Sustainability guidelines for our suppliers
Preamble
BEISSBARTH is aware of its social and ecological responsibilities and considers sustainability an important aspect of its activities. This guideline precisely describes the requirements established by Beissbarth Automotive Testing Solutions GmbH for its suppliers. BEISSBARTH considers these requirements essential for its business relationships and expects its suppliers to exhibit a similar commitment to comply with them.
Economical and ecological sustainability
BEISSBARTH expects the supplier to
- conduct its business with a focus on a long-term and sustainable relationship;
- comply with applicable national environmental standards and regulations;
- take an ecologically sustainable approach to maintaining water and air quality, keep energy consumption low, prevent unnecessary waste and dispose of waste in a appropriate manner, handle chemicals responsibly and in this way minimize emissions and environmental impact on the climate.
Responsible chemicals management
All products supplied must comply with applicable legislation regarding chemicals
Examples of statutory regulations regarding chemicals:
- REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals).
- Toxic Substances Control Act, TSCA (USA)
- Regulations corresponding to REACH and TSCA in other regions
- Workplace health and safety laws (hazardous substances)
Social sustainability
BEISSBARTH expects the supplier to:
- guarantee fair salaries and wages as well as fair workplace conditions, and not to pay less than the legally required remuneration.
- comply with laws and regulations regarding social benefits, working hours, workplace safety and health.
- not to permit unacceptable or illegal treatment of workers, forced work or child labor, and not to employ workers who cannot prove that they have reached the minimum age required by law
- support the right to organize and engage in collective bargaining
- promote equal opportunity, equal treatment and nondiscrimination
- respect the private life and personal rights of its employees, and not to tolerate any form of corruption or bribery.
Anti-corruption
The supplier agrees to combat active and passive corruption, and to comply with applicable laws intended to fight corruption and bribery. The supplier shall take appropriate actions in such cases. Active corruption shall be understood as provision or potential provision of a material or non-material benefit in order to induce action in violation of a law or regulation. Passive corruption means the assumption or requirement for a material or non-material benefit in return for acting in violation of a law or regulation. Not included in the above are socially acceptable gratuities and gifts of minimum value common in business as well as entertainment to the extent allowed by law.
The supplier agrees to have individuals (assistants and vicarious agents), any subcontractors as well as third parties involved in any way also comply with these guidelines.
Defined precisely in the following:
Article 1
Basic principles
The sustainability policy of Beissbarth for its supply chain is intended to establish standards which ensure that workers in the supply chain are treated with respect, the environment if protected, and activities are performed on the basis of ethical principles. In turn, suppliers are required to apply these standards to their own suppliers and verify compliance regularly in the course of supplier evaluation.
Article 2
Work standards
Child labor
Child labor shall not be allowed. This refers to children below the age of 15, those who have not completed their schooling or reached to minimum age required by law in the country concerned. The strictest of the above shall apply. Workers under the age of 18 shall be engaged in work that could endanger their health or safety (e.g. night shifts).
Wages and benefits
Wages and other benefits shall be paid/provided as required by law in the country concerned, especially minimum wages, compensation for overtime and legally mandated benefits. Reducing wages as a disciplinary measure shall not be allowed. Use of outside companies and temporary employment must comply with local laws.
Working time
Working hours must not exceed what is specified in local laws. Furthermore, a work week shall not exceed 60 hours, including overtime, except in emergency situations and other exceptional situations
Right to free selection of work
Modern slavery and exploitation shall not be allowed. This includes acquisition of workers through force, threat or the like. A worker's movements at the workplace shall not be restricted nor shall leaving the place of work be prevented. All workers shall have a written work agreement in their language, and be free to end the agreement at any time. Employers shall not withhold any personal documents from its workers, e.g. identification papers, immigration documents, unless allowed to do so by law. Workers shall not pay referral fees; if such become known, they must be returned to the worker.
Anti-discrimination
Work shall be possible without discrimination or harassment. The supplier shall be committed to a work environment free of discrimination regarding origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and political opinion, and shall take action against any form of insult and harassment.
Article 3
Environmental standards
At a minimum, local statutory requirements for environmental protection shall be observed.
Energy consumption and greenhouse emissions
Energy consumption and relevant greenhouse emissions must be known and documented. The supplier shall regularly check the potential for improvements to reduce emissions.
Water management
The source, consumption and discharged water shall be monitored. Water consumption shall be reduced as much as possible, and discharged water shall be treated in order to prevent damage to the environment.
Air emissions
Air emissions such as volatile organic hydrocarbons, ozone-damaging substances or exhaust gases from combustion processes associated with production must be known and monitored.
Resource management and waste management
Use of natural resources such as water, fossil fuels, minerals and wood from virgin forests shall, whenever possible, be reduced continuously through improvement of processes, reuse, recycling or material substitution.
Conflict minerals
Our supplies are obliged to refrain from using the following substances whenever possible: tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold
Article 4
Ethical standards
Fair business practices, advertising and competition
The supplier shall prohibit every form of corruption, bribery or extortion. The supplier shall establish internal standards to this end. These shall include a prohibition on anti-competitive practices.
Protection of intellectual property
The right to intellectual property shall be respected. Above all, customer and supplier information regarding technology and know-how must be protected.