B) Funda­mental principles

• This agreement forms the foundation of the coope­ration with KHB.
• The supplier under­takes to duly exercise its social respon­si­bility in all its business activities.
• The supplier agrees to assure compliance of all its business activities and decisions with appli­cable laws, regula­tions, minimum indus­trial standards, ILO conven­tions, UN conven­tions, animal welfare, as well as other relevant provi­sions of the countries in which it operates.
• In cases where local/national regula­tions and/or laws are more stringent than this Supplier Code of Conduct, we expect the supplier to comply with the respective laws and regulations.
• Contracts are adhered to and business partners must be treated fairly.
• These principles apply to the supplier’s activities and its own supply chains. The supplier will therefore enter into appro­priate contractual agree­ments with its own suppliers to ensure compliance with the rules and standards set forth in this Supplier Code of Conduct.

1. Human rights: The supplier will respect and support compliance with inter­na­tio­nally recognized human rights as set forth in the United Nations Universal Decla­ration of Human Rights in its dealings with stake­holders (e.g. commu­nities, employees, suppliers, customers).
2. Health protection: The supplier supports a conti­nuous develo­pment process to improve the working environment. The core building blocks, within the framework of the national provi­sions which must be in place for this purpose, are health protection at the workplace, adequate occupa­tional safety facilities and preventive measures against health hazards and accidents.
3. No child labour: The entire supply chain must ensure that no child labour takes place. Child labour is prohi­bited! Child labour is defined in the ILO conven­tions, the United Nations conven­tions, and national laws. The most stringent of all the standards mentioned must be followed. Any form of explo­itation of children is prohibited.
4. Exclusion of forced labour/coercion: Forced labour and/or slave labour or similar work may not be initiated or utilised by the Supplier.
5. Respect for others: The supplier has a diverse, inclusive working environment and creates an environment where fairness prevails and appro­priate wages are paid. If the respective legal minimum wage does not cover the cost of living, or if no additional free disposable income is available, the supplier is obliged to pay its employees an appro­priate remune­ration to meet these needs.
6. Discri­mi­nation: The Supplier shall ensure that, within the framework of the appli­cable laws and regula­tions, no discri­mi­nation and/or disad­vantage is caused by, for example , origin, religion, spiritual denomi­nation, skin colour, gender, civil status, age, physical or mental­di­sa­bility, ancestry, hereditary infor­mation, national or ethni­co­rigin, natio­nality, sexual orien­tation, gender identity, political conviction or trade union membership.
7. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining: The Supplier shall respect its employees’ right of association as provided for in the appli­cable regula­tions, rights and laws.
8. Complaint management: The supplier maintains a system that enables stake­holders (e.g. commu­nities, employees, suppliers, customers) to address relevant concerns. This can also be done anony­mously (whist­le­b­lower concept).
9. Bribery / Corruption / Undue advan­tages / Personal conflicts of interest: The supplier will comply with appli­cable laws and regula­tions relating to fair compe­tition, antitrust and corruption laws. The supplier warrants that it will not engage in any money laundering or terrorist financing activities and that it will not pay or accept any bribes. The supplier will also not accept any antitrust viola­tions and shall not support any third party in such activities. The supplier will ensure that personal interests and relati­onships do not come into conflict with each other.
10. Protection of the environment / sustaina­bility: The supplier is committed to environ­mental protection and the conti­nuous optimization of a sustainable develo­pment for present and future genera­tions. The supplier performs syste­matic, documented maintenance, testing and measu­rement of its equipment and has a formal environ­mental strategy that is commu­ni­cated to the employees. The supplier will strictly comply with and strive to exceed appli­cable and relevant regula­tions, standards and environ­mental laws. The supplier supports and promotes sustainable production. This includes resource chains, air quality, energy efficiency, renewable energies, waste prevention, water quality and waste water prevention, as well as the management of raw materials and packaging.
11. Sourcing of Materials from Areas of Conflict: Rare metals such as tungsten, tantalum, tin and gold are found in numerous everyday objects – such as micro­chips, for instance. Today, those metals are known as “conflict resources” because they are extracted in regions where war has been raging for many years. The supplier shall ensure raw materials and especially rare materials used in its products must come from conflict-free sources. Necessary proof of conflict-free origin must be able to be presented on request.
12. Accounting: The supplier shall ensure that accounting and business records are kept accurately and in a timely manner in accordance with the appli­cable legal and regulatory requirements.
13. Confi­den­tiality: The supplier shall ensure that, in accordance with appli­cable law, it maintains the confi­den­tiality of trade and business secrets and strict confi­den­tiality with respect to all infor­mation it has access to. The legal basis for the protection of personal data and intellectual property of customers, employees and all other interested parties is observed.
14. Intellectual property / plagiarism – patents: The supplier guarantees strict action against the acqui­sition and use of counterfeit parts, as well as consistent measures for the protection of intellectual property.

C) Commu­ni­cation at the supplier

The Supplier shall ensure that its employees are made aware of the rules provided for herein and the obliga­tions resulting from them, insofar as they have not yet been imple­mented and imple­mented within the Company.