Human Rights & Social Issues: Jabil, engagement on Labour rights

Does Jabil, a US electronic equipment and parts manufacturer, have insight into its suppliers and the working conditions in its production facilities. One of our Smaller Companies Equities managers, Kempen, engaged the company on this issue in 2023, with the aim to understand the extent to which Jabil has control of its supply chain and to communicate how important it is that it does. Sustainable operations and robust control of supply chains reduce the risks of controversies and reputational damage, and thus also of worsening company results. The engagement conversations revealed that Jabil had screened no less than 95% of its production locations by the summer of 2023 and had checked the rest by the end of 2023. They encouraged the company to further increase its ambitions with the Responsible Business Alliance, a collaboration between electronics companies specifically focusing on sustainability in supply chains. One way of doing this is to enhance its supervision of and working conditions at suppliers and plants Jabil works with further. The company has committed to decide on this issue in 2024 and it will be monitored closely.

At the time of publication (May 2024) Jabil were held in our Smaller Companies Equities portfolio.