2024 UNI all rights reserved
- Social:
-
-
-
The commitment of the company and its employees regarding the human rights is to:
"UNI" is fully committed to these conditions and regulations for an extended period of time. We will always continue to look for more relevant ways to adhere and support the promotion of human rights, in the scope of our industry.
As a member of the Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC), "UNI" intends to provide customers with the trust that its value chain is managed responsibly. In the conduct of its activities, it is committed to complying with all applicable laws, regulations, and national and international conventions. It also strives to improve its performance with regards to ethics, social responsibility, and protection of the environment.
As such, it respects and follows the principles provided by its own Code of Conduct and Responsible Procurement Policy as well as the Convention of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Universal Declaration of Human rights, the United Nations Global Compact, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
"UNI" requires its business partners and suppliers to ensure their own operations comply with and respect applicable laws and ethics principles. This Supplier Code of Conduct fosters a set of core practices in the areas of business integrity, labor policies, and environmental protection that "UNI" applies and requires its suppliers to align with.
When national legislation or other applicable regulations address the same issue as this Supplier Code of Conduct, the most restrictive provisions shall apply. When this Supplier Code of Conduct is in contradiction with applicable law, the law shall apply.
Our suppliers remain the guarantors of "UNI" for work performed by their own subcontractors and suppliers to guarantee compliance to this Supplier Code of Conduct and relevant obligations.
Legal requirements: Suppliers are required to comply with local, national, and international laws in the conduct of their operations. They should design and implement procedures allowing them to identify, monitor, and understand the legal framework they are subject to.
Fiscal requirements: "UNI" applies a zero-tolerance policy regarding tax avoidance (taxes, customs, fees or royalties due to governments).
Corruption: "UNI" requires its suppliers to respect applicable laws in regards to corruption and to take measures to prevent, detect, alert, and sanction corrupt practices. Forms of corruption notably include bribery, extortion, influence peddling, embezzlement.
Gifts and gratuities: Suppliers should not offer or accept any gifts and gratuities that might compromise their ability to make fair business decisions. Gifts and gratuities may be deemed acceptable expressions of courtesy within the context of business relations if limited in scope and value, given transparently, permitted under applicable law, customary in the location where given, and not offered with an expectation to obtain something in return.
Conflicts of interest: Suppliers are expected to prevent the occurrence of situations that would generate potential conflicts of interest within the scope of their business relationship with "UNI".
Money- laundering: Suppliers are expected to take all appropriate measures to prevent their operations from being used as vehicles for money-laundering.
Terrorist financing: Suppliers are expected to take all appropriate measures to ensure they are not directly or indirectly supporting non-state armed groups. They shall proceed with extra caution when making payments to charities or dealing with new customers.
Confidentiality: Suppliers should adopt ethical business principles and guarantee the respect and confidentiality of intellectual property, trade secrets, and non-publicly available information gathered as part of their business relationship with "UNI".
Protection of personal data: Suppliers are required to comply with all applicable laws and regulations pertaining to personal data collection and protection.
Information transparency: Suppliers are required to provide clear and accurate information regarding the resources and methods they use, their production sites, and the characteristics of products or services they supply. They are also expected to conduct their business operations with transparency, and to reflect these operations in their books.
Grievance mechanism & whistleblowing: We recommend all suppliers to set up a grievance mechanism that would guarantee both employees and business partners receive effective and respectful communication and Direction in case they wish to lodge a complaint.
Child labor: Suppliers and their facilities must not employ children under the age of 15. In countries where the age limit to complete compulsory education is above 15, or the legal limit for child labour is above 15, the highestage limit is applicable. In any case, young workers below the age of 18 must be employed in conditions that do not jeopardize their physical and mental health. Young workers should therefore be considered in precise circumstances such as formation programs. In all cases, suppliers are responsible for accurately documenting and keeping records of the date of birth of past and present employees. Where government issued identifications are not available, an independent means should be used (i.e. medical or religious records).
Forced or undeclared labour: Employees of our suppliers and business partners shall be free to accept or quit their position. Accordingly, forced labour, slavery, convict labour, and human trafficking are strictly prohibited. Suppliers shall be particularly cautious to identify and remediate situations where an employee is forced into work to repay a recruitment commission, or due to the retention of his identification or travel documents. Suppliers are also required to prevent clandestine and undeclared employment.
Fair treatment, non-discrimination, and gender equality: Suppliers shall not use physical, sexual, mental, nor verbal harassment toward its employees. We expect all workers to be treated with due respect and dignity. Additionally, we expect all workers to be treated equally and fairly. Therefore, suppliers should avoid all forms of discrimination whether based on gender, race, religion, nationality, age, caste, political views, sexual orientation, or any other group mentioned in anti-discrimination laws. Suppliers shall be careful in all circumstances and more specifically in regards to recruitment, wage, formation, benefits, promotion, and dismissal.
