To manage the identified material impacts, risks and opportunities related to Workers in the Value Chain, our Code of Conduct and Human Rights Policy Statement act as overarching documents outlining our general commitments to value chain workers. The HSSE Directive and Corporate Procurement Directive outline specific requirements for value chain workers hired by OMV, including those providing outsourced services (e.g., security, catering) and equipment suppliers performing regular maintenance at OMV-controlled sites, as specified in their contracts. For details on the IROs see ESRS 2 General Information.
Code of Conduct
In our Code of Conduct, we outline OMV’s commitment to human rights and expect our business partners to adhere to the same principles. They are required to identify and manage human rights risks and impacts, and to extend this due diligence requirement to their own suppliers and contractors. These specific requirements address all our material negative and positive impacts related to the human rights of value chain workers, with the objective of ensuring the adequate application of our human rights principles throughout the value chain. OMV respects workers’ rights to form and join trade unions and engage in collective bargaining. Where formal representation is prohibited, OMV facilitates alternative representation within legal constraints and refrains from actions that undermine collective representation. Forced or compulsory labor, human trafficking, slavery, and servitude are strictly prohibited, ensuring all work is voluntary and that workers do not pay recruitment fees.
OMV expects its business partners not to employ workers under 15 years old, or under 14 in countries specified in ILO Convention 138 exceptions, and to ensure that no hazardous work is carried out by workers under 18. Discrimination based on race, color, sexual or gender identity, age, origin, religion, opinion, disability, or any other status is prohibited, and any form of abuse, harassment, or discrimination in the workplace is not tolerated. OMV upholds and requests its business partners to uphold the highest health and safety standards, aiming for zero harm and ensuring safe workplaces for employees, contractors, and business partners.
For the Code of Conduct, unless otherwise specified, the process for monitoring, the scope of the policy, involvement of senior-level management, reference to third-party standards (where relevant), interests of key stakeholders in setting the policy (where relevant), and how the policy is made available to potentially affected stakeholders are covered in E1 Climate Change.
The last Code of Conduct was written in 2018. Since then, OMV has introduced a new strategy with sustainability at its core. Consequently, the Code of Conduct was revised in the current reporting year to incorporate additional values and commitments. These changes aim to enhance accountability for both our organization and our business partners in implementing responsible and sustainable business practices. This update was also necessary to meet new supplier expectations and to integrate recent legislative changes into our internal policies. With the updated Code of Conduct, we have introduced more specific and precise commitments and requirements, e.g., referring to the provision of grievance channels and a non-retaliation clause to protect anyone reporting grievances and whistleblowers.
Human Rights Policy Statement
The Human Rights Policy Statement contains guiding principles and commitments that address both the negative and positive impacts regarding the application of human rights. As part of this policy, OMV has identified its key human rights responsibilities related to relevant stakeholders, including contractors and their employees, in a comprehensive Human Rights Responsibility Matrix. This matrix forms the foundation of our human rights activities and serves as a crucial tool for their implementation. To ensure the adequate application of human rights principles, such as ensuring adequate health and safety conditions, OMV aims to adhere to the highest standards to ensure safe workplaces for its employees and contractors/suppliers. For more details, see S1 Human Rights and S1 Health, Safety & Well-Being. For the Human Rights Policy Statement, unless otherwise specified, the process for monitoring, the scope of the policy, involvement of senior-level management, reference to third-party standards (where relevant), interests of key stakeholders in setting the policy (where relevant), and how the policy is made available to potentially affected stakeholders are covered in S1 Human Rights.
Commitments for Workers in Our Value Chain
OMV’s commitments to respecting workers’ rights according to the ILO’s Fundamental Conventions and Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work are summarized in S1 Human Rights. Specifically, for our value chain workers, we are committed to upholding the highest standards to ensure safe workplaces. Our Safety Management System is founded on the OMV HSSE Policy, the HSSE Directive, and various corporate regulations. By signing our General Purchase Conditions, contractors and suppliers commit to adhering to the human rights standards outlined in our Code of Conduct. We only enter into partnerships with suppliers and contractors who align with our values. For more details, see S1 Human Rights.
In line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, our human rights due diligence (DD) activities involve continuous engagement and consultation with external stakeholders, including those impacted by our operations. We are dedicated to adopting a rights-holder perspective, ensuring that, alongside business-related risks, the actual and potential impacts on human rights are professionally assessed and appropriately addressed. OMV engages with value chain workers through annual surveys and regular town hall meetings. Some examples of this engagement include running supplier audits and assessments, holding service quality meetings, hosting forums and safety performance meetings with contractors, conducting HSSE walks with contractor managers at their facilities, and organizing annual meetings with strategic suppliers and sustainability supplier day events. To remediate negative human rights impacts that may affect our value chain workers, we provide grievance mechanisms that allow them to report their concerns anonymously. For more details, see Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for value chain workers to raise concerns.
