Guided by Our Credo values, we respect and promote human rights across our operations, through our business relationships and in the communities in which we operate. We are committed to upholding internationally recognized human rights standards and frameworks.40
In 2023, we updated our Position on Human rights to reflect the establishment of a four-pillar human rights framework that guides our human rights priority focus areas and related action plans. The update was also informed through benchmarking external good practices for human rights commitment statements and the approaches of our industry peers.
Governance
Our Enterprise Human Rights Governance Council (EHRGC), comprising senior leaders representing key functions, leads our global human rights program management and met regularly throughout 2023 to set priorities and monitor progress. Two members of the J&J Executive Committee—the Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer; and the Executive Vice President, Chief Technical Operations & Risk Officer—serve as executive sponsors of our human rights program and provide support and oversight. The Regulatory Compliance & Sustainability Committee (RCSC) of the Board of Directors oversees management’s approach to human rights. In 2023, the RCSC received an update outlining the continued evolution of the Company’s approach to human rights and external regulatory and stakeholder developments.
Due diligence
Our due diligence processes and management systems across our business serve to help identify and address potential and actual human rights impacts. We recognize that human rights due diligence is a process of continuous improvement, and we review and refine our approach on an ongoing basis. In 2023, we strengthened due diligence on fair working conditions for our employees and workers in our supply base by more deeply integrating due diligence procedures, risk assessments and accountabilities into human resources and procurement management systems (see section: Responsible supply base).
Maintaining a living wage
In line with our commitment to fair working conditions, we continued in 2023 to implement an annual living wage assessment in collaboration with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) to ensure employees in all the countries in which we operate receive pay that is both market competitive and sufficient to attain a sustainable standard of living. As in previous years, we made a small number of wage adjustments in countries to ensure our living wage standards were met.
Employee training
All J&J employees and selected contingent workers are assigned and required to complete Code training every 2 years, which includes guidance related to human rights. Additionally, our Foundational Human Rights Learning and Education course is available to all employees globally.
Raising concerns
The J&J Our Credo Integrity Line provides a global, accessible channel for any stakeholder to report concerns (see section Ethics & compliance).
External engagement
We participate in various external platforms to share insights and good practices across industry, including Shift’s Business Learning Program, BSR’s Human Rights Working Group and the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative Human Rights and Labor Working Group. We also work with specialist human rights organizations to inform and support our approach to human rights; in 2023, we collaborated with entities such as Impactt and Pillar Two.
40 As provided in the International Bill of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. Our approach is further guided by the UNGPs and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
