Oatly Human Rights Policy
INTRODUCTION
Oatly’s mission defines our values and guides our actions: Oatly exists to make it easy for people to eat better and live healthier lives without recklessly taxing the planet’s resources in the process. From the very beginning, this mission was shaped by a team of passionate food scientists determined to create a healthy, delicious alternative for those with dairy allergies. Human beings, their health, happiness and how they live in balance with the planet are our “raison d’être”. As we work every day to bring our mission to life, we remain deeply committed to upholding the dignity, rights, and well-being of everyone in our value chain. Because at Oatly, we believe that respecting human rights is not only good for business, it’s the right thing to do.
OUR COMMITMENT
We exist because of the humans who create and consume Oatly products. We commit to respecting the human rights of all people across our value chain, including the communities we operate in.
We are committed to respecting the internationally recognized human rights and standards set out in:
- the International Bill of Human Rights (consisting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights)
- the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
- the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)
- the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
- the UN Sustainable Development Goals
- the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles
- UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
We comply with the laws of the countries in which we operate. We acknowledge that in some countries, national laws may fall short of, or contradict, international human rights standards. In cases of differences between national law and international human rights standards, we will respect the higher standard. Where conflicts arise, we will seek to uphold our human rights commitments to the fullest extent possible.
We expect everyone working in our own operations, and all our business partners to understand and share the commitments set out in this policy. We communicate these commitments and bring this to life through human rights training for employees.
Our expectations are embedded in our Code of Conduct & Business Ethics Policy, Supplier Code of Conduct, Whistleblower Policy and our Sustainability Plan and they inform other policies, practices, and partnerships.
OUR APPROACH
We take a risk-based approach to human rights due diligence (HRDD) and integrate HRDD into our business processes to ensure we effectively identify, prevent, mitigate and account for any adverse impact on human rights arising through our activities and business relationships.
OUR HUMAN RIGHTS PRIORITIES
Our global human rights priorities are based on identification of the human rights at risk of the most severe negative impact through our activities and business relationships – these are our salient issues. To identify our salient issues, we regularly identify and assess any actual and potential adverse human rights impacts across our value chain. Our process includes analysis of information from employee engagement surveys and grievance mechanisms, data and information from supplier audits, external country level and supply chain risk assessments, and dialogue with employees, workers, business partners and experts. We pay particular attention to identifying any adverse impacts on individuals and groups who may be at greater risk due to their vulnerability or marginalization, including children, women and girls, migrant workers, indigenous communities and independent farmers in our strategic ingredients supply chains. By regularly reviewing our global impact assessment and monitoring any emerging issues, we ensure our efforts remain focused, responsive, and aligned with where we can make the greatest difference.
INTEGRATION AND ACTION
Our salient human rights issues highlight the interconnectedness between adverse impacts on climate, nature and people, and the need for an integrated response. Our efforts to address these issues are therefore documented in a shared roadmap with responsibilities across our sustainability team and other relevant functions.
Our actions to prevent and mitigate salient issues are guided by the nature of the impact, the affected stakeholders and geographic location, with an increased need for leverage, collaboration and partnerships to address issues in high-risk countries and upstream strategic ingredient supply chains.
More information about how we work with suppliers to prevent and mitigate human rights impacts can be found in our Supplier Code of Conduct and annual Transparency in Supply Chains Statement.
MONITORING AND COMMUNICATION
Information about our human rights performance and impact on human rights, including our contribution to relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals, is communicated and reported transparently in our annual Sustainability Report and Modern Slavery statements.
REMEDIATION
We are committed to remedying any adverse human rights impacts that we have caused or contributed to, and to using our leverage to encourage remediation for impacts directly linked to our business activities.
We recognize the importance of effective grievance mechanisms to help us spot potential impacts early and to provide access to remedy for actual impacts. We are committed to providing clear, accessible grievance mechanisms for employees, workers and third parties across our value chain. When needed, we will also work with judicial and non-judicial grievance mechanisms to ensure access to remedy.
In our own operations, we aim to provide a safe, open environment where everyone feels empowered to speak up, as well as a confidential, convenient and reliable methods for reporting any incidents of misconduct including alleged harassment, sexual harassment, and discrimination.
Any person who wishes to report a grievance related to human rights is encouraged to follow our guidelines for our process and investigation laid out in our internal grievance procedures or our Whistleblower Policy which includes access to our anonymous Oatly Whistleblower Hotline.
We encourage our business partners to provide their own effective grievance mechanisms. However, our Oatly Whistleblower Hotline is available to any third party that would prefer to contact us directly and we have a zero-tolerance policy for retaliation.
STRENGTHENING OUR PROCESS
We commit to continuous improvement in how we implement HRDD and uphold respect for human rights. We expect all employees, partners, and suppliers to share our commitment to continuous improvement.
GOVERNANCE
At Oatly, human rights are not a side note. From sourcing decisions to strategic planning and review, leadership is responsible for making sure our values show up in action—not just in policy statements. With that in mind, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the owner of this Policy and is responsible to the Board’s Nominating, Corporate Governance and Sustainability Committee for maintaining the accuracy of the Policy. The CEO shall review this Policy, at least annually, in order to ensure that it remains accurate and complies with applicable rules and regulations. Any material changes to the Policy require approval by the Board’s Nominating, Corporate Governance and Sustainability Committee. The CEO and General Counsel, acting together, may make immaterial and administrative changes to the Policy.