We are committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct in all of our business dealings.
We invite all suppliers to compete for our business, and in return, suppliers can expect a level playing field. We have no hidden factors in evaluating suppliers and submitted proposals – all relevant decision criteria will be spelled out in advance of soliciting a proposal.
Our employees are prohibited from accepting gifts or gratuities from our suppliers. While our rules do allow for limited exceptions for items of nominal value, the offer or acceptance of gifts is inappropriate and discouraged.
Under no circumstances will our employees solicit any gift or gratuity.
Newell Rubbermaid reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and does not bind itself to accept the lowest bid for any materials, products or services submitted. Non-acceptance of any proposal will not imply any criticism of or deficiency in any proposal. Non-acceptance will mean that another approach was deemed by Newell Rubbermaid to be more advantageous.
Ethical Standards Manual
Our Ethical Standards Manual and associated processes are in place to allow our partnership with suppliers to be one of fairness and trust. Our program is based upon Newell Rubbermaid’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct along with the requirements of our customers' Ethical Standards.
These standards for suppliers cover many areas: child labor, forced labor, environmental, health and safety, discrimination, harassment and abuse, working hours, workers’ compensation, freedom of association and collective bargaining, access for assessments and a set of general requirements. The associated assessment and assessment program covers these areas in greater detail and are addressed in the manual.
In addition to meeting the requirements of Newell Rubbermaid’s Supplier Code of Conduct and the requirements of our customers, the Ethical Standards Manual and associated processes intend to improve the quality of life of the workers that make the merchandise we supply, comply with legal requirements and global ethical business practices, and insure business processes are in place that comply with the supplier code of conduct.
Supplier Ethical Standards Manual and Procedures
California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (and its subsidiaries, collectively “Newell”) is dedicated to conducting business in a lawful and ethical manner. We are also committed to preventing any occurrence of slavery and human trafficking from our supply chain. Our
Code of Conduct and Ethics specifically prohibits labor practices that are inhumane or which endanger the health and safety of our workforce and emphasizes our commitment not to do business with individuals or companies that engage in forced labor, unlawful child labor and/or human trafficking. Accordingly, it is our expectation that the manufacturers and suppliers with whom we do business will share our commitment to fair and safe labor practices and conduct themselves in a lawful and ethical manner.
Consistent with this commitment, we have developed our
Supplier Ethical Standards, which prohibits the use of unlawful child labor and forced or involuntary labor of any kind. Additionally, we have also revised our standard Master Purchase Agreement to require our suppliers to represent and warrant that all labor and/or materials used in connection with the provision of any products provided to us were “employed and/or produced in compliance with applicable laws forbidding slavery and human trafficking.”
In order to ensure compliance with these obligations upon behalf of our suppliers, Newell has developed a detailed process to evaluate a supplier’s compliance with our Supplier Ethical Standards. Through this process, we conduct periodic, announced and unannounced assessments of our suppliers designed to verify their compliance with our Supplier Ethical Standards. These assessments are conducted by Newell Rubbermaid Global Sourcing personnel or a third-party, as appropriate. Employees tasked with supplier compliance as well as other employees with direct responsibility for supply chain management are provided training on human trafficking and slavery, including ways to mitigate the risks of these practices within our supply chain. Since our employees have been trained to identify non-compliance, they are expected to report to our Vice-President of Global Sourcing, the Ethics and Compliance Team or the Legal Department any potential unlawful or unethical conduct within the supply chain.
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