UNIC Code of Conduct and Social Responsibility
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, IF IMPLEMENTED EFFECTIVELY, CONTRIBUTES TO PROMOTING GOOD WORKING CONDITIONS, THE GROWTH OF HUMAN CAPITAL AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF ALL RELATIONSHIPS.
The UNIC Code of Conduct and Social Responsibility, a tool made available by UNIC, is a fundamental instrument for the external dissemination of the principles that inspire a company’s activities. The document officially defines the values of conduct and social responsibility that characterise a company; the tool goes beyond the albeit fundamental sharing of the issue on a value level.
The Code is a fundamental tool for communicating the principles that inspire business activity, set out as the document in which the values of conduct and social responsibility characterising a company are officially defined. All companies that adhere to the Code must guarantee the effectiveness of what it has put in place over time, including through a field audit carried out annually by ICEC, a certification body specialising in the Italian tanning sector.
To support companies, a specific Guideline has been developed to accompany the Code. It provides useful methodological and application guidance for the interpretation and fulfilment of each requirement.
Being socially responsible for a company means not only fully meeting applicable legal obligations, but going beyond that by investing in human capital, respecting the environment and stakeholder relations, generating trust. The leather market is showing increasing interest in social responsibility, demanding compliance throughout the entire production chain.
The Code incorporates the contents of the most important international Agreements on the protection of workers’ rights (ILO) and the main voluntary standards on the subject of social responsibility (SA 8000, ISO 26000), with particular regard to minors, as well as the main requirements on social and environmental responsibilityand business ethics. Implementing the contents of this document also implies the involvement of suppliers and any subcontractors in the production chain, as far as they are concerned.
The added value of the Code is the application of international principles to sector specificities, also in relation to the provisions of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement for workers in the Italian tanning industry (CCNL Concia), of which UNIC is the signatory for employer representation.
The Code is referred to by the Tanning Collective Bargaining Agreement itself in several places and its contents and objectives are shared with sectoral union representatives in collective bargaining.
All companies in the tanning sector that apply the CCNL Concia or other equally representative and formally recognised collective bargaining agreements may adhere to it. In addition, internal agreements that enhance efficiency, flexibility and worker participation can also be established regarding its adoption.
As mentioned earlier, compliance with the requirements of the UNIC Code of Conduct and Social Accountability is attested by third-party audits by ICEC, following which a licence to use the UNIC Social Accountability logo is issued. As of June 2024, about 80 Italian tanning companies have adopted the UNIC Code of Conduct and Social Accountability. Click here to access the database of ICEC certified companies (from the ‘Certification Scheme’ menu, select ‘RSOC – Code of Conduct and Social Accountability’).