International Responsible Business Conduct
Stone operates internationally and therefore has an important responsibility far beyond its local branches in Belgium.
TruStone
Stone nv is a member of BNSA (Benelux Natural Stone Association). On Friday 10 May 2019, all BNSA members signed IRBC’s TruStone initiative at the cabinet of ex-Minister-President Bourgeois.
As shareholder and board member of BNSA, Stone nv is part of the TruStone initiative core group. The Dutch and Flemish natural stone sectors, together with the Dutch and Flemish governments, NGOs and trade unions, have made agreements for a more responsible production and purchase of natural stone. This joint initiative is called the TruStone initiative.
This initiative aims to trade natural stone in a more socially responsible way. Natural stone is often quarried and processed in conditions where there is a violation of human and/or labor rights or where the environment is seriously damaged.
The TruStone objective is clear: all parties involved want to create more transparency and actively take a stand against the environmental damages and human rights violations that may still occur in the extraction of natural stone in Asia, Africa and South America. As an individual company, it can be hard to make a difference; as a sector however, in collaboration with organizations and the government, we are much stronger.
However, it is not possible to tackle everything at once. Based on an initial global inventory of risks based on public reports (cfr. www.imvoconvenanten.nl/en/trustone/initiatief/publicaties) and our own visits, we estimate that in our supply chain the severity and scale of risks to TruStone's core themes are greatest in Rajasthan, India. We also discussed this with the RVO and parties participating in TruStone. We then decided last year to first conduct further research with key suppliers in India and, if possible, to already address risks.
Through active participation in stakeholder meetings, audits of own suppliers by external parties (Xertifics and ASK) and partnerships with locally active NGOs (ARISA) and Trade Unions, we not only want to create more transparency for our own chain, but also contribute to a general improvement of the natural stone sector in India. Since the start of the initiative, several groupings have already been formed (Quarry-Owners Association, Cobbleyard Association, Exporting Companies...) that endorse the importance of the initiative, as do the importers at the other end of the chain. It’s only by scaling up that we can actively make a difference in the field, by excluding forced labor or child labor, providing potable water and sanitation, ensure traceability of materials and labor to a fair wage – all while operating in an environmentally conscious way.
Through the stakeholder meetings, we were able to prioritize the following objectives by severity and likelihood:
- good health and well-being
- clean water and sanitation
- fair labor and economic growth
- climate action
- partnership to achieve goals
The expertise and insights Stone builds within this working group form the basis for sourcing from other 'risk areas'. After all, we are continuing to identify risks in other countries in the meantime. In 2022, for example, Stone committed to actively contribute to risk analyses commissioned by TruStone parties in Brazil and Turkey.
IRBC integrated into the purchase of natural stone
Stone nv has drawn up a code of conduct in collaboration with the natural stone federation BNSA; translating our corporate values, this obliges us and all our suppliers to adhere to a number of important legal, ethical, environmental and social values and standards. This code of conduct is embedded in the management and development of our product portfolio and sourcing of materials. The CoC is as important here as product, price and availability. It forms the basis on which every collaboration with existing or new suppliers is assessed. Together with our suppliers, we strive to implement this CoC in our partnerships.
The correctness of the information provided is continually monitored and checked by Stone during visits to quarries, during meetings or by checking the certificates or technical sheets provided. Stone always seeks to contribute, help or bring about improvement through dialogue.
Any breaches of the CoC can be reported to Stone at any time, either openly or anonymously at info@stone.be. Stone is a member of Trustone, which has its own complaints procedure and can be contacted at trustone-complaints@internationalrbc.org in order to reach a settlement or solution.