The OMV Human Rights Policy Statement and the OMV Human Rights Management System are grounded in international human rights standards and laws, including the International Bill of Human Rights, international humanitarian law (where applicable), International Labour Organization (ILO) core treaties, the UN Global Compact, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. We also commit to acting in accordance with the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPs) and the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC). We strongly oppose forced labor, slavery, child labor, and human trafficking. This is clearly outlined in our Code of Conduct, which our supply chain partners are required to sign as part of their contract. OMV reserves the right to terminate relationships with suppliers if any instances of non-compliance with our Code of Conduct are discovered and if non-compliance is not addressed in a timely manner. For details, see S1 Human Rights.
HSSE Directive and Contractor HSSE Management Standard
The HSSE Directive and the Contractor HSSE Management Standard provide guidelines to manage the negative impact arising from failure to ensure adequate health and safety conditions, and therefore help to ensure the safety of our value chain workers. They define key HSSE responsibilities for all OMV employees, partners, and contractors who are expected to adhere to the guidelines stipulated in the HSSE Policy and our management system. OMV’s HSSE vision is “Committed to Zero Harm – Protect People, Environment, and Assets.” This vision is embedded in the HSSE Policy, which is OMV’s public commitment to health, safety, security, and the environment. Our chemicals subsidiary, Borealis, is committed to implementing the guidelines of the Responsible Care Global Charter, which is the chemical industry’s voluntary initiative aimed at continuous improvement in health and safety performance. For more details, see S1 Health, Safety & Well-Being.
OMV HSSE experts, the Sustainability and Procurement teams and representatives from the business divisions, were either directly involved in developing the HSSE Directive and Contractor HSSE Management Standard or consulted during the internal review process. Where relevant, their feedback was incorporated. For the HSSE Directive and Contractor HSSE Management Standard, unless otherwise specified, the process for monitoring, the scope of the policy, involvement of senior-level management, reference to third-party standards (where relevant), and how the policy is made available to potentially affected stakeholders are covered in S1 Health, Safety and Well-Being.
The minimum requirements for incorporating HSSE issues into all phases of the contract life cycle and the contractor management process are covered in our Contractor HSSE Management Standard. It defines a structured approach to managing the HSSE facets of contractors, from selection through to contract close-out. Employees and their representatives are consulted and involved in health and safety matters.
Corporate Procurement Directive and Purchase to Pay Standard
The Corporate Procurement Directive outlines the framework, principles, and rules for managing procurement activities within OMV, including supplier relationship management, procurement processes, and contract management. It emphasizes the importance of early procurement involvement, ethical values, and compliance with legal requirements, ensuring transparency, efficiency, and value creation. The document outlines the overall process of supplier engagement and management, detailing how human rights aspects are integrated into supplier prequalification, audits, and meetings. For example, during prequalification, we ask suppliers if they have a CSR or human rights policy and request they share it with us, while during TfS audits and assessments, the suppliers’ approach to human rights is reviewed as a distinct category. By embedding human rights in these key procurement activities, we ensure that our supply chain operates ethically and responsibly, upholding the highest standards of human rights. This approach leads to improved working conditions and opportunities for workers throughout the value chain, and further reduces the risk of reputational erosion that could arise from unequal treatment.
Additionally, our Purchase to Pay Standard defines the minimum requirements for the Group-wide Purchase to Pay process, encompassing all existing regulations within the process scope. This standard pertains to activities such as requesting, purchasing from external suppliers (excluding inter-company purchases), receiving, accounting, and paying for goods and services. Both policies manage the identified material impacts related to the application of human rights principles, and the principles and minimum standards that are stipulated therein apply to all purchasing activities within the OMV Group, except for purchasing of goods and services that are not managed by Procurement (e.g., fuels and feedstock, trading activities, etc.), as listed in the annex for Purchases out of Procurement Scope to this directive.
For the Corporate Procurement Directive and Purchase to Pay Standard, unless otherwise specified, the process for monitoring, the scope of the policy, involvement of senior-level management, reference to third-party standards (where relevant), interests of key stakeholders in setting the policy (where relevant), and how the policy is made available to potentially affected stakeholders are covered in G1 Supplier Relationships. These policies apply to suppliers and contractors. They address the material IROs related to competitive advantage, application of the human rights principles, and loss of skilled personnel.
Prequalification
The Corporate Procurement Directive requires a comprehensive prequalification process for suppliers to identify and mitigate negative impacts and risks. This ensures that all potential suppliers meet our standards for environmental, social, and economic performance, aligning with our commitment to sustainable and responsible procurement practices. Such measures address both the negative and positive impacts related to the application of human rights principles, loss of skilled employees, and mitigate the risk of unequal treatment for workers in the value chain. During the reporting period, OMV maintained a strong focus on social and human rights topics in the prequalification process. Moving forward, OMV aims to continuously improve this process to further enhance human rights standards within the value chain. For more details, see G1 Supplier Relationships.
Supplier Selection
Supplier selection serves as a specific ongoing preventive action addressing all identified negative impacts and risks concerning upstream value chain workers. Governed by the Corporate Procurement Directive, this process handles both negative and positive impacts related to human rights principles, mitigates the loss of skilled employees, and reduces the risk of unequal treatment for workers in the value chain. For more details, see G1 Supplier Relationships.