Gildan Recognized for Leading CSR Practices by FUNDAHRSE
Gildan was once again a recipient of the Corporate Social Responsibility Seal awarded by the Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility in Honduras (FUNDAHRSE). Gildan, the largest apparel manufacturer in the region, scored 100% in categories such as human rights, labor practices, environment and community engagement, against a manufacturing industry average of 95%.
“We are very proud to be recognized as a CSR leader in Honduras,” said Claudia Sandoval, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship, Gildan. “In the past 15 years we have built one of the industry’s most robust corporate social responsibility programs, named Genuine Responsibility™, which provides the framework that governs everything we do.” “With over 25,000 employees in Honduras, our goal is to ensure we operate responsibly and sustainably. We also strive to add value to our communities through strategic investments in healthcare and education and continuously look for new opportunities to minimize our environmental impacts.”
Gildan aims to encourage its employees in achieving their professional and personal aspirations. In 2017, as part of Gildan’s Housing Program, the Company donated over $150,000 in down payments for employees looking to purchase a new home. The Company also sponsors an entrepreneurship fair providing employees with the opportunity to showcase and sell their homemade products and services to the employee population at its Rio Nance facilities.
Investments in renewable energy, specifically biomass technologies, have allowed the Company to use high-efficiency boilers to generate steam and thermal energy for its manufacturing processes. As a result, the Company reduced its use of bunker fuel by 19% in 2017 and powered over 43% of its energy needs through renewable sources.
Last year, the Company continued its long-standing relationship with the Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital with a donation of $518,000 for the refurbishment and equipment for the newborn ward. The new ward of the hospital will provide improved medical services for close to 3,000 newborns annually. Gildan’s Glow Run 5-k marathon in Honduras united over 8,000 employees and their family members, who together raised over $55,000 for the Leonardo Martinez Hospital in Honduras.
FUNDAHRSE is a Honduran organization that promotes the management of responsible businesses and works to boost the competitiveness of small, medium and large companies by promoting the strategic integration of respect for ethical values, people, communities and the environment in a company’s decision making and business management processes. The CSR Seal is designed to recognize organizations that demonstrate leading practices related to employee and community relations, human rights, labour practices, governance, marketing, environment, and operational practices.
Now in the 12th year of the award, this year’s ceremony took place on September 6th in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
