Global Sustainability Report 2018
Listening to our employees Open, honest feedback about how we’re doing
Regional employee engagement surveys are an opportunity for our colleagues to tell us how they are feeling and share their thoughts on C&A's values, our strategy, our approach to sustainability, and how we’re doing as an employer. In 2018, we surveyed employees in Brazil, China, and Mexico. Employees at our headquarters, distribution centres, and stores in Brazil reported a high degree of understanding how employees affect our sustainability practices and a large majority, 90%, indicated they are proud of C&A’s contributions to communities, society, and the environment.
Number of employees working at C&A
Our 2018 performance
Employees are proud of our sustainability work
During the 2018 employee surveys, a high proportion of employees agreed with the statement, ‘I feel proud of C&A’s contribution on the community, society, and environment’: 92% in Brazil, 93% in China, and 90% in Mexico.
Regional highlights
- In Brazil, our survey partner Korn Ferry placed C&A in their P90 group of companies following our high employee engagement scores on sustainability – meaning that we are ranked in the top 10% of companies in Brazil on this issue.
- Our engagement survey in China focused on employee pride in C&A’s contribution and on employees being able to relate sustainability practices to their job. 86% of survey respondents strongly agreed with the statement ‘I understand how sustainability practices are related to my job’.
- Also in China, 77 employees completed online and in-person sustainability training sessions in 2018.
- In Mexico, employees receive regular updates on C&A’s role in sustainability and how they can play their part in realising our vision. Recent training has focused on Better Cotton, and future training will cover other aspects of more sustainable products.
- In Europe, our Sustainable Supply Chain (SSC) team trains product teams on our SSC approach and their responsibility.
Where next?
Moving from pride to action
We’re pleased with our employee engagement scores on sustainability, which show we are connecting with our colleagues on this topic. But from 2018 onwards we have begun building on the strong employee pride in our commitments, training our colleagues to act as ambassadors for sustainability, and delivering on our 2020 goals. Our new Inspiring World campaign forms a core part of this new approach, as do our internal communications and training around #WearTheChange, Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM products, and in-store take-back programmes.
Other 2019 actions will include:
- Continued engagement with employees on #WearTheChange, such as in Mexico, which is developing an internal communications roadmap for its 2019 launch of Cradle to CradleTM Certified clothing.
- Encouraging employees to be part of the #WearTheChange movement and raise awareness about sustainability issues in Brazil.
