SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICE
At IDÉ House of Brands, we are committed to sustainable business practices that respect people, society and the environment. This means that we want to lead by example in our industry.
Our goal is to have more transparency and greater knowledge transfer at all stages from production to delivery. We care about our customers' commitment to sustainability and want to make it easy to choose sustainable alternatives in product media. Here we mean both in the choice of materials, production and shipping methods. We believe that if more people think about sustainability in the purchasing process, together we can make a difference.
Responsible purchasing practices are one of our most important means of maintaining sustainable business practices. This is where we can strengthen our partners' ability to deliver on the requirements we set to ensure good conditions for people, society and the environment.
We challenge our partners to adapt their own operations and products so that they do not harm people, society and the environment. As our customer, you can rest assured that we always promote products from approved manufacturers who set strict requirements for their own production.
ARE SUSTAINABLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY THE SAME THING?
No, not quite.
Making better environmental choices means acting in a way that has the least possible impact on the environment. Much of what falls under this term will also be sustainable - but the term sustainable encompasses more.
To create sustainable development, the world must work in three areas: the environment, social conditions and the economy.
These are called the three pillars of sustainable development, and it is the connection between these three pillars that determines whether something is sustainable.
In recent years, more and more concepts within environment, sustainability and production have emerged. What do these actually mean? The answer is here!
HOW CAN YOUR COMPANY SHOW CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY THROUGH THIS YEAR'S CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR EMPLOYEES?
OUR CODE OF CONDUCT
IDÉ House of Brands is dedicated to sustainable business practices that respect people, society and the environment. Our guidelines include the Code of Conduct and form the basis for our sustainability work.
OUR PARTNERS
We expect our partners to work purposefully to comply with our supplier guidelines, including principles for sustainable business practices, which cover basic requirements for human rights, labor rights, anti-corruption, animal welfare and the environment.
OUR CLIMATE ACCOUNTING
At IDÉ House of Brands, we are taking responsibility beyond our value chain by investing in the Thor Heyerdal Climate Park tree planting project, located in the Ayeyarwady region of Myanmar. We are proud to plant trees to offset our scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions in all countries where we operate. These official carbon credits fund 3.5 mangrove trees per ton of carbon dioxide emitted.
TRANSPARENCY ACT
All companies are expected by the Norwegian authorities to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for how they manage the risk of negative impact and address harm to people, society, and the environment. This applies to both the business sector, public sector, and organizations. Starting from July 1, 2022, larger enterprises are, through the Transparency Act, legally required to perform this work and demonstrate transparency by publicly reporting on their efforts.
OUR CERTIFICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
ETHICAL TRADE
Working conditions in the factories and international human rights have always been our top priority. Therefore, we conduct annual inspections at our factories and have a close collaboration with local inspectors to ensure that all laws and regulations are followed. When selecting business partners and collaborators, our choices are based on strong ethical values. They should avoid contributing to corruption, violation of human rights, poor working conditions, or harmful effects on local communities and the environment.
Ethical Trade Norway (ETN) is a committed partnership between industry, trade unions, organizations, and public agencies.
ETN is a driving force and a resource center for ethical trade. Ethical trade means that companies and other stakeholders contribute to improving working conditions and the environment in the supply chain. At IDÉ House of Brands, we define corporate social responsibility as "A long-term commitment to succeed commercially through work practices that respect ethical values, people, the environment, and nature." We report to the Ethical Trading Initiative every year, and the reports are made public.
Why is IDÉ a member of EHN?
ETN is the leading competence center for ethical trade in Norway and the Nordic region, providing us with essential tools and resources to work effectively and responsibly with ethical trade. Through collaboration with ETN, we have undertaken several commitments. For instance, we have endorsed ETN's declaration of principles, implemented guidelines for ethical trade, actively strive to bring about tangible improvements in labor and environmental conditions within the supply chain, report annually on our status and progress, and engage in continuous monitoring and follow-up.
ECOVADIS
IDÉ House of Brands has achieved Silver in EcoVadis' evaluation of our sustainability performance, placing us in the top 25% of all businesses globally participating in this assessment.
What is EcoVadis and what do they measure?
EcoVadis provides a system that allows companies to assess their own and their supply chain's level of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
It encompasses 21 CSR indicators across four main themes: environment, ethics, decent working conditions and human rights, as well as sustainable procurement.
What did we do to obtain an EcoVadis assessment?
To receive an evaluation, we provided documentation for all four areas. It's not sufficient to merely present a document stating that we are doing something – we must demonstrate that we are actually implementing it.
This is a very thorough process that requires a substantial amount of effort and collaboration among several teams at IDÉ House of Brands.
What are the main benefits of having an EcoVadis assessment?
It provides us with the opportunity to showcase to all our stakeholders the investment that IDÉ House of Brands is making in sustainable business practices.
We are an ethical company that cares about our own employees, our customers, the environment, the surroundings, and the communities we are a part of.
How does EcoVadis contribute to improvements at IDÉ House of Brands?EcoVadis enables us to assess how well we are performing and identifies areas where we need to improve. It is advantageous to have specialists working with many large and global companies to evaluate our practices from an external perspective. This allows us to benchmark ourselves against others in the industry, as well as other leading organizations, many of which are our customers.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
The certification benefits both our customers and us. A stronger level of quality assurance and service results in a more comprehensive treatment from all our departments in the Nordic region.
ISO 9001 and 14001
ISO 9001 Quality Management is the international standard for quality management. This standard was updated in 2015, making it relevant for today's and tomorrow's society. ISO 9001 provides organizations with the recipe for consistently meeting quality requirements that align with customer expectations. The standard particularly takes into account the complex supply chains that businesses must navigate. We have renewed our certification every year since 2004 according to the applicable standards.
bluesign® SYSTEM PARTNER
IDÉ House of Brands wants to lead by example in the industry and is proud to be one of the bluesign® System Partners.
bluesign®'s mission is to ensure that the brands and textile products of bluesign® System Partners have the highest possible level of safety for their consumers, minimal impact on people and the environment, as well as responsible use of resources.
bluesign® works in the long term in close collaboration with the management and procurement of bluesign® System Partners to exclude health or environmentally harmful materials throughout the textile production chain, from fiber, yarn, dyes, and additives to finished fabric and product.
In addition to this, emissions to water, land, and air are also minimized, along with the use of resources such as water and electricity, as well as considerations for health and safety conditions in the factories. bluesign® also assists with training, impact reporting, and indexing for each garment. bluesign® is a part of SGS with access to 2600 laboratories and its own staff in 150 countries.
IDÉ HOUSE OF BRANDS & UN GLOBAL GOALS
The UN's Sustainable Development Goals are the world's shared agenda to eradicate poverty, combat inequality, and halt climate change by 2030. This plan requires efforts from governments, businesses, and individuals alike. We have selected five of the goals that we are particularly committed to working towards.
