Multinational Corporations’
Suppliers Responsibility and Code of Conduct
Multinational
Corporations (MNCs) in Africa need to be more committed to ethical business
practices and to hold their suppliers and agents to the same standards. It is
good practice and policy to comply with all applicable laws and regulations of
the countries and regions in which they operate and to conduct their business
activities in an honest and ethical manner.
These
Standards and Codes of Conduct are expected through their suppliers and agents
to uphold the policies of their parent companies concerning compliance with all
applicable laws, respect for human rights, environmental conservation and the
safety of products and services.
African
Multinational Corporations Forum (AMCF) suggests a regional effort to establish
a program for Standards and Codes of Conduct that serves as framework for
multinational corporations’ suppliers to conduct their businesses in a socially
responsible manner and to meet the expectations of their parent companies
respectively.
These
Codes may be maintained and updated to reflect MNCs standards and supplier
operations. Parent companies may require their suppliers and country agents to
comply with these Supplier Codes of Conduct. These standards will ensure that
working conditions in the respective business group supply chain are safe, that
workers are treated with respect and dignity, and that business operations are
environmentally responsible and conducted ethically.
For the
Codes to be successful, suppliers and agents must regard the Code as a total
supply chain initiative. At a minimum, suppliers will require their next tier
suppliers to acknowledge and implement the codes. Fundamental to adopting the
codes is that a business, in all of its activities, must operate in full
Compliance with the laws, rules and regulations of the countries in which it
operates. The codes will encourage suppliers to go beyond legal compliance,
drawing upon internationally recognized standards, in order to advance social
and environmental responsibility and business ethics.
These
codes are expected to outline standards for Labor, Health and Safety,
Environment, standard business ethics and practices, cultural values, etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment