Policy regarding rights of children against sexual exploitation

As a founding member of the World Childhood Foundation, Carlson Companies and the Carlson family support every child’s right to a safe and secure childhood, and believes everyone has the right to grow up and develop without fear of exploitation or harm. The protection of children from exploitation is not only moral but a societal imperative, for “what is done to children they will do to society.”

To this end we are signatories to the ECPAT Code of Conduct:

1. To establish an ethical policy regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children.

2. To train the personnel in the country of origin and travel destinations.

3. To introduce a clause in contracts with suppliers, stating a common repudiation of commercial sexual exploitation of children.

4. To provide information to travelers by means of catalogues, brochures, in-flight films, ticket-slips, home pages, etc.

5. To provide information to local "key persons" at the destinations.

6. To report annually.

In addition, we pledge to conduct our business according to the following guidelines:

 
Our People

We will equip all employees with the necessary knowledge and training needed for their position to identify and report possible exploitative activity to authorities, and require them to do so.

We will inform all employees that it is a criminal offence to sexually exploit children, and we will report suspected cases of child sexual exploitation to the local police.

Our Partners

We will ensure that our future partner and franchise agreements have appropriate language prohibiting exploitative activity in their businesses (including films or materials promoting prohibited activity); with penalties in place for permitting such activity, up to and including contract termination and or expulsion from the applicable Carlson franchise system.

We will not do business with any organization which knowingly participates in any way in the sexual exploitation of children.

 
Our Actions

We will ensure that movies shown in our hotels do not involve the sexual exploitation of children.

We will inform our customers and guests about our policy through means of brochures, home page and in-room information.

We will prohibit the use of all company equipment for the viewing, storage, distribution, promotion or other use of materials which sexually exploit children. Employees engaging in this activity face severe penalties, up to and including immediate termination and referral of the incident to local police.

We will never use images or concepts in our marketing which sexually exploit children.

Suspected violations of this policy must be immediately reported to the Carlson Ethics Hotline:
U.S. and Canada: 800-377-3729
International: +1-763-212-3056

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