Introduction
Food Force is a food manufacturing company based in Estonia that specializes in producing dehydrated meals, breakfasts and long-shelf-life snacks. Our products are intended for armies, crisis management organizations and aid organizations. They are also ideal for hikers, sailors, and anyone who needs a nutritious and tasty meal but may not have access to fresh ingredients or cooking facilities. In addition to our own line of products, we also sell a wide range of products from various outside manufacturers.
Ethical, social and environmental responsibility is an integral part of our long-term business strategy. To ensure responsible behavior, our Supplier Code of Conduct summarizes the requirements for all suppliers and intermediaries who supply or mediate products and services for Food Force (OÜ Food Force).
Code of conduct involves compliance with business ethics, environmental protection, human rights and working conditions related topics. The requirements are based on the principles of the United Nations (UN) conventions and International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions.
Business ethics
All partners are expected to:
Treat fairly and strive always to comply with the highest ethical standards and all relevant legal requirements in the activity, including corporate governance, work environment, ethical standards and environmental protection;
Provide, upon request, accurate information about one's activities, as well as one's practice in the field of work, health, safety and the environment, without falsifying or concealing the facts;
Report violations of the code of conduct standards;
Avoid any conflicts of interest and refuse to participate in activities prohibited by the law;
Avoid offering or accepting bribe or other types of illegal payments or benefits.
Environmental protection
All partners are expected to:
Comply with relevant or applicable environmental protection laws, regulations and standards;
Take responsibility for the environmental impact of one's activities;
Implement and use technologies that do not harm the environment.
Human rights
All partners are expected to:
Respect human rights and comply with all relevant laws and regulations in the countries in which they work;
Ensure honest behavior, respect and fairness towards all the workers.
Forced labor and child labor
All partners are expected to:
Prohibit forced labor in its activities, including the ban of bonded labor and other forms of compulsory labor. No employee may be forced to hand over valuables or identity documents to the employer;
Hire only employees who meet the applicable minimum age limits set in local country and comply with all the applicable laws related to child labour.
Salary and working hours
All partners are expected to:
Ensure that working hours, breaks and holidays are in accordance with local legislation and agreements, as well as international agreements. Working hours, excluding overtime, must be specified in the employment contract.
Determine overtime policies in accordance with all applicable local laws. Overtime is done on a voluntary basis, it may not be required regularly.
Pay all employees at least the minimum wage established by local legislation.
Working conditions and safety
All partners are expected to:
Ensure a safe and healthy working environment for employees, including define responsibilities and establish procedures to prevent accidents and work-related injuries;
Comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding the provision of appropriate and safeworking conditions;
Prevent situations that may lead to the risk of physical or psychological violence, verbal or psychological harassment and/or sexual violence and coercion;
Prevent discrimination of all employees during recruitment and employment on the basis of gender, race, nationality, language, origin, social status, age, sexual orientation, certain abilities (or lack thereof), ethnicity, membership of a political party or union, religion, beliefs, convictions or on the basis of views, intention to have a child(ren) or other non-work-related circumstance;
Ensure access to clean toilets and drinking water and, if necessary, to hygienic rooms for food storage;
When providing accommodation options, they must be clean and safe and meet the basic needs of employees;
Pay serious attention to the occupational protection and safety technology of employees in all their fields of activity;
Take appropriate measures to prevent occupational diseases and accidents at the workplace, as well as ensuring safe and healthy workplaces for employees.
Freedom of association
All partners are expected to:
Recognize the right of employees to freely form associations and join them (or refrain from joining) according to their own choice and participate in collective negotiations. The employees must not be discriminated for using this right;
Give employees the opportunity to file complaints and other expressions of dissatisfaction with the workplace.
Enforcement
The supplier undertakes to ensure the enforcement of the requirements contained in this code of conduct. Furthermore, all suppliers are expected to have appropriate procedures in place to ensure that suppliers who supply products and services to them also comply with the requirements of our supplier code of conduct.
We conduct on-site inspections to ensure compliance with the supplier code of conduct. These inspections may be unannounced and may be conducted by an independent third party.
If the supplier fails to comply with the terms of the supplier code of conduct, we may terminate the business relationship if the situation does not improve within the agreed period.