Itera Supplier Code of Conduct
1 Objective
Itera is committed to high standards of ethical conduct and compliance with laws and regulations. Accordingly, we have ‘zero tolerance for illegal and unethical business behavior and activities, including bribery and corruption, tax evasion, forced labor, child labor, non-decent working conditions, and other breaches of human rights.
Our Supplier Code of Conduct defines our principles for conducting business, which you as a supplier must comply with, as part of your contractual arrangements with Itera.
2 Responsibility & Enforcement
The Head of the Contract Management Office is the owner of this Supplier Code of Conduct. Any changes to the policy will be made with written approval from the Head of the Contract Management Office.
3 Eligibility / Applicability
This Itera Supplier Code of Conduct applies to all Itera’s suppliers and subcontractors engaged in providing goods or services to Itera and/or Itera Customers.
4 Compliance with Laws and Ethical Standards
You must comply with all international and local laws and regulations that apply to your business in the countries in which you operate, including but not limited to: data protection and confidentiality, bribery and corruption, human rights and employment, taxation and finance, environmental and health and safety, competition and anti-trust.
You must conduct your business in an ethical, responsible, and transparent manner by:
- Prohibiting all forms of bribery and corruption, including facilitation or grease payments or kickbacks.
- Implementing procedures designed to prevent bribery and corruption in your business and by third parties acting for or on behalf of your business;
- Prohibiting tax evasion in your business and not assisting others in the evasion of taxes; Having appropriate technical and organizational measures in place to protect all confidential and business-related information, including our intellectual property and personal data, provided to you by Itera and/or by our respective business partners, and to prevent unauthorized access, accidental loss or destruction of this data;
- Avoiding practices that may be viewed as uncompetitive, including price fixing, bid rigging, participating in cartels, and exchanging pricing information with competitors;
- Avoiding conflicts of interest, and disclosing to us any instances of a potential or actual conflict of interest relating to your business and activities with Itera, including any financial or other interests you may have with an Itera employee or one of their close family members;
- Not using any confidential information obtained in the course of their business with Itera as a basis for trading or enabling others to trade in the stock or securities of any company;
- Maintaining and retaining accurate and complete business documents and records per appropriate local and international laws and regulations.
5 Health, Safety, and Environmental
You must provide your workers with a safe and healthy working environment, and reduce the environmental impact of your business operations, including by;
- Obtaining and maintaining all appropriate health, safety, and environmental licenses and permits (if applicable);
- Providing your workers with reasonably accessible and clean facilities with potable water
- Implementing proactive systematic approaches to identifying, managing, minimizing, and preventing health and safety incidents, including the impact of hazardous waste and excessive air contaminants;
- Complying with all applicable environmental legislation and regulations, including the handling of dangerous materials;
- Implementing an environmental policy and an effective environmental management program appropriate to the size and nature of your business.
6 Labor and Human Rights
You must respect and comply with international standards of human rights including:
- Not using any form of forced labor or slavery including but not limited to involuntary, bonded, indentured, or prison labor. (Involuntary labor includes transporting, harboring, recruiting, transferring, or employing individuals by force, threat coercion, abduction, fraud, or by payment to another person having control of that person);
- Not tolerating, using, or benefitting from child labor per applicable laws and regulations but specifically the Norwegian Transparency Act, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International Labor Organization’s Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (C138);. Not withholding workers’ government-issued identification and travel documents.
- Not discriminating against any worker based on their age, disability, ethnicity, gender, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, union membership, or other statuses protected by applicable national or local laws, during the hiring or other employment practices;
- Providing a workplace free of abuse and harassment with workers not subjected to harsh treatment or inhumanely including psychological harassment, mental and physical coercion, and sexual harassment;
- Ensuring that all workers’ contracts set out conditions of employment in a language understood by the worker;
- Compensating all employees fairly and per local wage regulations, and compensate workers for overtime hours performed at the legal rates; and
- Ensuring that working hours do not exceed the maximum hours permitted by applicable national and local laws, with workers having at least one day off every seven days except in unusual or emergencies.
7 Monitoring
Itera expects that all our suppliers and subcontractors will share the values and principles contained within this Supplier Code of Conduct and that our suppliers and subcontractors will have the same expectation of their supply chain.
We will review and assess suppliers’ compliance with this Code of Conduct and reserve the right to audit any of our suppliers or subcontractors to confirm compliance with the Code of Conduct. Failure to comply with such an audit can result in the termination of our relationship with the supplier.
Non-compliance with this Code by a supplier will be considered a material breach of contract by the supplier. Where suppliers have contravened the requirements of this Code, we reserve the right to (i) request corrective or remedial actions; (ii) terminate any associated agreement of business relationship as appropriate; and (iii) claim damages, compensation, or any other all remedy available by law and in equity for any non-compliance with the Code.
Where we have terminated an agreement or business relationship because of non-compliance with this Code, the supplier will not be entitled to claim compensation or any further remuneration from Itera regardless of any activities carried out or agreements with third parties entered before termination.
8 Management Rights
The management of Itera has the sole discretion to alter, withdraw or amend this policy at any time. The supplier will be notified accordingly about the change via email. Supplier is then expected to confirm their compliance, no later than 45 days after receiving the notification.