This document sets out the expectations Technetix has of its supply partners, whether they are manufacturing Technetix products or supplying third party goods. Compliance with this Code of Conduct is mandatory, even when Technetix’ expectations exceed legal requirements in certain countries. It is the supply partner’s responsibility to ensure compliance, both within its own operations and through its supply chain.
Technetix is committed to working with its supply partners to ensure compliance and will provide support where possible.
Ethical standards
Each supply partner must commit to run its business in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Technetix expects all dealings with actual and potential supply partners to be conducted in a transparent and fair manner and will not tolerate any violation of human rights in any part of its business or supply chain. All employees and supply partners are required to act ethically and comply with legal and regulatory requirements at all times.
Labour rights
There are certain standards, such as the ILO International Labour Standards, which Technetix deems to be universal and its supply partners are required to meet these standards and to also ensure that they are cascaded down their own supply chains.
In particular:
- The supply partner shall not use any form of forced, bonded, compulsory labour, child labour, slavery or human trafficking;
- The supply partner employees must be able to freely choose employment and not be prevented from leaving through coercion or be subjected to punishment or threats for leaving after a reasonable notice period; all employment shall be voluntary;
- Working hours and remunerations should be comparable with local norms and must comply with all local laws;
- Supply partners shall not require employees to lodge deposits of money or require employees to surrender any government issued identification, passports or work permits as a condition of employment.
Technetix does not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment or bullying.
Technetix maintains close working relationships with all supply partners. Supply partner employees are encouraged to report any concerns regarding slavery, human trafficking or any other actions deemed incompatible with the ethical and labour standards in this Code to qualityandcompliance@technetix.com or an executive member of staff at Technetix, so appropriate action can be taken.
Regular site visits to supply partner locations by operational staff and executives are integral to Technetix’ efforts to maintain close working relationships and during these visits, working conditions and ethical standards are specifically assessed, including speaking directly with supply partner employees on the factory floor or relevant worksite.
Health and safety
The health and safety of its workforce must be a priority for a supply partner in every part of its business. As a minimum, all relevant health and safety laws and regulations must be met and each supply partner must take proactive steps to prevent accidents in the workplace and to enable employees to work in a safe and healthy environment, free from any chemical, biological and physical hazards. Where it is not possible to remove these hazards, employees must be provided with appropriate protective equipment and training to protect them from any negative effects. Where employees live on the supply partner’s site, providing a safe and healthy environment also extends to the living quarters provided by the supply partner.
Environmental
In order to continually improve our environmental performance, Technetix sets annual objectives and targets to reduce the impact of its services and operations. To be successful with these aims, our supply partners must also be proactive in reducing the environmental impact of its business.
The international standard, ISO 14001, sets out guidelines for environmental management systems, including environmental auditing, performance evaluation, aspects & impacts and life cycle assessments. As an indication of our supply partners’ commitment to the environment, we ask that our supply partners are either certified to ISO 14001:2015 or, if they do not hold this certification, that the principles of ISO 14001:2015 are followed as a minimum.
Quality management system
We select our supply partners based on the quality of the products they offer. It’s vital that Technetix’ customers can rely on us to deliver products and services of the highest quality. To ensure this, we ask our supply partners to be completely transparent in their quality processes and open to making improvements where we think this is necessary. As an indication of quality, we ask that our supply partners are either certified to the international quality standard ISO 9001:2015 or, if they do not hold this certification, that the principles of ISO 9001 are followed as a minimum.
Material compliance
All products supplied to Technetix must comply with the relevant legal and regulatory requirements in the countries in which the products are delivered or the country in which the supply partner knows the products will be used. These may include EU RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances), WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals) and Packaging Regulations, CE Marking, UKCA Marking, and US and Canadian UL Standards. Technetix expects its supply partners to be aware of the legal and regulatory requirements its products must meet.
If a supply partner is unsure of what requirements need to be met, this must be raised with Technetix before any products are supplied. Complete and accurate records of all documentation proving a product’s compliance with the relevant legal and regulatory standards must be kept by supply partners for a minimum period of 10 years and supplied to Technetix on request.
