Human Rights
OMV Petrom is a signatory of the UN Global Compact since 2013 and considers as universal values, which guide our conduct in all aspects of our activities. We respect, fulfill and support them in accordance with principles defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – including those of the International Labour Organization. Led by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we continue to develop our management system for human rights. Key elements are the OMV Human Rights Policy Statement which is assumed and followed in OMV Petrom and the OMV Group Human Rights Matrix.
The respect for human rights is fundamental to our activities. Particular emphasis is placed on the prevention of human rights violations and the integration of human rights issues into our decision-making processes.
OMV Petrom Group Human Rights Policy Statement
The OMV Petrom Group Human Rights Policy Statement sets out our understanding and responsibility for the protection of human rights in our business environment. It is our guiding principle for dealing with human rights issues in all aspects of our daily business life.
In order to meet our commitment, we have mapped our human rights responsibilities in a comprehensive Human Rights Matrix, which constitutes the basis for our activities in the field of human rights. It is a tool for assessing our activities in the field of human rights and for prioritizing action by distinguishing between essential, expected and desirable action to be taken.
The Group Human Rights Matrix covers responsibilities in the following areas:
- Human rights risk management in general, including compliance with national and international standards, human rights training, grievance mechanism and organizational set-up
- Equality and non-discrimination
- Security
- Health & safety
- Labor related rights, including decent wages, working hours, employee representation and provisions against forced labor, child labor and human trafficking
- Education
- Property & standard of living, including land rights
- Local communities, including free, prior and informed consultation
- Privacy and family life, including personal data protection
The Group has developed tools and techniques to assess the risks for human rights violations with respect to our business, even before we are active in a new country or start a new project. In our human rights risk assessments, we identify and assess ongoing and emerging human rights impacts and the resulting potential risks relevant to the Group business activities in the country in order to prevent and mitigate human rights risks and impacts. From these assessments we derive concrete measures in order to reduce the risk of direct and indirect involvement in human rights abuses. We are supported in our professional human rights due diligence by internationally recognized experts.
Our business partners have to sign the OMV Group Code of Conduct – including the Provisions on Human Rights – as part of their contract.
Tools like 360-degree feedback, supplier evaluations and audits assess and monitor suppliers´valuations to the principles outlined in OMV Group’s Code of Conduct.
Professional human rights training and awareness raising are crucial for bringing our human rights commitment to life. We offer a group-wide interactive e-learning program to all our employees, which guide them through norms and situations with regards to human rights. At the same time, we implement internal awareness raising measures throughout the Group.
Additionally, we give classroom trainings with internal and external experts to employees, who are especially exposed to human rights topics. These trainings equip them with know-how about our Human Rights Management System and gives room to work on concrete operational issues and local challenges.