Respecting human rights in the supply chain
In all operations, we follow the principles of acting with fairness and respecting human rights, whether we are dealing with our personnel or any other stakeholders. Promoting and ensuring decent working conditions is an essential aspect of sustainable and responsible development. Decent working conditions involve, for example, opportunities for work that is productive and delivers fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, and better prospects for personal development.
Nokian Tyres is committed to conducting its business operations in a manner that respects all internationally recognized human rights, understood as, at a minimum, those expressed in the International Bill of Human Rights and the principles concerning fundamental rights set out in the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and expects the same of its suppliers.
We have conducted a human rights assessment that covered 32 internationally recognized human rights, included in the Bill of Human Rights. The following document, ‘The relationship between Business and Human Rights’, published by the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, was used as support and normative through the assessment. Just and favorable working conditions and decent living conditions were defined as being exposed to the most salient risks.
We expect our suppliers to share the strive towards a more socially sustainable supply chain, where decent working conditions are promoted. Nokian Tyres is committed and further expects its suppliers, for example, to:
• Actively prevent child labor.
• Provide its employees at least with the minimum wage as required by local laws.
• Provide its employees with a safe working environment.
• Respect the rights of migrant and foreign workers and promote ethical recruitment practice and take reasonable steps to ensure that recruitment fees and other associated costs are not born by employees.
• Provide decent living conditions (e.g. adequate housing, access to drinking water and the right to food and food security) for employees working and living on site, and to support the same for local communities.
• Ensure that labor rights related safeguards apply to all employees, with no distinction being made on discriminatory grounds or employment status.
Audits help identify the topics to be improved
Nokian Tyres started a partnership with an external auditor in 2016 to improve sustainability in the natural rubber value chain. We have developed natural rubber sustainability auditing process together with a consulting company, and it is based on Nokian Tyres’ Supplier Code of Conduct and principles that comply with the UN Global Compact goals. The audit model also evaluates the suppliers’ alignment with Nokian Tyres Guideline for Sustainable Natural Rubber, Biodiversity and Deforestation.
We exclusively purchase rubber processed in the plants that the company has approved. In 2025, we conducted five new sustainability audits of natural rubber processing plants that are our suppliers. After the audit, the full report is shared with the supplier to show their shortcomings and to highlight the positive findings. This gives valuable information for the supplier about how they can improve their operations. We require the suppliers to provide corrective action plans to improve on the shortcomings. We aim to perform follow-up audits every three years on the high sustainability risk suppliers’ sites.