Our responsibility

OECD and human rights

Responsible corporate governance is not only a matter of course for us, it is also the basis of our success. By applying the OECD Guidance, we are fulfilling our duty of care and ensuring that we minimise our social and environmental impact as far as possible.

Due diligence process

According to the OECD Guidance, «due diligence» is the duty-of-care process that companies should undertake to identify, prevent and mitigate the actual and potential adverse impacts of their operations, supply chains and other business relationships, and to account for how they address these impacts.

Our management approach to corporate due diligence follows the steps defined in the OECD Guidance.

1. Anchor responsible corporate behaviour in strategies and management systems
An interdisciplinary task force has been in place at the Federation of Migros Cooperatives (FMC) since 2022 to strategically anchor the OECD Guidance in the company. It steers the strategic implementation of the Guidance throughout the Migros Group. The task force consists of representatives from Sustainability and Legal & Compliance. It also works closely with the Finance department, Risk Management, HR and Internal Auditing. There is also a steering group that monitors implementation.

Each Migros Group company also has a central contact person who is responsible for anchoring the implementation of all sustainability issues, including the OECD Guidance, in the company.

The OECD Guidance is covered by existing management systems; the few existing gaps are closed in a timely manner.

The chapters on human rights and the environment are integrated into the Migros Group requirements in the Migros Group sustainability mission statement.

We manage consumer interests as part of our Group-wide quality management and via the management system for data protection. The topic of fighting corruption is part of our Code of Conduct, which forms the basis for our compliance management system. The “Employment & social partnership” chapter is covered by the Migros Group’s N-CLA.

More about our sustainability governance
2. Identify and assess actual and potential negative impacts associated with the company’s business activities, products or services
In 2023, the Migros Group further developed its materiality analysis and applied the “double materiality” methodology.

We take a risk-based approach to all topics, i.e. where the probability of occurrence and severity of a negative impact is high, we carry out an extensive due diligence process. What this means in each individual case can be found on the respective topic pages.
3. Eliminate, avoid and mitigate negative impacts
We have defined specific strategies, measures and targets for each key topic and disclose these transparently on our corporate website.
4. Track implementation and results
All objectives and requirements in our Migros Group sustainability mission statement are subject to sustainability monitoring once a year. Thanks to an internal progress report with the results, the status of implementation becomes transparent and the implementation of the OECD Guidance can be optimally managed by the decision makers.

Depending on the topic, there are additional control mechanisms. For example, compliance with social standards by suppliers is checked by means of on-site audits.
5. Communicate handling of impacts
We communicate our impacts, management approaches and progress transparently as part of our annual sustainability reporting. In doing so, we adhere to the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The 2023 Sustainability Report will be published on 26 March 2024, at the same time as the Migros Group Annual Report.

The implementation of the OECD Guidance is an ongoing process that we regularly review and update. Due to the complexity and sector diversity of the Migros Group, we prioritise the biggest impacts and business areas as a first step.

OECD chapter overview

Human rights
Since its foundation, Migros has been committed to social issues and a responsible market economy. Respect for internationally proclaimed human rights is a matter of course for us, and human rights due diligence is an important part of our business activities. We are guided by the OECD Guidance, but also by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the ILO core labour standards and other international instruments.

We work daily to respect the aforementioned frameworks in all areas of our business activities and to consistently exercise our human rights due diligence. The human rights policy statement explains our approach to this issue in more detail and explains the scope of application and implementation:

Our requirements for compliance with social standards
- Migros Group Human Rights Policy Statement
  pdf, 139 kB
Employment and social partnership
As one of the largest employers in Switzerland, it is important to us to promote fair working practices, respect the rights of employees and prevent discrimination.

More about our personnel policy
Environment
According to our materiality analysis, we have a significant negative impact on the following environmental issues in particular:
Consumer interests
The protection of consumer interests is important to us, and we therefore apply fair business, marketing and advertising practices. We also ensure the quality and reliability of the products we offer. See here for more information about this:
Anti-corruption policy
The Migros Group rejects bribery and corruption in all its forms, which is why we have a Code of Conduct as the basis of our compliance management system that applies to all Migros Group employees.

See here for more about the internal control instruments
Disclosure
We fulfil our duty of disclosure with our annual sustainability reporting in accordance with the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Our GRI content index