Human rights
Human rights are fundamental to the protection of human dignity and freedom. The Zurich Airport Group is committed to upholding them, including throughout its value chain.
Relevance
As a signatory of the UN Global Compact, the Zurich Airport Group has undertaken to protect human rights and not to be complicit in human rights violations along the entire value chain. The Compact covers issues such as child labour, forced labour, health and safety, freedom of assembly and the right to collective bargaining, property guarantees and the prevention of discrimination.
Approach
The Zurich Airport Group’s commitment to human rights is set out in its Code of Conduct. In addition, comprehensive risk analyses were carried out at all sites in 2024 in order to identify human rights risks. These analyses have revealed no substantiated indications of human rights violations caused by the Zurich Airport Group.
The Code of Conduct and the risk analysis are part of a management system that also includes various human rights due diligence measures. This makes it possible to identify human rights risks in a circular approach, to prevent human rights violations or, in the event of actual violations, to implement improvement measures and to ensure redress, whether towards the Group’s own employees, employees in the value chain or other potentially affected parties such as local communities.
The due diligence measures defined in the management system include a Code of Conduct for Business Partners, which obliges partners to observe human rights and create transparency. Zurich Airport Ltd. and its majority interests reserve the right to verify compliance and to terminate the business relationship in the event of serious violations and failure to take effective action. In addition, a complaints channel has been set up at all sites for submitting reports of violations to Zurich Airport Ltd.
In Zurich, employees at higher management levels and those with decision-making authority in procurement were also trained on human rights due diligence using a newly developed e-learning programme. The management system is constantly being expanded.
Furthermore, minimum requirements in terms of human rights are also required by public procurement law, which apply to Zurich Airport Ltd. a sector company in Switzerland (see further information in the sections entitled Regional contribution and Anti-corruption). At the Zurich site, suppliers are obliged to offer Swiss working conditions and comply with occupational health and safety regulations, to follow the notification procedures and work permit rules for employees, and to offer men and women equal pay. For services provided outside Switzerland, the core conventions of the ILO must be observed. These obligations are also imposed on sub-contractors. If these obligations are not met, the contract may be revoked and the supplier barred from participating in tenders. No instances of abuse were reported during the year under review, meaning that there were no exclusions of contractual partners due to non-compliance with the requirements of public procurement law.
In the case of majority interests abroad, this topic is handled differently in each country. The contracts for the majority-owned subsidiaries in Brazil and Chile include clauses designed to prevent forced labour and child labour. At the Noida site in India, contractual clauses require companies with a concession contract to comply with the ten principles of the UN Global Compact.
At the Group’s largest airport, Zurich Airport, there is a human-rights-related impact on the guarantee of ownership: at the Zurich site, there is an obligation, under certain conditions, to provide compensation for any loss of property value caused by noise exposure. Whether the conditions are met is assessed within the framework of formal expropriation procedures, which ensures that the expropriation is lawful and that guarantee of ownership rights are upheld. The operating licence of Zurich Airport Ltd. grants it a right of expropriation (see further information in the Noise section).
Resettlements for Noida Airport
The site and perimeter of the new airport in Noida, India, were determined by the authorities of the state of Uttar Pradesh well in advance of the awarding of the airport concession to the subsidiary of Zurich Airport Ltd., Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL). The preparatory process also included the resettlement of 3,074 families, which was carried out in its entirety by and under the responsibility of the state. The provision of compensation for the relinquished land and the offer of new accommodation to the families was carried out in accordance with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act (RFCTLARR Act, 2013) and was concluded in 2023 without the possibility for YIAPL to be involved. Due to the size of the company, YIAPL is obliged by the authorities to engage in charitable activities. The company dedicates a large part of this commitment to helping the people who have been resettled. They are to be supported in their day-to-day lives in the newly created residential neighbourhoods, thereby strengthening the community (see the section entitled Regional contribution).