Product changes
No changes may be made to product specifications without Technetix’ written consent. This rule applies whether a supply partner is manufacturing Technetix products or supplying third party goods. If a supply partner wishes to change the specification of a product, it should notify Technetix in writing, providing details of the change and how this is likely to affect product performance. Technetix may then choose to accept the change or reject the change and cease placing further orders with that supply partner. All orders placed by Technetix before notification of the change of specification is received must be fulfilled based on the original specification.
Where a supply partner is manufacturing Technetix products, no alternative components, materials or production processes may be used without Technetix’ written consent in accordance with Technetix’ ECN (Engineering Change Notification) process.
Conflict minerals
Our supply partners are required to maintain processes which minimise the possibility that products supplied to Technetix contain conflict minerals. Conflict minerals are minerals that have been mined through conditions of armed conflict and human rights violations. In accordance with US legislation (Dodd-Frank Act) and OECD guidance, Technetix considers conflict minerals to be gold, tin, tungsten, tantalum and cobalt that has been sourced from conflict affected areas of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Where products manufactured for or supplied to Technetix contain gold, tin, tungsten, tantalum and cobalt, the supply partner must be able to demonstrate the steps it has taken to establish the source of those materials and to ensure that they have not originated from conflict areas.
Anti-bribery and corruption
Technetix does not tolerate any form of bribery, corruption or extortion, whether direct or indirect by, or of, its employees, its supply partners or anyone else it does business with.
All supply partners must read and comply with the principles set out in the Technetix Anti-Bribery Policy, as amended from time to time. All supply partners must ensure that their directors, officers, employees, consultants and other representatives comply with the principles set out in the Technetix Anti-Bribery Policy and/or demonstrate that they have implemented policies which are substantially similar to the Technetix Anti-Bribery Policy and that such policy is enforced.
Information security and intellectual property
Information provided to a supply partner by or about Technetix must be treated as confidential and only used for the supply of products and/or services to Technetix.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing with a supply partner, Technetix owns the intellectual property in any drawings, designs, specifications, tooling, equipment and other materials provided by or developed for Technetix and any enhancements, modifications or derivatives created as a result of any materials provided to the supply partner by Technetix.
Technetix requires that information processed by the supplier is protected with sufficient IT and other appropriate confidentiality controls to ensure the following:
- Information is stored on a need-to-know basis, meaning that only authorised employees can access and use data in accordance with this Code of Conduct and that non-disclosure obligations are in place with employees to prevent information being shared with parties outside the supplier partner organisation.
- Proper anti-virus and intrusion detection/prevention is in place to reduce the risks of data leakage.
- Information is not shared with any third party without Technetix’ written consent and only where appropriate non-disclosure obligations are in place.
- Information provided by or related to Technetix is deleted or returned to Technetix immediately on termination of the agreement between Technetix and the supply partner or when the information is no longer needed by the supply partner to provide products and/or services to Technetix.
Compliance and reporting
The standards set out in this Code of Conduct are the minimum standards Technetix expects its supply partners (and each supply partner’s supply chain) to meet.
In addition to this Code of Conduct, Technetix may ask its supply partners to complete a vendor questionnaire to evaluate the standards the supply partner is meeting and to ensure that such standards are in accordance with Technetix’ requirements. Should the vendor questionnaire demonstrate that Technetix’ requirements are not being met, depending on the severity of the failures, Technetix will either, at its discretion, refuse to enter into a business relationship or, will work with that supply partner to establish compliance.
Supply partners must immediately notify Technetix of any suspected or actual breaches of applicable laws, regulations or this Code of Conduct via qualityandcompliance@technetix.com. Supply partners must keep relevant and complete documentation to demonstrate compliance with this Code of Conduct and provide this information to Technetix on request. Technetix also reserves the right to audit its supply partners to confirm compliance with this Code.
Any breach of this Code of Conduct will entitle Technetix to terminate its agreement with that supply partner, including any open orders, without prejudice to any other remedies Technetix may have.
Revised (26th April 2021)
