In 2015, the Chambers Federation joined the United Nations Global Compact. The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. The table below shows how we are communicating on progress for the Ten Principles.
For further information on the Chambers Federations sustainability principles and practices please visit http://www.chambersfederation.com/sustainability/ or https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/participants/64881 to view our participation with the UN Global Compact.
Global Compact Principles
Human Rights
Principle 1 Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.
Principle 2 Business should make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
The Chambers Federation works in collaboration with several development stakeholders that focus, in part, on both the protection of human rights but also to assist the Company in ensuring is does not directly or indirectly engage in human rights violations. Due to the Company’s investments into CAHRAs, this is one of the most important due diligence standards the Company focuses on. A full-time compliance officer and intern team manage this internally and audit on a regular basis.
Labor Standards
Principle 3 Business should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
Principle 4 Business should uphold the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor.
The Company regularly inspects its upstream partners farms/mine sites/offices and does everything possible to ensure any organized groups, typically cooperatives, that the Company invests into/works with are compliant with both local and international forced labor, child labor, discrimination and collective
Principle 5 Business should uphold the effective abolition of child labor.
Principle 6 Business should uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
bargaining laws. This is further monitored by internal audits to ensure the Company’s efforts are effective. The Company also invests into rural communities to provide women and youth empowerment opportunities to further the Company’s investment focus on social impact.
Environment
Principle 7 Business should support a precautionary approach to environmental responsibility.
Principle 8 Business should undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.
Principle 9 Business should encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
The Chambers Federation incorporates environmental protection into its supplier contracts, monitors environmental impact of its investments and actively invests in new technologies to create a ‘net positive’ environmental impact from all of its projects. The Company finds many opportunities, specifically in the ASM community, to substantially reduce, even eliminate the usage of Mercury(Hg), Cyanide(NaCN) and Nitric Acid(HNO3).
Anti-Corruption
Principle 10 Business should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
The Chambers Federation is a US company, subject to FCPA regulations. All of the Company’s accounts are restricted in use to limit the possibilities of corruption. All accounts are audited yearly.
Measurement of Outcomes
For the 2018-2019 reporting period, the Chambers Federation has successfully continued to invest into the women-led organization, the Fair Congo Initiatives, and begun to research its entry into several new CAHRAs to expand its social impact model. To date, the Fair Congo Initiatives have: recycled over 7 tons of wood waste to produce office and home furniture; produce and export the DRC’s first premium chocolate and confectionary ingredients also grown and produced entirely by women; export the first responsible gold from a CAHRA to the US and European markets; begun producing the first woman-made jewelry in-country from responsible gold.