Code of Conduct
The Nidecker Group is committed to developing innovative and high-performance action sport products, while reducing its environmental footprint and fulfilling social responsibility. Balancing performance, durability and sustainability is at the heart of our business ethic. This balance is achieved through the implementation of diverse practices targeting:
- Social responsibility towards our stakeholders: as a socially responsible employer, the Nidecker Group respects and promotes the rights of its employees and partners for fair and safe working conditions. The high quality of its products and its related safety rules are also a crucial aspect of its customers’ protection.
- Sustainable performance and footprint reduction: create product of the highest quality, performance and durability standards with all manufacturing done in the most sustainable and environmentally friendly manner possible. The Nidecker Group also encourages its brands to contribute to 1% for the Planet, a network of companies that take responsibility for their environmental footprint and give back 1% of sales revenues to environmental causes.
The Nidecker Group can only achieve this sustainable strategy though the full collaboration of our suppliers. It is critical that our suppliers commit to follow equivalent ethical business practices, and set up the foundation for trustworthy relationships between stakeholders along the life cycle of our value chain.
This Code of Conduct outlines the values and practices our suppliers are expected to follow with regards to ethical management, fair and safe labour conditions, treating employees with dignity and respect, as well as environmental protections.
We understand that the efforts requested to implement some of these sustainability practices may be challenging. Striving to meet the goals is an opportunity to work in a collaborative manner, to share good practices and mutually support each other to achieve continual improvement and meaningful changes in the medium and long term.
The present Code of Conduct is based on the International Labor Conventions (ILO), on environmental international standards and initiatives, as well as on internal policies.
Safety & Social Responsibility
The Nidecker Group expects a very high level of responsibility and a strong ethical stance towards the people who create and make our products. Our suppliers shall treat their employees with dignity and respect, complying with the highest standards of human rights:
Safe working conditions: the supplier shall offer a safe and healthy working environment to its employees to prevent any harmful incidents related to their work activities. The employees shall have the right to refuse any unsafe work and to report unhealthy working conditions. The health and safety management system must be coordinated by a person in charge of workplace risk analysis, training of employees, and the health and safety system’s continual auditing and improvement.
Working hours: the supplier will comply with local laws and regulations without exceeding the ILO convention limit of 48 hours per week on a regular basis. The overtime will not exceed the local laws and will be executed on an exceptional basis, in case of urgent work or “force majeure”. The employee will be entitled to one day off (24 hours) minimum for every seven days.
Wage: the wage-level must allow the employees to meet their needs and their families’, considering the general level of wages in the country, the cost of living, social security benefits, and, if higher, the level of the wage in the local industry standard. The employees must be compensated for overtime hours at the rate legally required. The supplier will apply equal remuneration for male and female employees for work of equal value, referring to rates of remuneration established without discrimination based on sex.
Child labor: the supplier shall not hire employees who are less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling, and in any case, not under the age of 15 years old.
Forced labor: the supplier will not use forced or compulsory labor under any forms. All employees can decide to accept or leave their employment freely. The supplier should also monitor third party companies which assist in recruiting to ensure that employees are not compelled to work through force, intimidation or coercion.
Prohibition of Discrimination: the supplier shall base its employment decisions on equal employment opportunities without any distinction, exclusion or preference made based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin.
Prohibition of Harassment and Abuse: No employee shall be subject to physical, psychological, sexual or verbal violence or any other forms of abuse. An effective complaint mechanism shall be in place to allow employees to report against mobbing, sexual harassment or any other forms of violence or discrimination.
Freedom of association: the supplier respects the legal right of the employees to free association. If restricted by law, the employees will be given the right to raise issues related to any grievances in the workplace without facing any risks of sanctions or threats.
Anti-corruption: the supplier shall demonstrate a high level of integrity in the way it conducts business by following every local and international anti-corruption law and by abstaining from bribery, or from any other method of influencing public authorities or officials.
Product safety: as proved to be crucial to the quality, the legal compliance and the reputation of our brands, the supplier needs to show full transparency and reliability with regards to test results conducted on product safety. Any change related to the testing process needs to be notified without delay.
Environmental Protection
The Nidecker Group is targeting the reduction of its environmental footprint in four different ways while also aiming to achieve material flow circularity in the factories that make our products. Our suppliers shall develop, implement and continually improve environmentally responsible practices through:
Energy & Carbon Footprint: the supplier should implement concrete measures to reduce its energy consumption and carbon footprint. These may include increasing the proportion of renewable energy in its global energy consumption, designing lighter product and packaging, optimizing its logistics, and by using, when possible, the least impactful method of transport.
Water Footprint: water consumption needs to be monitored and possibilities of reduction must be analyzed. Opportunities for recycling or reusing water should be implemented.
Waste Management & Plastic footprint: the supplier shall ensure that any type of waste is adequately treated, recycled or reused according to local legislations and best-known practices, aiming in a progressive and realistic manner for the highest level of circularity. The supplier needs to reduce material usage whenever possible, through methods of sustainable-design, targeting both products and packaging.
Chemical Footprint: the supplier shall comply with legislation regarding restricted and internationally banned substances. The supplier is expected to employ less-harmful alternatives to hazardous substances used in business processes wherever technically and economically viable.
Implementation of the Code of Conduct at Our Suppliers
We expect our suppliers to endorse our social and environmental principles, as well as to implement concrete measures in their management and daily operational practices to ensure they reach these objectives.
Collaboration and transparency: as mentioned in the introduction of this document, we should work in collaboration to improve and share good practices to achieve the expected level of sustainability in our products.
Sub-contracting: we also strongly encourage our suppliers to reproduce the same approach towards their own business partners and to forward this code of conduct (or any other equivalent document) down their supply chain. We will not accept our suppliers deliberately subcontracting part of their activities to avoid our social and environmental principles.
Governance: to prevent any environmental/social damage and to enhance the capacity for improving its environmental performance, the supplier shall appoint a person accountable for environmental/social management of the business. The supplier needs to ensure its compliance with environmental legislation and standards. It shall also follow up on any legal changes and on new local, national or international environmental laws applicable to its activities.
Communication: our suppliers shall communicate this code of conduct to their employees in their working language. If the supplier already displays a code of conduct or any similar document to them, Nidecker Group expects to receive a copy.
Documentation: following the signature and their commitment to these principles, our suppliers shall maintain appropriate records to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this code and will make these available to Nidecker Group upon request at any time.
Any breach observed to this code of conduct can trigger an enhanced due diligence and the end of the business relationship between Nidecker Group and its supplier.