1. About Oskar Pedersen
Oskar Pedersen AS ("OP" or Oskar Pedersen") is a family-owned company in its fourth generation and has supplied quality goods since its establishment in 1925. OP has ten employees, and its head office is located in Kristiansand, Norway. OP is 100 % family owned through Top1 Holding AS (90 %) and Topedersen Holding AS (10 %).
OP grew from being a ship chandler to become a major supplier of substances, doing business in several sectors and with customers in both offshore- and marine-based activities. In the 1990s, OP shifted focus toward supplying operative solutions for the governments in the Scandinavian countries. This includes supply of uniforms, tents, tactical gear, operative solutions, and various equipment to public customers, including the military and the police.
The company has no production of its own, but serves as e.g tender advisors, bid managers, contract managers, and marketing agents for manufacturers/suppliers in regards to the customers, who are the public sector. After almost three decades honing this expertise, OP has become highly competent and competitive within this niche.
2. How Oskar Pedersen works to ensure human rights and corporate social responsibility
Our ambition is to be a leading company within both social- and environmental awareness, and we are dedicated to strengthening corporate social responsibility and sustainability throughout all of our supply chains. As a contractor for textile products for several government customers we always cognizant of the historic risk of poor working conditions and non-ethical work practices within the textile industry.
Our goal is to ensure confidence for our customers and ourselves that Oskar Pedersen’s supply chains is 100% ethical and 100% in compliance with any, and all applicable CSR requirements.
Oskar Pedersen’s quality management system provides guidelines and work processes to vet, review, and perform due diligence of our business partners where the industry, location or circumstances deems there to be an inherent risk of breach of human rights and non-acceptable working conditions.
These guidelines includes, but are not limited to, the following:
• A cohesive bid/sales process that includes risk reviews.
• Vetting and review of potential manufacturers and suppliers.
• Procedures for informing stakeholders and seek professional guidance for mitigating actions in accordance with the Norwegian transparency act.
Our due diligence reviews are performed by business intelligence experts, and can be tiered and scaled to accommodate the risk at hand and/or customer requirements.
Oskar Pedersen’s standard terms and conditions contains requirements for our partners to comply with all relevant conventions and international standards regarding human rights, worker rights and anti-corruption practices. Further, OP has in place guidelines to ensure human rights and decent working conditions within the company.
3. Findings and measures
OP's business activities in Norway primarily consists of administrative and sales activities, and OP has not identified any risks relating to human rights and decent working in connection with these activities. The employees have a good working environment, and they have employment contracts in accordance with applicable labour legislation.
Given the low risks associated with the business operations in Norway, OP has prioritized to allocate greater effort towards conducting due diligence assessments of the supply chains, hereunder in particular textile manufacturers, and cut and trim providers.
Considering OP's activities, the following risks are deemed to be of utmost relevance in terms of human rights and decent working conditions:
• Wages and compensation
• Migrant workers/third-party workers
• Working hours
• Health and safety
• Previous regulation and litigation actions
• Board member’s/owner’s previous history of unsatisfactory working conditions
• Civil and political rights
• Country-risk
The due diligence assessments of the supply chains has consisted of conducting a due diligence screening based on a risk-based approach, which included several of OP's most important production partners in both Europe and Asia. During this screening no significant risks or actual adverse impacts relating to human rights and decent working conditions were identified. Further, no tangible risks that required actions were located during this screening.
However, while no significant risks or actual adverse impacts related to human rights and decent working conditions have been uncovered so far, Oskar Pedersen remains committed to conducting ongoing due diligence assessments to identify and promptly resolve any significant risk or actual adverse impacts that may be revealed during the process. Further, Oskar Pedersen has in place tools and action plans to conduct further due diligence assessments if necessary based on the findings made in the initial assessment phase.
If any instances of unacceptable human rights violations or working conditions are to be uncovered, Oskar Pedersen has implemented action plans to effectively address and guide the affected parties in achieving satisfactory working conditions in compliance with OP's standards. These actions may include contractual remedies stipulated in OP's contracts and action plans that are integrated into OP's quality system.
Between June 2023 – June 2024, OP has conducted due diligence checks with IDD screening of new suppliers. Furthermore, we have carried out audits of selected subcontractors, with on-site visits to Bangladesh, Estonia, Latvia and Norway. The subcontractors have been selected through a risk assessment with regard to the country of production and type of business. No severe findings have been discovered during the audits in this period. Minor findings have been followed up at the individual supplier (e.g: use of safety shoes in connection with certain work procedures), with demand for subsequent documentation of the implemented corrective actions.