Work hours: The regular work schedule of any employee must not exceed 48h of work (or 60h including compensated overtime) for a six-day period. Each employee must receive at least one day off per week. Suppliers are expected to comply with the International Labor Organization (ILO) standards. This includes the existence of a tracking system for work hours.
Wage and benefits: Suppliers are required to comply with applicable laws to compensate for work and overtime. They should set a level of compensation which ensures each employee can afford their essential needs. Suppliers are also expected to provide their employees with periodic payslips disclosing the days or hours worked and the wage to be paid. Wage deductions should not be used as a disciplinary measure.
Freedom of association: Suppliers should not prevent employees from associating freely with any lawful and peaceful workers’ or collective negotiation associations. Where local labor laws restrict these freedoms, suppliers are encouraged to facilitate parallel means of free association and bargaining for personnel. Employees who chose to join such an association shall not be discriminated against or sanctioned in any way.
Health and safety: Suppliers are required to provide a safe and healthy working environment for their employees in accordance with applicable local laws and any specific regulations related to their industry. Suppliers are expected to provide their employees with an adequate set of procedures, equipment, and training to prevent and mitigate work injuries and workplace accidents. Suppliers shall be encouraged to nominate a health & safety supervisor to monitor workplace compliance (particularly in terms of fire safety). All employees shall be granted access to sanitary and drinkable water.
Local communities: It is highly recommended for suppliers to commit themselves to the sustainable development of the communities located close to their business operations by investing in employment, training, and construction, for example.
"UNI" requires that its suppliers respect local and international laws, regulations, and standards in regards to the protection of the environment. Additionally, it expects its suppliers to take a step further in their commitment by (i) drawing an accurate picture of their environmental footprint and (ii) building a decision-making system aiming at improving this picture.
Environmental footprint: "UNI" expects its suppliers, to the best of their ability, to measure the impact of their operations in terms of resources consumption (incl. water and energy), digital pollution, use of chemical and hazardous substances, production of air emissions (incl. greenhouse gas), and pollution of water and soil. It also expects them to be aware of the key issues affecting the ecosystems they operate in, particularly concerning biodiversity.
Environmental management system: Once suppliers have reached a better understanding of their environmental footprint, "UNI" expects them to build a decision-making system aiming at improving this picture. This includes tackling all issues mentioned above by assessing how operations could shift to green energy and low-carbon transportation, how hazardous chemicals could be replaced or reduced, how overall resources’ consumption could be reduced, how waste management could be improved, and how to develop recycling practices (sustainable packaging, water reclamation).
Traceability: "UNI" requires its suppliers to communicate honestly in regards to the nature of the products they supply. This implies the existence of a reliable internal tracking system with sufficient technology to gather and record all of a product’s history, from the origin of the stones, its method of extraction, its transportation routes, the service suppliers it went through, its characteristics (weight, cut, clarity, color), the treatments it might have undergone as well as all taxes paid, and all payments made to government agencies.
Naturality: "UNI" requires its suppliers to equip themselves to ensure the diamonds they sell are exclusively of natural origin and have not been treated. We remind suppliers that 100% of non-GIA certified diamonds shall be verified according to these criteria. "UNI" requires written guarantees addressing naturality and non-treatment of all diamonds it purchases. Any supplier encountering issues regarding the naturality of diamonds provided shall warn "UNI" immediately.
Conflict-free procurement: "UNI" adheres to responsible diamond procurement practices and guarantees to its own customers that all diamonds were acquired or purchased from legitimate sources not involved in conflict financing, in accordance with United Nations Resolutions and applicable national laws. "UNI" adheres to the World Diamond Council System (WDC) and follows the guidelines of its System of Warranties (SoW) to guarantee the stones it sells are conflict-free. In this framework, "UNI" requires all its suppliers to fully adhere to the SoW as well, and requires similar written guarantees.
“UNI” reminds its suppliers that the diamond industry's self-regulation principles rely on voluntarily creating a chain of written warranties for all transactions involving the purchase and sale of diamonds, from invoice to invoice. Therefore, it requires suppliers to agree, represent, and warrant that they do collect all the necessary warranties previously mentioned (cf. “Traceability”).
Suppliers shall comply with the following warranty statements and print them on all finished goods invoices remitted to "UNI":
“The diamonds herein invoiced are exclusively of natural origin and untreated based on personal knowledge and/or written guarantees provided by the supplier of these diamonds”
“The diamonds herein invoiced have been purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict, in compliance with United Nations Resolutions and corresponding national. “Supplier name” hereby guarantees that these diamonds are conflict free and confirms adherence to the WDC SoW Guidelines”.
“To the best of our knowledge and/or written assurance from our suppliers, we state that the diamonds herein invoiced have not been obtained in violation of applicable National Laws and /or Sanctions by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and have not originated from Mbada Diamonds, Marange Resources, or the Marange Region minefields of Zimbabwe”.
By signing the Supplier Code of Conduct, suppliers commit to take reasonable steps to ensure that all diamonds are supplied in accordance with the "UNI" policy on responsible sourcing from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas.
"UNI" appreciates and expects its suppliers to communicate the principles of the Supplier Code of Conduct to their employees, sub-contractors and any other third parties with whom they do business to ensure the principles are fully integrated into their operations.
Suppliers should report all existing or potential discrepancies between their current operations and the requirements set out in this Code and propose recovery and remedial action plans.
"UNI" purchasing staff will be trained to assess whether best practices reminded in this Supplier Code of Conduct are being implemented as regards to the procurement of diamonds, and may involve colleagues and third parties to assist them.
"UNI" shall be entitled to request information from its suppliers as to their compliance with the terms of this Supplier Code of Conduct, notably through a self-assessment questionnaire. Where necessary, "UNI" may require a supplier to provide evidence of its compliance by way of independent certification.
"UNI" shall be entitled to visit suppliers’ production facilities and the facilities of their subcontractors and suppliers to establish whether the terms of this Supplier Code of Conduct are being complied with.
In the event of any violation of this Supplier Code of Conduct by one of its suppliers or subcontractors, "UNI" reserves the right to review the business relationship and possibly terminate it in conformity with applicable law, even if there is no written contract formalizing this relationship, without prejudice to the other rights of "UNI" or remedies it might seek.
We are committed to maintaining the highest degree of integrity in all of our dealings with potential, current and past clients, both in terms of normal commercial confidentiality, and the protection of all personal information received in the course of providing the business services. We extend the same standards to all of our customers, suppliers, and associates.
We always conduct our own services honestly and honorably and expect our clients and suppliers to do the same. Our advice, strategic assistance, and training methods carefully consider ethical considerations, aiming to protect and enhance the moral standing of both our clients and suppliers.
The RJC is a standards-setting organization that has been established to reinforce consumer confidence in the jewelry industry by promoting responsible, ethical, human rights, social and environmental practices throughout the jewelry supply chain. The RJC has developed a common platform of standards for the jewelry supply chain and credible mechanisms for verifying responsible business practices through third party auditing. We commit to operating our business according to the RJC Principles and Code of Practices. These are available at: www.responsiblejewellery.com
In line with this policy, our commitment is to integrate ethical, human rights, social, and environmental considerations into our day-to-day operations, business planning activities, and decision-making processes.
Our actions and advice will always conform to relevant laws, and we believe that all businesses and organizations, including this consultancy, should avoid causing any adverse effect on the human rights of people in the organizations we deal with, the local and wider environments, and the well-being of society at large.
Due to the sensitive nature of our unique DATA products, we will not provide any information to customers that could expose details about their competitors.
Our contract will be in the form of a detailed proposal, including aims, activities, costs, timescales, and deliverables. The quality of our service and the value of our support provide the only true basis for continuity. We always try to meet our clients' contractual requirements, particularly for situations where an external funding provider requires more official parameters and controls.
Our fees are always competitive for what we provide, which is high quality, tailored, specialized service. As such we do not generally offer arbitrary discounts. Usually the fees set are for all customers, but there are exceptions, according to the management decision. Generally, a reduction in price is only enabled by reducing the level or extent of services to be delivered. That said, we always try to propose solutions which accommodate our clients' available budgets and timescales. Wherever possible we agree our fees and basis of charges clearly in advance, so that we and our clients can plan reliably for what lies ahead, and how it is to be achieved and financially justified.
Payment terms are settled in advance with the customer in a clear way, in good faith, and out of free will of both parties.
We do not attempt in any way to charge interest on late payments, so we expect that payments will be made as agreed.
We retain the moral rights in, and ownership of, all intellectual property that we create unless agreed otherwise in advance with our clients. In return we respect the moral and intellectual copyright vested in our client's intellectual property.
We maintain the quality of what we do through constant ongoing review with our clients of all aims, activities, outcomes, and the cost-effectiveness of every activity. We ask our customers on a regular basis through phone conversations and follow-up meetings, to give us feedback on how they perceive the performance of the platform. We get their view on how user-friendly it is, what additional features will be helpful, and how we can improve their user experience. In addition to that, we are actively improving platform performance on a regular basis based on our management team’s guidelines and roadmap.
We conduct all of our activities professionally and with integrity. We take great care to be completely objective in our judgment and any recommendations that we give, so that business activities are never influenced by anything other than the best and proper interests of our clients.
We always strive to be fair and objective in our advice and actions, and we are never influenced in our decisions, actions, or recommendations by issues of gender, race, creed, color, age, or personal disability.
“UNI”’s policy is to observe and comply with all national and international laws applicable to the Company, or applicable to the conduct of business in all countries where it provides its services. The company and its members are obligated to engage in Legal business activities only.
The Company’s goal is not only to comply with the minimum legal requirements, but also to be a leader and set an example in corporate ethical behavior, driven by the Company’s responsibility and good citizenship.
“UNI” shall not take any action or omit any action that may mislead a customer regarding any material aspect of a transaction. “UNI” must provide the customer with any material information regarding the purchase of a product or service offered to him, all in accordance with the local law.
2024 UNI all rights reserved