Our commitment to ethical procurement
Our policy is to buy goods and services that benefit the environment and society while meeting our business needs. We consider social, environmental and ethical factors when making purchasing decisions. To achieve this, we've established Operating Principles for both our suppliers and ourselves.
Society
We expect our suppliers to follow these social compliance standards:
- Child labour: No employment of children.
- Forced labour: No forced, bonded or involuntary labour.
- Health, safety and hygiene: Workers should have a safe and healthy environment to work in.
- Discipline: No physical abuse, harassment or intimidation.
- Freedom of association: Workers have the right to join organisations of their choosing.
- Working hours: Working hours should be reasonable with voluntary overtime.
- Equality: No discrimination whatsoever.
- Remuneration: Wages and benefits should meet national standards.
- Employment terms: Contracts should be compliant with employment laws.
Environment
Suppliers should be able to demonstrate:
- Written environmental policies.
- Ability to track and assess environmental performance.
- Use of recognised environmental management systems or plans for accreditation.
- Awareness of environmental risks in production, services or sourcing.
- Processes to reduce environmental risks.
- Consideration of environmental factors in product and service design.
Suppliers should also seek to:
- Reduce energy, water and raw material use when possible.
- Use recyclable and renewable materials whenever they can.
- Minimise waste and dispose of it safely and responsibly.
- Prevent contamination of the local environment and keep emissions within national limits.
Ethics
Suppliers must have systems to prevent:
- Money laundering.
- Insider trading.
- Conflicts of interest.
- Fraud, bribery, corruption and improper payments or gifts.
- Unauthorised access to personal and business information.