Corporate Responsibility Policy

21 February 2018  |  Sustainability  |  Green Element  |  Leave a comment

Our Ethos

We are committed to:

• Continuous improvement of our Corporate Responsibility (CR) strategy;
• Encouraging our business partners to strive for matching performance;
• Acting in a responsible way;
• Continually improving our performance and meeting all relevant legislation;
• Encouraging our staff to be mindful of the effect of their actions on any natural resource.
• Treating our employees with respect and creating an equitable, safe and healthy environment for all of our staff
• Our corporate responsibility ethos has enabled B Corp certification which is reviewed annually

Purpose and Aims

• The purpose of the policy is to make clear to all what we mean by CR and how we propose to work towards achieving it. The CR policy applies throughout all of the Procurement Service and governs our approach to all our activities;

In implementing this policy we aim to:

• Be responsible;
• Be an exemplar of good practice.

Standards of business conduct

• We recognise that good CR embraces all aspects of sustainable development and the way we affect people through our business operations;
• We will assess which social issues are of most relevance to the contract and decide at what stage in the procurement lifecycle this social policy could most effectively and legally be included;
• We shall operate in a way that safeguards against unfair business practices;
• We believe that a responsible approach to developing relationships between companies and the communities they serve, global or local, is a vital part of delivering business success;
• When carrying out our business, in consultation with our customers, we will determine the environmental, social and economic issues;
• We will continually review our policies and business practices.
• We are dedicated to being a responsible and sustainable business by maintaining the highest standards of ethical, social and environmental conduct, and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. We are committed to making a positive contribution to ethical business practices, quality of life in society and to the protection of the environment.
• We expect the same commitment from our suppliers.
• Our code of conduct reflects the universally accepted principals contained in United Nations Global Compact; namely human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption, and draws upon the International Labour Organisation conventions, Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Corporate Governance

• We will share and declare information on personal and corporate conflicts of interest and seek guidance from higher authority before acting;
• We are committed to ensuring that our business is conducted in all respects according to rigorous ethical, professional and legal standards;
• All the laws that regulate and apply will be complied with;
• We endeavour to ensure that stakeholders have confidence in the decision-making and management processes of the Procurement Service, by the conduct and professionalism of all staff. We do this by continually training and developing our staff;
• All groups and individuals with whom we have a business relationship will be treated in a fair, open and respectful manner;
• Competition will be reasonable and based upon the quality, value and integrity of the products and services being supplied;
• Feedback on performance will be actively sought, and we will continually review all activities to ensure best practice is observed at all times;
• We will allow our customers and vendors to give feedback on our performance and ensure that all customer comments are analysed, responded to and where appropriate, acted upon;

Environment

• We have a separate Environmental Policy which is available to the public and supplied to all our staff

Human Rights

• We aim to support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights;
• Vendors are actively encouraged to observe international human rights within their work

Equality and Diversity

• We aim to eliminate discrimination on any grounds and promote equality of opportunity in the workplace and in our supply chain;
• We will ensure that our customers and vendors are able to work together in confidence and be treated with respect by each party;
• We promote equality and respect in the workplace, and are proud to include people from minority groups amongst our workforce
• Our range of contracts will take account of the needs of the diverse customer base.

Impact on Society

• We will take steps to understand how we can most effectively support the needs of the local community and implement initiatives accordingly;
• Our impact on the local and wider community will be understood and nurtured;
• Dialogue with local communities shall be encouraged for mutual benefit.

Ethics and Ethical Trading

• We will ensure clear visibility through our supply chains, so we know where all our products are made;
• Training will be provided to relevant people on environmental and social issues affecting our supply chains;
• We will ensure that vendors uphold the workplace standards and behaviours consistent with the company’s requirements.