Version: 5 September 2019
Business Principles
- Objectives
- Responsibilities
- To shareholders
- To customers
- To employees
- To those with whom it does business
- To society
- Economic principles
- Business integrity
- Political activities
- Of companies
- Of employees
- Health, Safety and the Environment
- The community
- Competition
- Communication
1. Objectives
The objectives of the Company are to engage efficiently, responsibly and profitably in business. The Company seeks a high standard of performance and aims to maintain a long-term position in its respective competitive environments.
2. Responsibilities
The Company recognizes five areas of responsibility:
a. To shareholders
To protect shareholders’ investment and provide an acceptable return.
b. To customers
To win and maintain customers by developing and providing products and services which offer value in terms of price, quality, safety and environmental impact, and which are supported by the requisite technological, environmental and commercial expertise.
c. To employees
To respect the human rights of their employees, to provide their employees with good and safe conditions of work, and good and competitive terms and conditions of service, to promote the development and best use of human talent and equal opportunity employment, and to encourage the involvement of employees in the planning and direction of their work, and in the application of these principles within their company. It is recognized that commercial success depends on the full commitment of all employees.
d. To those with whom it does business
To seek mutually beneficial relationships with contractors, suppliers and in joint ventures, and to promote the application of these principles in so doing. The ability to promote these principles effectively will be an important factor in the decision to enter into or remain in such relationships.
e. To society
To conduct business as responsible corporate members of society, to observe the laws of the countries in which it operates, to express support for fundamental human rights in line with the legitimate role of business and to give proper regard to health, safety and the environment consistent with its commitment to contribute to sustainable development.
These five areas of responsibility are seen as inseparable. Therefore it is the duty of management to continuously assess the priorities and discharge its responsibilities as best it can on the basis of that assessment.
3. Economic principles
Profitability is essential to discharging these responsibilities and staying in business. It is a measure both of efficiency and of the value that customers place on the Company’s products and services. It is essential to the allocation of the necessary corporate resources and to support the continuing investment required to develop and produce safe and adequate systems to meet consumer needs. Without profits and a strong financial foundation it would not be possible to fulfill the responsibilities outlined above.
The Company works in a wide variety of changing social, political and economic environments, but in general it believes that the interests of the community can be served most efficiently by a market economy.
Criteria for investment decisions are not exclusively economic in nature but also take into account social and environmental considerations and an appraisal of the security of the investment.
4. Business integrity
The Company insists on honesty, integrity and fairness in all aspects of its business and expects the same in its relationships with all those with whom it does business. The direct or indirect offer, payment, soliciting and acceptance of bribes in any form are unacceptable practices. Employees must avoid conflicts of interest between their private financial activities and their part in the conduct of company business. All business transactions on behalf of the Company must be reflected accurately and fairly in the accounts of the company in accordance with established procedures and is subject to audit.
5. Political activities
a. Of companies
The Company acts in a socially responsible manner within the laws of the countries in which it operates in pursuit of their legitimate commercial objectives.
The Company does not make payments to political parties, organizations or their representatives or take any part in party politics. However, when dealing with governments, the Company has the right and the responsibility to make its position known on any matter, which affects themselves, their employees, their customers, or their shareholders. They also have the right to make its position known on matters affecting the community, where it has a contribution to make.
b. Of employees
Where individuals wish to engage in activities in the community, including standing for election to public office, they will be given the opportunity to do so where this is appropriate in the light of local circumstances.
6. Health, Safety and the Environment
Consistent with its commitment to contribute to sustainable development, the Company has a systematic approach to health, safety and environmental management in order to achieve continuous performance improvement.
To this end the Company manage these matters as any other critical business activity, sets targets for improvement, and measures, appraises and reports performance.
7. The community
The most important contribution that the Company can make to the social and material progress of the countries in which it operates is in performing its basic activities as effectively as possible. In addition the Company takes a constructive interest in societal matters, which may not be directly related to the business. Opportunities for involvement – for example through community, educational or donations programs – will vary depending upon the size of the presence of the Company, the nature of the local society, and the scope for useful private initiatives.
8. Competition
The Company supports free enterprise. It seeks to compete fairly and ethically and within the framework of applicable competition laws; it will not prevent others from competing freely.
9. Communication
The Company recognizes that in view of the importance of the activities in which it is engaged open communication is essential. To this end, the Company has corporate information programs and provides full relevant information about its activities to legitimately interested parties, subject to any overriding considerations of business confidentiality and cost.