Supplier and Procurement Policy

RNA, Technology and IP Attorneys takes social and environmental factors into consideration in making decisions on the purchase of goods and the commissioning of services. Our purchasing decisions should where practicable consider associated risks and implications for society and the environment.

Procurement can make a significant contribution to our goals of sustainable economic development and resource minimization by ensuring that the goods and services we buy consider optimum environmental performance and the risk of social exploitation within the supply chain is minimal. We believe that this not only makes business sense, it also has the potential to improve the living and working standards of people in India. This policy standard sets out the detailed requirements and minimum expectations of our policy of sustainable and ethical procurement. Specifically, it addresses the expectation that our staff and suppliers have a natural respect for our ethical standards in the context of their own particular culture and that relationships with our suppliers are based on the principle of fair and honest dealings at all times.

Our policy is to seek the purchase of goods and services that minimize negative impacts on the environment and society whilst meeting our business requirements. By incorporating social, environmental and ethical considerations into purchasing decisions we try to make a positive contribution to the environment and society. To this effect, our internal procurement guidelines listed below must be followed at all times to ensure that we and our suppliers act in a responsible manner.

Guidelines for sustainable procurement

  1. Work collaboratively with suppliers to improve environmental, social and ethical standards with the aim of realizing continuous improvement in all three areas for both our suppliers and ourselves.
  2. Protect the confidentiality of information entrusted to us.
  3. Recognize the supplier’s own standard where they are working to environmental, social and ethical standards similar to those stipulated in this policy.
  4. Ensure that all relevant employees are aware of the Responsible Purchasing Policy.
  5. Ensure that procurement management is responsible for establishing the compliance of key suppliers with this policy.
  6. Seek to exert commercial influence where we are confident that improvements can be made in environmental, social or ethical performance of suppliers.
  7. Ensure that supplier’s staff working on our premises are treated with the same respect for diversity and workplace safety as our own staff.
  8. Base our supplier selection on objective and transparent criteria that include the consideration of environmental, social and ethical performance.
  9. Cease trading with suppliers showing persistent disregard for important elements of environmental, social and ethical performance.

Society 

The Firm seeks to ensure that the working conditions at suppliers of the products and services we purchase are in compliance with the local labour laws and expect our suppliers to adopt and demonstrate the following standards of social Compliance:

  1. Child Labour: Organizations should ensure the effective long-term elimination of child labour, in a manner consistent with the interests of the children concerned. Children or young persons under 18 shall not be employed at night or in hazardous conditions.
  2. Forced Labour: There should be no forced, bonded or involuntary labour and no workers are required to lodge “deposits” or identity papers with their employers and should be able to leave after giving reasonable notice.
  3. Health, Safety and Hygiene: All employees should expect to work in an environment that is both safe and healthy. Adequate steps should be taken to prevent accidents occurring in the normal course of work. Workers should receive suitable health and safety training and have access to clean toilet facilities and clean drinking water as required.
  4. Freedom of Association and Employee Representation: All workers and employers have the right to form and join organizations of their own choosing without prior authorization.
  5. Working Hours: working hours should not be excessive and shall comply with relevant local laws. Overtime should be voluntary.
  6. Equality of Treatment: Organizations will seek to eliminate discrimination in access to employment, training and working conditions, on grounds of race, colour, sex, age, religion, political opinion, national extraction, sexual orientation, disability or social origin and promote equality of opportunity and treatment
  7. Remuneration: Wages and benefits afforded to workers should meet national standards. Workers should be provided with clear written information on their pay and conditions. Excessive deductions on wages should not be permitted as a disciplinary measure.
  8. Employment terms: All workers should be provided with simple, written contracts which must detail the terms and conditions of their employment. Contracts should be clearly understandable to each worker. Work performed should be on the basis of recognized employment law and practice.
  9. Community impact: Organizations are encouraged to support the communities in which they operate through appropriate community initiatives.

Environment 

We seek to ensure that appropriate attention is paid to environmental issues when we purchase products and services.

In all cases suppliers should be able to demonstrate environmental policies and management systems sufficient to ensure continuous improvement in environmental performance. Therefore, suppliers should be able to demonstrate:

  1. Documented policies regarding environmental management.
  2. The ability to monitor and review environmental performance.
  3. The degree to which operations are covered by recognized environmental management systems or the organizations intentions towards such accreditation.
  4. The awareness of potential environmental risks inherent in their production, service or sourcing activities.
  5. The implementation of mechanisms and processes in place to mitigate or minimize potential environmental risks.
  6. The degree to which products and services have been designed with environmental considerations in mind.

Suppliers should seek to: 

  1. Minimize the use of energy, water and raw materials where practical.
  2. Maximize the use of recyclable and renewable materials including energy where possible.
  3. Make practical efforts to minimize waste and dispose of it in a safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible manner.
  4. Avoid contamination of the local environment and ensure that emissions, air, noise and odour pollution is, as a minimum, within nationally defined limits.

Ethics 

The Firm has clear ethical standards and arrangements in place for carrying out its operations and similar standards are expected of our suppliers. Suppliers should be able to demonstrate the existence of processes and procedures to implement appropriate staff guidelines and codes of conduct.

Suppliers should ensure that management systems and practices are in place to ensure the prevention of:

  1. Money Laundering
  2. Insider Trading
  3. Conflicts of Interest
  4. Fraud, Bribery and Corruption and other improper Payments or Gifts
  5. Unauthorized access to personal and business information