Supplier Code of Conduct (COC)

C Food Norway (CFN) strives to ensure that all its business operations are responsible and in accordance with fundamental human rights. Its business will respect labour rights, be free from corruption, and sustainable. A code of conduct (COC) has therefore been established for the company’s suppliers. This is based on the UN’s principles for fundamental human rights and the principles for decent work defined by the ILO.

Plans call for the COC to be approved by the CFN board in July 2023, when it will become an integrated part of the company’s business practice.

When CFN chooses new suppliers and business partners, suppliers are expected to display good business ethics and judgement. Compliance with CFN’s COC will carry great weight in new contracts. The COC defines the minimum standards which suppliers must comply with. They must also comply with national rules and standards.

CFN recognises that variations and challenges can arise for individual suppliers. In such cases, it will require transparency, dialogue and information on how the supplier is working to meet the COC requirements with specific improvement measures. Suppliers are expected to implement measures to meet the requirements.

The COC is to be regarded as a contractually binding document and as an integral part of the collaboration between CFN and suppliers/business partners.

1. Forced/slave labour ILO conventions 29 and 105, article 4, UN universal declaration on human rights
   • No form of forced, slave or involuntary labour will occur.
   • Workers must not be required to pay a deposit or surrender identity papers to the employer, and must be free to terminate the employment with reasonable notice.

2. Organisation ILO conventions 87, 98, 135 and 154, article 23, UN universal declaration on human rights
   • Workers must without exception have the right to join or establish trade unions of their own choice, and to bargain collectively. The employer must not interfere with, prevent or oppose union organisation or collective bargaining.
   • The employer must not discriminate against union representatives or prevent them from conducting their union work.
   • If the right to free organisation and/or collective bargaining is restricted by law, the employer must facilitate and not prevent alternative mechanisms for free and independent organisation and negotiation.

3. Discrimination ILO conventions 100 and 111, article 23, UN convention on eliminating discrimination against women
   • Workers must without exception receive equal pay for equal work.
   • No discrimination must occur in employment, remuneration, training, promotion, dismissal or retirement based on ethnicity, caste, religion, age, disability, gender, civil status, sexual orientation, union work or political affiliation.
   • Protections must be established against sexual harassment, threatening, humiliating or exploitative behaviour, and discrimination or dismissal on unreasonable grounds such as marriage, pregnancy, parental status or HIV infection.

4. Working time Article 24, UN universal declaration on human rights, ILO conventions 1 and 14
   • Working hours must accord with national legislation or industry standards, and not exceed the time specified by applicable international conventions. Normal working hours per week must not exceed 48 hours.
   • Workers must have at least one day off every seven days.
   • Overtime must be limited and voluntary. The recommended maximum is 12 hours per week – in other words, an overall working week of 60 hours. Exceptions from this can be accepted if they are enshrined in a collective agreement or national law.
   • Workers must have the right to holidays corresponding to applicable national rules.
   • Workers must always receive overtime pay for work beyond the normal working time of 48 hours, as a minimum in accordance with applicable legislation.

5. Pay ILO convention 131
   • Workers’ pay for a normal working week must be at least in line with national minimum pay provisions or the industry standard, with the higher applying. Pay must always be sufficient to meet basic needs, including some saving.
   • Remuneration terms and payment must be specified in a written agreement before work starts. The agreement must be understandable by the worker.
   • No deductions may be made from pay as a form of punishment.

6. Child labour UN convention on the rights of the child, ILO conventions 79, 138, 182 and ILO recommendation 146
   • The minimum age for workers must not be lower than 15, and in line with i) the national minimum age for employment or ii) the upper age of compulsory education, with the higher applying.
   • If the local minimum age is set at 14 in line with the exception in ILO convention 138, this can be accepted.
   • No new recruitment of child labour contrary to the above-mentioned minimum age is permitted.
   • Children under the age of 18 must not perform work which is harmful for their health, safety or morals, including night work.
   • Action plans must be established for speedily phasing out child labour contrary to ILO conventions 138 and 182. These plans must be documented and communicated to relevant personnel and other stakeholders, including CFN. Provision must be made for support schemes which give children the opportunity for education until they are past school-leaving age.

7. Brutal treatment Article 5, UN universal declaration on human rights
   • Physical mistreatment or punishment, or threats of physical mistreatment, are banned. The same applies to sexual or other abuse and other forms of humiliation.

8. Health, safety and the environment (HSE) ILO convention 155 and recommendation 164
   • Efforts must be made to provide workers with a safe and healthy working environment. Hazardous chemicals and other substances must be handled in an acceptable way, and procedures must be in place for training and handling.
   • Necessary measures must be implemented to prevent and minimise accidents and health damage as a result of, or related to, conditions in the workplace.
   • Workers must receive regular and documented training in health and safety. Such training must be repeated for new and redeployed workers.
   • Workers must have access to clean sanitary facilities and drinking water. Where relevant, the employer must ensure access to facilities for safe food storage.
   • If the employer provides accommodation, this must be clean, safe, adequately ventilated and have access to clean sanitary facilities and drinking water.

9. Regular employment
   • Duties owed to workers under international conventions, national legislation and rules on regular employment must not be evaded through the use of short-term employment (such as contract, casual or day work), sub-contracting or other work relationships.
   • All workers are entitled to a contract of employment in a language they understand.
   • The duration and content of possible apprentice contracts must be clearly defined.

10. Marginalised population groups
    • Production and use of natural resources must not contribute to destroying the resource and income basis for indigenous people or other marginalised categories – by occupying large areas of land, for example, or by irresponsible use of water or other natural resources on which these groups depend.

11. Climate, nature and the environment
    • Negative environmental impacts must be reduced throughout the value chain. In line with the precautionary principle, measures must be implemented continuously to minimise emissions of greenhouse gases, local polluting discharges and use of hazardous chemicals and spray agents, and to ensure sustainable resource extraction and management of water, sea, forest and land as well as protection of biological diversity.
    • National and international environmental legislation and regulations must be observed and relevant emission/discharge permits obtained.

• Corruption
  • All forms of bribery are unacceptable, such as the use of alternative channels to secure illegitimate private or work-related benefits for customers, agents, contractors, suppliers or their employees, as well as civil servants.

• Animal welfare
  • Animal welfare must be respected. Measures should be initiated to minimise negative impacts on the welfare of production and work animals.
  • National and international animal welfare legislation and regulations must be observed.
• Remediation of possible damage
  • Where CFN’s activities cause or contribute to negative impacts on people, society or the environment, the company will work to halt the activity and seek to remediate the damage in dialogue with affected parties.
  • Where the supplier is responsible for the negative impact/damage, the supplier is responsible for remediation.