Ethical Procurement Paul Torre

Ethical Procurement Paul Torre

Ethical Procurement

What is Ethical Procurement? Throughout your supply chain you have organisations which have responsibility for labour and health and safety practices.

What is Ethical Procurement? It s not about trying to change the world It s not about winning a Nobel Peace Prize It s about being committed It s about being realistic It s about encouraging transparency

What are the benefits? Protect your company s reputation It s easily damaged You can t afford to stick your head in the sand Consumers are now far more aware Improve efficiency Assists in developing relationships Raises your profile with your factory base Retain employees Key consideration

And the drawbacks? It can cost time and money It s an on-going process Have to invest time It can lead to using more expensive factories Lead to potential business risk Could lead to rejecting stock Restricts competition in the supply chain

Covermount Business Immediate Media Co. All Youth and Children s titles are covermounted Many of our craft titles are covermounted Buy over 400 different covermounts a year Buy nearly 30,000,000 products a year Follow the Immediate Media Ethical Code Which is based on the BBC Worldwide Code

What we do Ethical Programme Objectives Raise covermounts suppliers awareness of ethical issues Encourage and equip suppliers to take ownership of improving standards within their factories Ensure suppliers select better quality factories in the first place Gain assurances that covermounts factories meet minimum Immediate Media standards and do not have any critical failure points Improve worker welfare Support factories to make gradual improvements on basic ethical issues e.g. health & safety, no child labour etc and increasingly complex issues, such as hours and social insurance

Supplier commitment To be a supplier to Immediate Media a supplier and their factories must commit to the programme. We recognise that all suppliers may not achieve all the standards laid out in the code but they need to be willing :- To invest time and money in the scheme To engage in the programme and work towards making real improvements To work with factories that meet core requirements To be transparent and open

Factory core requirements Suppliers must not use any form of involuntary labour and workers must not be obliged to lodge identity papers or pay any deposit as a condition of work Workers must not be subject to physical or verbal abuse or threats or intimidation of any description. Workers must not be required to work extreme hours or work without adequate rest periods Suppliers must not use workers under the age of 15, or the minimum legal working age in the country in question, if higher than 15. Where such labour is discovered, suppliers must establish and implement appropriate remediation for such workers and introduce effective systems to prevent the use of child labour in the future

Factory core requirements Factories and work sites used by suppliers must be safe and hygienic with an adequate number of safe and accessible fire exits from all buildings Workers life or limbs must not be endangered due to the use of dangerous machinery, unsafe building structure or layout, or hazardous chemicals Living accommodation, where provided, must be in buildings that are separate from other areas of the workplace and have an adequate fire alarm system Suppliers must pay wages sufficient to meet basic needs and to provide some discretionary income Suppliers must maintain proper and accurate employment records including calculation of pay and hours worked Suppliers must be transparent and cooperative as regards the inspection of employment records

Supplier commitment Appoint an EAT assessor: Role individual in China to screen new factories, monitor factory performance and help support improvements. Each EAT assessor receives training on: How to identify issues Basic auditing and improvement skills Complete training audits

Supplier/Factory Requirements Each factory must have a valid third party audit approved before they can produce for Immediate Media (transparency is key) Factories must be graded at least an amber i.e. there are no outstanding critical issues against Core Requirements EAT assessors must visit all active factories every 3 months and update the CAP (Corrective Action Plan) All factories must show continual improvement on issues If any critical issues are found, production must stop until the issue is closed off Suppliers meet with Immediate Media once every 6 weeks to update on progress and review Corrective Action Plans

Supplier/Factory Requirements Achievements / Challenges / Forthcoming Focus Document Factory A - Achievement All appropriate workers are now signed up for Injury Insurance. The factory understands the importance of this issue and will ensure that workers are signed up after one month at the factory. As well as this, the emergency fire doors issue has been resolved which had been an issue for some time. The factory continues to make good progress on the programme. Factory B - Challenge During peak production, it is difficult for the factory to avoid blocking fire safety equipment and exits due to the space required to store completed goods. Factory B - Focus points Help factory management to find a solution to the fire safety issue by working closely with each department access to fire exits and fire safety equipment must be guaranteed.

Immediate Media s Commitment Invest in the programme Pay for Impacts Account Manager Fund audits Fund improvement programmes Fund factory visits Raise awareness of Ethical Programme and covermount production process across business

Plastic fantastic!

Add some paint! Tombliboo Ninky Nonk Captain Barnacles

Summary Accept not going to change the world Accept the costs but recognise the benefits Ensure the supply base is engaged Use the Resources available

Summary Work towards encouraging transparency Aim for gradual but continual improvement Raise awareness internally of how covermounts are produced Work, work, work at it!!!