GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT POLICY

1. Purpose

Blue Planet Environmental Solutions Pte Ltd. is committed to providing equal opportunity to women under its Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity, Social Inclusion Policy. It is aware that the participation of women in the workforce of BP and its subsidiaries will increase in the future. In some of BP’s subsidiaries, particularly those involved in waste collection, there is a significant presence of women, adolescent girls, and children belonging to vulnerable sections of society working in the primary supply chain. BP is conscious that gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) including other forms of exploitation and abuse can occur in all settings and contexts. Experiencing violence and abuse is the worst form of human rights violation and it is well-accepted it imparts the health and well-being of not only the survivors but also their family members. This Policy expresses a firm commitment of BP to take appropriate steps for creating awareness, taking preventive steps, and preparing for providing appropriate remedies.

 

2. Scope and Applicability

This policy is applicable to all employees, including full-time, part-time, temporary, contract, interns, and trainees engaged by BP or its subsidiaries (where BP has significant control and leverage) in any official workplace capacity, as well as to the supply chain vendors, contractors, and visitors when on BP premises or conducting business on its behalf. BP expects all its contractors and business partners in the primary supply chain to adopt this Policy or to have similar policies that adhere to the policy elements and commitments described in section 3 of this Policy. BP shall clearly communicate the requirement to adopt this policy for any new business that it acquires or when it enters a long-term partnership.

 

3. Policy Elements and Commitments

3.1 Screening and Assessing GBVH Risk: BP shall carry out a systematic screening and assessment of GBVH risks in its operations including subsidiaries. The screening and risk assessment shall consider the contextual risks at a specific site including a range of contributory factors, viz., (a) country-level gender diagnostics, (b) statistics on physical violence against women, (c) cultural practices such as early marriage, (d) legal framework and remedies provided by the government, (e) ease of access to GBV service providers for survivors.

3.2 GBVH Prevention and Response Plan: BP requires an appropriate GBVH Prevention and Response Plan (GBVHPRP) to be prepared for all sites where GBVH risks are assessed as High. The GBVHPRP shall be prepared by a competent agency through a consultative process with women in the workforce and working in the primary supply chain. The appointed agency is required to follow ethical GBV consultation principles in the process of preparation of GBVHPRP.

3.3 Education and Awareness: BP is committed to bringing awareness of the GBVH among its employees and workers engaged in its work through contractors at all offices and sites irrespective of their GBVH risk level. BP shall communicate to its employees through these awareness sessions that any form of gender-based violence, including

unwelcome advances, comments, jokes, any form of verbal abuse, bullying/cyberbullying, or online harassment targeting an individual's gender identity or any behaviour that creates an offensive work environment are not to be tolerated. BP and its subsidiaries will conduct mandatory training on GBVH and set up required committees to meet legal compliance.

3.4 Special Vulnerable Target Groups: BP is conscious of the fact that GBVH incidents disproportionately affect women, adolescent girls, and children from vulnerable communities. Therefore, BP shall have targeted consultation and awareness programs for them to win their trust
.3.5 GBVH Grievance Redressal Mechanism and Support System: BP is committed to setting up a Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM) by the beginning of FY 2025 that will also deal with grievances on GBVH issues and shall assist the GBVH survivor to access the required support system including psychological counselling, free legal services, and safe-house or shelters.

3.6 Building Trust and Partnership with GBVH Service Providers: BP is committed to building trust and partnership with GBVH service providers (both Government and Civil Society Organizations) to make collective efforts toward eliminating GBVH risks.

 

4. Legality and International Standards

BP and its subsidiary companies will identify relevant national and state laws with respect to gender-based violence or harassment in the workplace. The commitments described in section 3 are to supplement any legal obligation of BP or its subsidiaries. BP will also use the guidance documents on the subject matter including (a) Addressing Gender-Based Violence and Harassment: Emerging Good Practice for the Private Sector, 2020 by EBRD, CDC and IFC; (b) British International Investment (BII) Tool kit on GBVH; and (c) Good Practice Note on Addressing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment (SEA/SH) in Investment Project Financing involving Major Civil Works, Second Edition 2020 by the World Bank.

 

5. Actions and Implementation

The ESG Department is responsible for carrying out screening and assessing GBVH risk levels for offices and sites operated by its subsidiaries. The ESG Department will engage an appropriate agency for the preparation of the GBVH Prevention and Response Plan for all sites where the GBVH risk level is high. The ESG Department will monitor the implementation of the GBVHPRP on these high-risk sites and report to BP management at quarterly intervals.

The BP assigns the responsibility for communication, training, and implementation of this Policy to the HR Department of BP in collaboration with the HR Department of its subsidiaries. The HR Department is responsible for constituting Grievance Committees (including all committees required under any specific law on GBVH) and building partnership with GBVH service providers in the locality.

BP shall maintain the strictest confidentiality of the victim/complainant throughout the entire redressal process and beyond. BP shall promptly and thoroughly investigate all reports of gender-based violence and harassment. The investigations shall be conducted confidentially, consistently, and impartially. Appropriate corrective actions shall be taken if a violation is substantiated. These actions may include counselling, education, disciplinary measures, or legal action, as necessary.

 

6. Related Documents

This Policy is to be implemented in alignment with the existing Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity, Social Inclusion Policy and Grievance Redressal Policy and the HR Manual.

 

7. Revision and Exceptions

BP shall review this Policy every five years or when such need arises, to ensure its effectiveness and compliance with applicable national and state laws and regulations. Any updates, deemed necessary, will be made to this policy to strengthen BP’s commitment to preventing and addressing gender-based violence and harassment. At present there is no approved exception to this Policy.