Supplier Code of Conduct

 TES Mission Statement:To consult with and enable our clients to make the most appropriate and informed IT platform and support decisions for their businesses whilst keeping integrity and client satisfaction at the heart of everything we do.

Introduction 

TES Enterprise Solutions Ltd (TES) are acutely aware of how our business impacts on society and the environment.

We are proud of being a company that does business responsibly and ethically. We believe that the decisions we make today define our customers’ lives tomorrow, and therefore have policies, processes and controls which form our Code of Conduct and reflect our commitments.

Our Code of Conduct extends to how we do business with our suppliers, and we commit to:

• Treating suppliers fairly and objectively at all times
• Paying suppliers in accordance with the agreed terms and dealing with any exceptions in a timely manner
• Selecting suppliers without prejudice.
• Continuously improving our knowledge of socially and environmentally responsible supply chain management practices
• Maintaining a supply chain that reflects and aligns to our own standards of conduct for how we do business.

We strive to work with like-minded businesses; we therefore require suppliers to comply with our Supplier Code of Conduct at all times. Suppliers shall maintain adequate documentation to demonstrate compliance with the principles of this code, and allow access to TES to check compliance upon request with reasonable notice.

Our suppliers must have processes in place to maintain these standards.

Our suppliers are expected to implement their own binding code of conduct and are expected to make reasonable efforts to promote the principles of this code in their own supply chain.

The ESG policy of TES is to ensure so far as applicable and reasonably practicable that its operations, activities and conduct, and those of its Suppliers, will be carried out with a commitment to:

(a) protecting and enhancing the environment by minimising negative impact and maximising positive impact on the environment;

(b) ensuring appropriate conduct towards, positive impact on and good relationships with employees, customers/clients, suppliers and the community in which TES and its Suppliers operate; and

(c) conduct their business with integrity and high standards of business ethics, through appropriate structures, systems, processes and procedures.

The ESG Commitment is a fundamental principle of TES’s business.

Suppliers’ Commitment

This Code sets out the minimum standards that must be met by our Suppliers and their suppliers and sub-contractors in order to assist TES to maximise its ability to meet the ESG Commitment. 

Each Supplier is required to:

• comply with this Code;
• adopt and implement policies, standards and processes fully consistent with the Supplier’s commitments set out under the Environmental, Social and Governance headings below; and
• confirm in writing to TES before receiving TES’s first order for goods or services and again thereafter at intervals of no more than 12 months that the Supplier complies and will continue to comply with this Code;
• ensure that each such confirmation is correct in all respects; and
• have systems in place to ensure compliance and to demonstrate that it is compliant.

Environment

TES is primarily an Information Technology company in the Enterprise IT products and services sector. The environmental impacts of its operations are negligible as we have no offices, warehouses or manufacturing locations – all employees are home based. As a reseller we do not hold any stock and all physical products are shipped direct from our suppliers to the client base. Electronic shipment is used where possible. Nonetheless TES takes its responsibilities seriously and strives to protect the environment and looks to reduce any impact its operations produce.

Some examples of TES’s environmental practice are:

• Primarily selling recognized industry leading low-energy highly scalable enterprise class systems.
• Leasing of Company fully electric car.
• Encouraging employees to reduce waste, go ‘paper-free’ and recycle where possible.
• Funding the collection of 1000 plastic bottles per month through the Social Plastic ecosystem.
• Distributing reusable water bottles made from Ocean Plastic to our Team, customers and potential customers at marketing events
• Trying to ensure that the purchase of any equipment subscribes to an optimum energy requirement; our key supplier uses recyclable packaging and a carbon friendly logistics company
• Driving our customers to recycle their old equipment under waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) regulations or to return replaced equipment to the manufacturer for reuse.

The Supplier will:

• ensure that its operations, the goods that it manufactures and the components that it incorporates into its goods comply with all applicable environmental protection laws and regulations and require its goods and services supply chain to do so
• operate management procedures to include environmental factors and carry out environmental audits when required
• continuously improve environmental performance and integrate recognised environmental best practice into business operations
• measure, analyse and take appropriate actions to reduce the carbon footprint of business activities
• where possible, reduce consumption of resources and improve efficiency of those resources
• encourage development of products, processes and equipment with concern for the future of the environment
• promote environmentally friendly responsible purchasing within the Supplier and its goods and services supply chain
• promote a culture of environmental awareness amongst all employees and seek to require its goods and services supply chain to do so
• provide training for all employees as appropriate to enable them to carry out their job functions in a manner that shows care for the environment and require its goods and services supply chain to do so
• take appropriate action to conserve resources and energy, to minimise emission to air, water and land and to increase recycling rates
• protect the environment by preventing pollution of land, air or water via leakage of liquids gases or solids
• swiftly respond to accidents or incidents that have a potential to threaten the environment
• manage and dispose of all waste in a responsible manner in ways that show concern for the environment manage waste generated from business operations according to the principles of reduction, re-use and recycling
• minimise waste by evaluating operations and ensure they are as efficient as possible
• use packaging materials that comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations and require its goods and services supply chain to do so
• recycle all packaging materials and ensure that as many waste materials as possible are recycled and require its goods and services supply chain to do so
• provide advice to TES and others as appropriate on safe handling, transportation, storage and final disposal of the Supplier’s products

Social

Through its business practices TES seeks to protect and promote the human rights and basic freedoms of all its employees and contractors and ensure that modern slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in our business or supply chain.

