Corporate Responsibility Report 2008 - Mitie

Doing untoothers . . .Business integrity, ethical trading and respectfor the individual are part of what we doevery day. They’re fundamental to ourstrategy, and inextricable from our missionto deliver quality services, opportunity forour people, and sustainable growth – andto do all that in a responsible way.We aim to adopt the highestethical standards with ourstakeholders, and engagewith our suppliers and clientsto do so. Our key businessprinciples as laid out in ourethical business policy areas follows:1. Anti-competitive practiceswill not be tolerated;2. Supplier relationships andpayment practices willbe fair and equitable;3. Conflicts of interest willbe declared;4. Bribery and corruptionwill not be tolerated;5. Insider dealing will notbe tolerated; and6. Information covered bythe Data Protection Actwill be safeguarded.We want mutual beneficial tradingrelationships with our stakeholdersthat are based on trust, ethicalbusiness practices and co-operation.These values are in-line with the basicprinciples of the UN Global Compact.MITIE also endorses the InternationalLabour Organisation’s Declarationon Fundamental Principles andRights at Work and the EthicalTrading Initiative ‘Base Code’. Weensure that employment with us isalways freely chosen, freedom ofassociation is respected, workingconditions are safe and hygienic,child labour is not used, pay is notlower than the minimum wage,working hours are not excessive,discrimination, regular employment isprovided, and no harsh or inhumanetreatment is allowed.Supplier Improvement ProgrammeWe know that selecting the rightsuppliers and sub-contractors is akey way to reduce business risk andimprove performance. In fact wesee our suppliers as partners in ourown success, and we demand thesame standards from those partnersthat we observe ourselves.In 2007 we set up a new SupplierImprovement Programme to ensurethat our main suppliers are alignedwith our CR principles and apply‘downstream accountability’ in theirown supply chains. Our partneringrelationship with national buildingproducts supplier Wolseley hasproven to be particularly rewarding.We don’t view each other just astrading partners but make surewe exchange CR knowledgeand practice by participating ineach other’s CR and environmentforums. Wolseley generouslysupport our Construction SkillsCentres by providing materialsand employment opportunities forthe student apprentices. Wolseleyalso participate in our employeevolunteering events.36 MITIE CR Report 2008142%increase in spend onFairtrade products.