During 2018, we conducted 40 audits and 1029 self-assessments of suppliers in high-risk categories. We have estab-lished 177 Improvement Plans with suppliers where we identified critical and major gaps against our Third-Party Code of Conduct. We encountered no instances of modern slavery practices but in a few cases, we asked suppliers to adopt written policies on forced and bonded labour. In 2018, we were made aware of poor working conditions for workers em-ployed by subcontractors in Kenya. We take such instances very seriously and have initiated an assessment to ascertain the working conditions of impacted workers and take action to address any violations of our Third-Party Code of Con-duct.4
Focusing on our own company, in 2018 we conducted an internal labour rights self-assessment covering both direct staff and third-party employees in all our entities world-wide. We found that in a few countries where we operate, local laws and practices may require employees to obtain approval from their current employer if they wish to move to a different employer. There are also a limited number of cases where employees are granted loans by the company. Based on the assessment we will take further steps to ensure that such practices do not create a risk of involuntary labour.4