SBB credibly states that it fulfils its responsibility to uphold human rights.

In SBB’s “Principles of human rights due diligence” and the “SBB Code of Conduct”, the members of the Board of Directors and the Management Board, together with all SBB employees, have committed themselves to upholding human rights throughout the entire value chain.

SBB assesses both the potential and the actual impact of its actions on human rights.

As part of a risk and impact analysis along the entire value chain, SBB has prioritised six key human rights issues.

The following issues are priorities for us both within our own company and among our direct suppliers:

• Ensuring fair working conditions in all job categories
• Protecting physical and mental health and safety in the workplace
• Prohibiting discrimination, bullying and harassment towards employees and customers

For suppliers and subcontractors in the construction industry and further down the supply and waste disposal chain, the following human rights aspects are a priority for us in addition to the issues mentioned above:

• Guaranteeing a living wage
• Safeguarding the rights of children and young people and prohibiting child labour
• Prohibiting forced labour and modern slavery

SBB identifies effective, risk-based measures to halt, prevent and mitigate negative impacts.

SBB prioritises the implementation of measures relating to the six human rights issues mentioned above. When selecting measures, we consider both SBB’s contribution to the issue and its sphere of influence. This ensures that the measures are effective and acceptable to the company.

Preventive measures.

Preventive measures aim to improve the risk situation of people on the ground. SBB’s range of measures includes the further development of existing measures and the establishment of new ones. The following preventive measures are particularly important:

• Publishing the principles of human rights due diligence and establishing them within the company
• Defining clear responsibilities and processes, in particular the coordination mandate for SBB’s internal ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) working group, and integrating human rights risks into SBB’s risk management
• Implementing and developing our codes of conduct for employees and business partners
• Incorporating human rights issues into our procurement processes (tendering and contracts) based on an assessment of the risks
• Striving for greater transparency in our supply chains with potential risk
• Making use of industry associations and memberships (e.g. Railsponsible, UIC) to draw attention to human rights issues and work together to develop opportunities for improvement
• Providing risk-based training and awareness-raising opportunities for our employees and business partners through regular information and training measures

Control measures.

The aim of our control measures is to investigate risks and reports and to determine with due diligence whether human rights violations have actually occurred. The following control measures are particularly important:

• • Conducting and requesting regular and ad hoc risk self-assessments (e.g. EcoVadis) or social audits (e.g. amfori BSCI)
• • Integrating human rights issues into supplier discussions and supplier evaluation
• • Using and evaluating different data sources (e.g. surveys or media monitoring)

Remedial measures.

Reported incidents are received and investigated according to a standardised process. All information provided, including the identity of the informant, will be treated confidentially subject to the provisions of the law. If a compliance violation is confirmed in our own business environment, we will take appropriate measures to remedy the situation.

SBB integrates human rights due diligence into its existing business processes.

SBB has implemented a human rights due diligence management system that is integrated into its business processes and forms part of its overall risk management. Human rights issues are being integrated into corporate processes within the Group in a step-by-step, risk-based manner. SBB’s internal ESG working group is responsible for coordination.

SBB reviews the effectiveness of its measures and communicates transparently about their impacts and how they are dealt with.

SBB discloses key figures, challenges and implementation progress in relation to human rights due diligence as part of its annual reporting.

SBB has implemented an effective complaints mechanism to identify human rights implications at an early stage.

SBB employees can report suspected or actual violations of the human rights due diligence principles to their line manager or to SBB’s confidential Compliance Reporting Office (website address: compliance.sbb.ch). The reporting office is also available for reports from customers, suppliers and business partners. The platform is multilingual and reports can be submitted anonymously.

Reported incidents are received and investigated according to a standardised process. All information provided, including the identity of the informant, will be treated confidentially subject to the provisions of the law. If a compliance violation is confirmed in the company’s own business environment, appropriate measures will be taken to remedy the situation.