Human rights
Our position statement on human rights sets forth our commitment to support the principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption in all our business activities. It is incumbent on all company employees to help advance human rights in the communities we serve worldwide.
Download our full global position statement on human rights
Our commitment
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is committed to respecting human rights throughout our own business and our value chain. Our commitment embraces internationally recognized human rights standards, including:
- The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)i
- The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprisesii
- The International Bill of Human Rights, consisting of:
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)iii
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)iv
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)v
- The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Core Labour Rights Conventionsvi
- The International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Workvii
We take our commitment to economic, social, and environmental sustainability seriously, and extend this expectation to our partners and suppliers. We promote human rights within our own workforce and with our suppliers and strive to comply with the law in the countries where we do business. We outline supplier expectations in our Standards of Business Conduct and Ethics for Third Parties, as well as our supplier contracts.
We embrace an inclusive workforce and promote our employees' health, safety, and equitable and respectful treatment without discrimination or harassment as outlined in our Principles of Integrity.viii These Principles apply to all BMS employees, as well as contractors working on behalf of BMS. In addition, our comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety Standards Manual, part of our Health & Safety Management framework, focuses on compliance, training, and continuous improvement.
We are a signatory of the UN Global Compact and support the 10 principles set out in this framework on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. The UN Global Compact, launched in 2000, is a principle-based framework for businesses, stating 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.ix For the last 10 years, we have submitted our annual Communication of Progress.
Governance
We are firmly committed to uncompromising quality, integrity, compliance, and ethics in everything we do. As we work to transform patients’ lives through science, we operate with effective governance and the highest ethical standards to deliver our mission.
BMS’ Human Rights Global Position Statement (HRGPS) was jointly developed by the Sustainability & Social Impact and Ethics & Compliance teams, with core support from key functional areas. As part of BMS’ Sustainability & Social Impact Governance and Operating model, the HRGPS was reviewed and approved by the BMS Sustainability & Social Impact Council, a cross-functional senior management committee led by the Vice President of Global Purpose and Patient Experience and includes leaders from Ethics & Compliance, Legal, Sustainable Procurement, Environment Health Safety & Sustainability, and Global Product Development & Supply.
Human Rights-related updates, including risks and opportunities, are included within the Sustainability & Social Impact Council updates to the CEO, the CEO’s Leadership Team (the “BMSLT”) the Board Committee on Directors & Corporate Governance, which occur regularly throughout the year, and where required by local regulations, to the local managing directors.
Our human rights commitments are global and apply to our operations and across our value chain. We systematically identify and review policies and procedures across our company, focusing on our human rights and environmental priority areas, and update them to ensure alignment with our human rights commitments.
Human rights priorities
We have identified the following priorities for BMS to have the greatest positive impact on human rights. These were identified based on our ongoing human rights due diligence and internal and external stakeholder engagement:
- Right to Health
- Product Quality & Patient Safety
- Clinical Trials
- Environment
- Our workforce
- Labor Rights
Human rights due diligence
BMS supports fully the principles established under the UDHR, which addresses: the equality of all human beings; the right to life, liberty and security; personal freedom; and economic, social, and cultural freedoms. We strive to support and respect the protection of human rights and to avoid complicity in human rights abuses across the value chain; to embrace an inclusive workforce; and to promote the health, safety and equitable and respectful treatment of our employees, without discrimination or harassment.
Training & awareness
Regular training and awareness around BMS policies and procedures is an essential element to ensure that our employees, contractors, and suppliers are upholding the values and principles that we set forth in our policies and procedures.
We require all our employees to know and to adhere to our Principles of Integrity. We also expect our contractors, consultants, vendors, and any individuals who do business with BMS to comply with the Standards of Business Conduct and Ethics for Third Parties.
In addition, our employees have voluntary training opportunities to ensure ongoing awareness and compliance with our policies and standards.
Reporting
BMS offers an Integrity Line for employees and Third Parties to report concerns related to potential violations of our policies, principles, and standards, as well as other ethical and legal violations. The Integrity Line is available 24-hour/7-days a week via telephone- or web. The confidential reporting system is available in multiple languages.
BMS has a strict policy against retaliation. Reports can be made confidentially and anonymously, where local law permits, and without fear of reprisal.
The BMS Integrity Line can be found at: bms.integrity.ethicspoint.com. BMS is committed to reviewing, and where appropriate investigating, all reports.
Anti-trafficking and modern slavery
We publish an annual statement which outlines the steps we are taking to address and prevent modern slavery and human trafficking within our own operations and across our value chain. The 2024 global statement can be viewed here and the Australia statement can be found here.
i United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf
ii The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/finance-and-investment/oecd-guidelines-for-multinational-enterprises-on-responsible-business-conduct_81f92357-en
iii Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
iv International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights
v International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-economic-social-and-cultural-rights
vi The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Core Labour Rights Conventions. https://www.ilo.org/global/standards/introduction-to-international-labour-standards/conventions-and-recommendations/lang--en/index.htm#text=The%20ILO%20Governing%20Body%20had,of%20forced%20or%20compulsory%20labour
vii International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. https://www.ilo.org/declaration/lang--en/index.htm
viii BMS Principles of Integrity. https://www.bms.com/assets/bms/us/en-us/pdf/principles-of-integrity.pdf
ix UN Global Compact. https://www.unglobalcompact.org/