There have never been more businesses talking about sustainability than there are today. For us, responsible business means continually looking at how we work, understanding our impacts and finding practical ways to improve.
At The Handmade Soap Company, we believe business can be a force for good. From our home in Slane, Co. Meath, we are committed to making thoughtful choices for our people, our community and the environment.
At The Handmade Soap Company, our purpose is to create thoughtfully made personal care and home fragrance products while making a positive contribution to our people, our local community and the environment.
From our home in Slane, Co. Meath, we are committed to supporting local employment and responsible manufacturing, making considered choices about the ingredients, materials and packaging we use, reducing waste and our environmental impact, and continually improving how we operate.
We believe business should be a force for good, balancing commercial success with our responsibility to our employees, customers, suppliers, community and the environment.
Our purpose is integrated into how we plan and operate our business. It informs our approach to responsible sourcing and supplier relationships, packaging and materials, waste and resource reduction, climate action, employee wellbeing and inclusion, our local community, and the way we listen to and consider our stakeholders.
We monitor our progress through environmental and social measures and improvement plans, including energy and waste monitoring, responsible procurement and supplier due diligence, employee feedback and inclusion initiatives, packaging and recycling programmes, and our climate action commitments.
Our leadership reviews progress against our purpose, social and environmental performance and stakeholder commitments as part of our ongoing governance and business planning.
Our story began with soaps being made by hand in Slane. As the business grew, our connection with nature and our responsibility to the people and communities around us remained important to how we wanted the company to develop.
Becoming a Certified B Corporation represented an important milestone in that journey.
B Corp certification assesses a company's social, environmental and governance practices and requires businesses to demonstrate that they continue to meet B Lab's standards and ongoing improvement requirements.
For us, B Corp is more than a certification. It provides a framework through which we can continue to examine our impact, strengthen our practices and hold ourselves accountable for improvement.
The Handmade Soap Company recognises the urgent need for businesses to respond to climate change.
We support the global ambition to limit global warming to 1.5°C and are committed to understanding, measuring and progressively reducing the climate impact associated with our operations and value chain.
Our Climate Action Plan establishes measurable targets and actions covering areas including energy, waste, packaging, procurement and engagement with suppliers and other stakeholders.
Responsibility for implementing the plan is allocated across the business, with progress reviewed by management and our highest governing body.
Our Climate Action Plan is reviewed and updated at least every 36 months.
The Handmade Soap Company is committed to respecting internationally recognised human rights throughout our operations and business relationships.
Our approach is informed by and supports the principles contained in:
The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Bill of Human Rights; and the International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
We seek to respect the rights and dignity of our employees and the people who may be affected by our operations, products, sourcing and supply chain.
Our approach includes responsible procurement and supplier due diligence, fair and respectful employment practices, health and safety, equality and inclusion, and mechanisms through which workers and other stakeholders can raise concerns.
We consider environmental and social impacts when making procurement decisions and work with suppliers to understand the materials, products and services we purchase.
Our supplier due-diligence process considers areas including environmental management, worker health and safety, human rights and ethical labour practices.
We are also working to better understand and reduce the impact of our packaging and waste. This includes monitoring packaging through our Repak reporting, working with packaging and recycling partners, improving waste segregation and recycling, and assessing packaging materials and environmental credentials.
Where we communicate environmental attributes or certifications relating to particular materials or products, we aim to ensure those claims are specific and supported by appropriate supplier or certification evidence.
We are committed to creating a workplace where people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.
Our Employee Handbook includes policies covering equality, diversity and inclusion, dignity at work, anti-bullying and harassment, and processes through which employees can raise concerns.
We also seek feedback from our employees about their experience of fairness, inclusion, belonging, accessibility and equal opportunity. This feedback helps inform our workplace and JEDI actions and identify areas where we can continue to improve.
Our decisions can affect many different people and interests.
We therefore seek to consider the interests of our employees, customers, suppliers, investors, local community and the environment when making decisions.
We use a range of engagement mechanisms including employee consultation and surveys, customer feedback, supplier assessments and engagement, governance reviews, environmental monitoring and community engagement.
Our stakeholder governance approach is reviewed as part of our ongoing management and governance processes.
The Handmade Soap Company is committed to conducting its business responsibly and to listening to people who may be affected by our activities.
Employees, customers, suppliers, members of our local community and other stakeholders can raise concerns about potential adverse impacts associated with our operations or business relationships.
We are committed to treating grievances fairly, respectfully and confidentially. We do not tolerate retaliation, victimisation or intimidation against anyone who raises a concern in good faith or participates in the grievance process.
We will acknowledge grievances within 5 working days and explain the next steps. Where a matter is accepted as a grievance, we will investigate it fairly, keep the complainant informed and seek an appropriate resolution.
Where a matter is not accepted as a grievance, we will explain the reason.
The Handmade Soap Company does not currently engage in lobbying activities and does not make financial or in-kind political contributions. We do not use company resources to support political parties, political candidates or political campaigns.
We may participate in industry associations, sustainability initiatives, regulatory discussions and collaborative projects relevant to our business.
If we engage in lobbying in the future, we will do so only where it is intended to contribute positively to society or the environment. Our position will be informed by reliable information and, where relevant, scientific evidence.
Any such activity will be conducted transparently, lawfully and in line with our commitments to responsible business conduct, anti-bribery and anti-corruption.
We are committed to communicating responsibly about our social and environmental performance.
Environmental and social claims made by The Handmade Soap Company should be accurate, specific, verifiable and supported by appropriate evidence. We aim to communicate our progress transparently, including relevant limitations and areas where further improvement is required.
We do not want sustainability communication to overstate what we have achieved. Our marketing and communications teams are expected to retain appropriate evidence for environmental and social claims and follow our internal Responsible Marketing, Environmental & Social Claims Policy.
Responsible business is an ongoing journey.
We know that progress requires measurement, accountability, listening and a willingness to change. We will continue to monitor our environmental and social performance, listen to our stakeholders and review our commitments as the business develops.
We want to share both our progress and the areas where more work remains to be done.
Our aim is simple: to keep learning, keep improving and continue building a business that makes a positive contribution to our people, our community and the environment.
