Ethical & Sustainable Procurement Statement
Ekco is committed to ethical and sustainable procurement practices, recognising our responsibility to source products, goods, services, and works in a manner that is both ethical and sustainable. In all procurement decisions, we consider social and environmental factors alongside essential criteria such as quality, security, service, and financial value. We seek to uphold the highest ethical standards and expect the same from our suppliers, ensuring that our business practices reflect our values.
Principles
Ekco’s approach to ethical and sustainable procurement is guided by the following core principles, ensuring that our practices reflect our commitment to integrity, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship.
| Type | Principle | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Social | Community Impact | Ekco values suppliers who support the communities in which they operate, through initiatives such as job creation, training, community support programmes, and engagement in local economic development. |
| – | Equitable Business Practices |
Suppliers prefers suppliers that ensure their business practices contribute to economic equity, including providing opportunities for small and diverse suppliers within their procurement processes. |
| – | Promoting Social Innovation |
Ekco supports suppliers who actively innovate to address social challenges, such as advancing access to clean energy, improving community health, or promoting education and workforce development in underserved regions. |
| Sustainable | Environmental Responsibility |
Suppliers should actively work to minimise their environmental impact through measures such as reducing carbon emissions, managing waste responsibly, and using resources efficiently. |
| – | Sustainable Resource Management |
Ekco encourages the use of sustainable materials and supports suppliers who incorporate renewable or recycled resources into their products and operations. |
| – | Supply Chain Sustainability |
Ekco prioritises suppliers who engage in sustainable practices throughout their supply chains, ensuring ethical sourcing and reducing environmental harm at every stage of production and delivery. |
| – | Climate Action | Suppliers should demonstrate a commitment to reducing their carbon footprint and should actively work toward setting and meeting science-based targets for emissions reduction in line with global climate goals. |
| Ethical | Human Rights and Fair Labour |
Ekco will only engage with suppliers who respect and uphold human rights, providing fair wages, reasonable working hours, safe working conditions, and the freedom for workers to associate and collectively bargain. |
| – | Zero Tolerance for Discrimination |
Suppliers must maintain policies that prevent any form of discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, religion, or other protected characteristics, both within their operations and throughout their supply chains. |
| – | Anti-Corruption and Transparency |
Ekco requires suppliers to enforce a zero-tolerance policy towards bribery, fraud, corruption, and money laundering. Suppliers must demonstrate transparency in business dealings, with clearly defined processes for ensuring compliance. |
| – | Health and Safety | Suppliers are expected to provide safe and healthy working environments for their employees and to comply with all relevant health and safety legislation. |
Ethical Procurement
• Ekco requires suppliers to comply with all relevant legislation concerning workers’ rights, human rights, and ethical practices within their supply chains.
• Ekco will avoid engaging with suppliers whose business practices may harm Ekco’s reputation or conflict with Ekco’s principles.
• Suppliers must adhere to the highest standards of integrity in all business interactions, with a zero-tolerance policy for fraud, bribery, corruption, money laundering, extortion, and embezzlement.
• We will not knowingly engage with suppliers, including within their supply chains, that employ minors, use child labour, or engage in any form of modern slavery.
Sustainable Procurement
• Ekco aims to work with suppliers who proactively address potential adverse social and environmental
impacts within their supply chains and operations.
• We prioritise suppliers who demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, incorporating sustainable
practices in their products, operations, and supply chains.
• We seek to reduce environmental and social impacts by integrating sustainable practices across
service operations and acquisitions, in alignment with our Environmental Policy.
Implementation
Ekco’s commitment to ethical and sustainable procurement is embedded within the Integrated Management System (IMS), which provides a robust governance framework for overseeing procurement activities and supplier relationships. The IMS is designed to ensure consistent application of these principles across all territories, with governance mechanisms that include regular reviews, audits, and monitoring of compliance with our Third-Party Governance Framework. This framework sets clear expectations for suppliers and includes due diligence processes to assess and mitigate risks associated with supplier practices.
The principles outlined in this policy statement are reinforced by Ekco’s suite of policies, which include:
• Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Policy: Establishes strict guidelines against bribery, corruption, and any unethical business conduct.
• Competition Compliance Policy: Ensures fair competition practices and compliance with antitrust laws across all operations and supplier engagements.
• Conflict of Interest Policy: Addresses potential conflicts in supplier selection and procurement processes, requiring full disclosure and transparent decision-making.
• Modern Slavery Policy Statement: Affirms our zero-tolerance stance on modern slavery, child labour, and human trafficking within our supply chains, with rigorous supplier vetting and monitoring.
• Whistleblowing Policy: Provides a secure channel for employees and third parties to report any concerns related to unethical or unlawful supplier practices, ensuring anonymity and protection from retaliation.
Ekco continuously reviews and improves its IMS policies and processes to adapt to evolving legal requirements, industry standards, and best practices. This approach allows us to maintain high ethical standards, drive sustainability, and support responsible procurement across all areas of our business.
Raising Concerns
If you have any questions about this policy statement or any concerns about potential unethical or unsustainable practices within our supply chain, please contact us. Your input helps us uphold our commitment to ethical and sustainable procurement.
Exceptions
There are no exceptions to this policy statement.
Last Updated: November 2024
