the feedback from workers in the value chain is the HSSE annual plan.
In line with OMV’s materiality assessment process (see IRO-1 in General Information) and the results of the assessment for the topic related to Workers in the Value Chain (see S2 Material IRO table), the material risks arising from impacts and dependencies on value chain workers relate to workers with particular characteristics described above, primarily in regard to the application of human rights principles.