SUPPLIER CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY POLICY

Bradburys Cheese works in partnerships with its suppliers to ensure compliance with the company’s supplier- corporate responsibility policy.

Whilst we acknowledge the fact our suppliers operate in many different cultural environments, our policy sets out minimum standards that they are expected to meet.

Ownership

This policy will be communicated to all the stakeholders both internally and externally.

Corporate Responsibility Key Commitments

We expect our suppliers to support us in our commitment to abide by our supplier-corporate responsibility policy. High standards have been set for both our suppliers and ourselves with each side holding the other accountable. We recognise the major impact our suppliers have on our quality and ethical commitment and so we expect them to acknowledge and take their responsibility as serious as we do. That way, it will be easier for us to attach more value to their contributions to our company.

As such, the following commitments are expected from Bradburys Cheese suppliers:

Trade with their own suppliers in a manner that is consistent with the outlined principles in this policy
Adhere to or comply with minimum ethical and legal labour standards and industrial benchmarks.
Commit to environmental preservation by recognising the need to minimise adverse impact that may arise from their activities
Ensure there are systems in place to monitor performance against the commitments made and, where necessary, take timely corrective measures.
Conduct their business with utmost integrity by meeting the globally accepted zero tolerated policy towards corruption and bribery.

Ethical and Social Standards

As a socially responsible company, Bradburys Cheese expects Suppliers to:

Certify that all their manufactured and sourced products are safe/meet hygienic standards
Certify that all workers are treated with consideration, with their basic human rights respected
Conduct business in an ethical and transparent manner and, as a minimum, comply with all the relevant laws of the countries in which they operate.
Confirm in writing to Bradburys Cheese that this policy or its equivalent has been or will be implemented.

Bradburys Cheese Limited will work in conjunction with our suppliers to ensure the implementation of and adherence to this policy, including carrying out joint audits and site visits to asses the performance against this policy.

Minimum Labour Standards

Employment is freely chosen

There is no forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour.

Workers are not required to lodge deposits or their identity papers with their employer and are free to leave their employer after reasonable notice.

Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected.

Workers, without distinction have the right to join or form trade unions or their own choosing and to bargain collectively.

The employer adopt an open attitude towards activities of trade unions and their organisational activities

Workers representatives are not discriminated against and have access to carry out their representative functions in the workplace

Where the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining is restricted under law, the employer facilitates, and does not hinder the development of parallel means for independent and free association and bargaining.

Working conditions are safe and hygienic

A safe and hygienic working environment shall be provided, bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards. Adequate steps shall be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, associated with, or occurring in the course of work, by minimising, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.

Workers shall receive regular and recorded health and safety training, and such training shall be repeated for new or reassigned workers.

Access to clean toilet facilities and to potable water, and if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food storage shall be provided.

Accommodation, where provided, shall be clean, safe, and meet the basic needs of the workers.

The company observing the code shall assign responsibility for health and safety to a senior management representative.

Child labour shall not be used

There shall be no new recruitment of child labour.

Companies shall develop or participate in and contribute to policies and programmes which provide for the transition of any child found to be performing child labour to enable her or him to attend and remain in quality education until no longer a child.

Children and young persons under 18 shall not be employed at night or in hazardous conditions.

These policies and procedures shall conform to the provisions of the relevant ILO standards

Living wages are paid

Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week meet at a minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmark standards, whichever is higher. In any event wages should always be enough to meet basic needs and to provide some discretionary income.

All workers shall be provided with written understandable information about their employment conditions in respect to wages before they enter employment and about the particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned each time that they are paid.

Deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure shall not be permitted nor shall any deductions from wages not provided by national law be permitted without the expressed permission of the worker concerned. All disciplinary measures should be recorded.

Commitment to the Environment

With our commitment to environmentally sustainable business practises, Bradburys Cheese will continue to improve our performance by applying sound and sustainable principles throughout our supply chain.

As a consequence, our suppliers must be willing to collaboratively work with us to reduce the adverse environmental impacts that may arise as a result of our operations. Thus, the minimum standards expected from Bradburys Cheese Suppliers are:

To put measures in place to prevent and/or minimise pollution
To minimise any adverse local and global environmental impact
To comply with all the applicable environmental legislation and other related requirements
To continually monitor and evaluate the environmental performance to ascertain the effects of their operations with a view to setting targets for improvement
To apply the principles of sustainable development by meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future
To efficiently utilise the resources by not only minimising waste production but also applying the principles of reduction, reuse and recycling

Management Systems, Monitoring, Continuous Improvement and Corrective Action

Bradburys Cheese does not compromise on food safety, health and safety, occupational health, environment and labour performance. Therefore, the company has certified management systems that measure, improve and communicate to interested parties the operations in a clear and systematic way.

Suppliers to Bradburys Cheese are therefore expected to put in place and maintain management systems in the following areas:

Policy – a written statement of the Suppliers commitment to and objectives for its environmental, health and safety and labour practises
Performance objectives with implementation plans and measure – written performance objectives, targets and implementation plans as decided and adopted by the Supplier – complete with a plan for assessing the suppliers performance against those objectives.
Assigned representatives – Identifies representatives responsible for implementation of the Suppliers environmental, health, and labour programmes

The implementation of this policy may be assessed from time to time through monitoring and independent verification.

Suppliers are expected to identify and take corrective measures – where applicable – should they identify any activity that falls below the standards spelt out in this policy.

Any serious breach(es) of the policy should immediately be reported to Bradburys Cheese together with the proposed corrective schedule for approval.

Where serious breaches persist, Bradburys Cheese will reverse the right to terminate the business relationship with the concerned Supplier.

Global Zero Tolerance Policy towards bribery and Corruption

Bradburys prohibits the offering, the giving, the solicitation or the acceptance of any bribe, whether cash or inducement:

To or from any person or company, whether a public official or public body, or a private person or company wherever situated:or
By any individual employee, agent or other person or company acting on Bradburys behalf; or
In order to gain any commercial, contractual or regulatory advantage for Bradburys in a way which is unethical; or
In order to gain any personal advantage, in monetary value or otherwise, for the individual or anyone connected with the individual.

For the avoidance of doubt, Bradburys prohibits the making of any payments to public officials for securing or accelerating routine processes and procedures which is known as ‘Facilitation Payments’.

To further clarify, this policy prohibits the making, giving or receiving of any inducement which results in a personal gain or advantage to the recipients or any person or body associated with the recipient, and which is intended to influence the recipient to take action which may not be solely in the best interests of the company.

This policy is not meant to prohibit the following practises providing they are customary in a partivual market, are proportionate and are properly recoded:

Normal and appropriative hospitality
The giving of a ceremonial gift on a festive or another special time
The offer of resources to assist the person or body to make the decision more efficiently provided they are supplied for that purpose only.