We support the protection of human rights through our supply chain and we require our suppliers to comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 where applicable at all times. The Act is designed to tackle slavery and human trafficking.

TES is committed to ensuring that the health and safety risks to our employees and contractors which arise from our operations are reduced as far as is reasonably practicable.

Health and Safety

Our suppliers must comply with all relevant health and safety laws and regulations, both in letter and in spirit, in all the countries in which they operate. We expect our suppliers to provide all their employees with adequate information and instruction on health and safety matters and to enable their employees to meet their responsibilities for the maintenance of a safe and healthy workplace.

TES is committed to achieving a working environment which provides equality of opportunity and freedom from unlawful discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, pregnancy and maternity, marital or civil partnership status, gender reassignment, disability, religion or beliefs, age or sexual orientation.

We encourage suppliers to consider equality, diversity and inclusion in their decision making and supplier selections.

Employee Discrimination

TES require that the employees of suppliers should be protected from discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Gender Pay Gap

TES require that the employees of suppliers should be protected from any discrimination or monetary inequality irrespective of gender.

TES encourage our suppliers to have an active community involvement programme.

TES has enrolled to the IIC platform via annual subscription enabling our employees to join our company profile within the platform. We actively encourage and support our employees to engage in Charity and Community projects that matter most to them. In addition, we facilitate volunteering (both general and pro-bono) that align to the TES CSR policies to be completed during works time by approval on a case-by-case basis. To date TES have earned a total of 1,270 Communities Credits via the IIC platform for our employee contributions of volunteering to charitable causes by our employees completed during working hours.

The Supplier will:

• comply with, and require its goods and services supply chain to comply with, all applicable anti-slavery and human trafficking laws, statutes, regulations and codes, including the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and other laws etc. prohibiting forced or compulsory labour, child labour, bonded labour, prison labour
• not infringe, and will prohibit its goods and services supply chain from infringing, any internationally recognized human rights, including those recognised in the International Bill of Human Rights and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work provide and maintain, and require its goods and services supply chain to
• provide and maintain, a working environment free from all forms of discrimination, harassment and bullying, (e.g. union membership or political affiliation, gender, gender identity or expression, gender reassignment, sexual preference, race, colour, caste, creed, religion, nationality or national origin, ethnicity or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital or pregnancy status, civil partnership or disability)
• not to, and require its goods and services supply chain not to, discriminate in selection, engagement, placement, training, promotion, transfer or compensation or other treatment or dealing with any employees on the basis of union membership or political affiliation, gender, gender identity or expression, gender reassignment, sexual preference, race, colour, caste, creed, religion, nationality or national origin, ethnicity or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital or pregnancy status, civil partnership or disability or any other characteristic.
• permit, and require its goods and services supply chain to permit, employees’ freedom of association, union membership and collective bargaining, in accordance with applicable laws, in order to protect or represent their interests
• promote, and require its goods and services supply chain to promote, diversity and inclusion amongst its and their workforce
• comply with, and require its goods and services supply chain to comply with, workplace health and safety laws and standards, and will take steps and require its goods and services supply chain to take steps to mitigate risks to health and safety in the workplace, prevent workplace hazards and work-related accidents and injuries
• provide, and require its goods and services supply chain to provide, fair remuneration (including overtime premiums), benefits, working hours, attendance, leave and sick leave policies, ensuring as a minimum that remuneration is sufficient to cover basic living requirements and that working hours do not exceed the maximum permitted by applicable laws and industry standards
• encourage, and request that its goods and services supply chain encourage, employees to participate in appropriate further education and training (including any education or training that the Supplier or its goods and services supply chain is able to provide in-house) which supports their work-related development
• support, and encourage its goods and services supply chain to support, the local community by employing local people where and to the extent appropriate and reasonable to do so

Governance

TES aim to establish mutually beneficial relationships with our suppliers, based on the same high ethical standards of openness, professionalism and honesty that we apply to all of our dealings. We expect suppliers to compete on the same basis with regard to the price and quality of their products and services.

Conflicts of Interest

Our suppliers must make us aware of any actual or potential conflicts of interest. Our suppliers should declare if it believes one of our employees or contractors has an interest or economic tie to the supplier’s organisation.

Suppliers shall not enter into a financial or any other relationship with a TES employee that creates any actual or potential conflict of interest for TES. Suppliers must understand that a conflict of interest arises when the material personal interests of the TES employee are inconsistent with the responsibilities of his/her position with the company. All such conflicts must be disclosed and corrected. Even the appearance of a conflict of interest can be damaging to TES and to the Supplier, and are to be disclosed and approved in advance by TES management.

Data Protection

Our suppliers should not use or disclose any information belonging to us, our existing and prospective customers, other suppliers, employees or other third parties, except as required or authorised by us.

Bribery and Corruption

TES require our suppliers to maintain ethical controls over their procurement activity which ensures no risk of bribery or corruption within their personnel and their supply chains. Suppliers must comply with anti-bribery and anti-corruption law including but not limited to the Bribery Act 2010.

TES suppliers must comply with all applicable laws and regulations, both in letter and in spirit, in all the countries in which they operate.

Viewing and updating this Code

TES will publish this Code (as amended from time to time) on its public website so that it is freely available to all Suppliers and others to view at any time.

TES will periodically review and update this Code as necessary.

Acceptance of a Purchase Order from TES Enterprise Solutions Ltd implies a Suppliers agreement to this Supplier Code of Conduct.