INTRODUCTION
Instaclustr, including its affiliates and subsidiaries, is committed to the highest standards of business conduct, ethics, and integrity while in compliance with all applicable laws. We require you (you may be one of our merchants, suppliers, distributors, agents, representatives, contractors, vendors, tenants, or other business partners), as well as your personnel (people such as your employees, directors, officers, agents, representatives, and subcontractors) to share in this commitment alongside our personnel. Instaclustr also believes in strongly and actively responding to Instaclustr’s stakeholders’ social needs and expectations while anticipating new social and economic developments. We therefore request you comply with this Code of Conduct and commit yourselves to a continuous improvement approach towards the principles listed herein.
1) LABOUR STANDARDS
You shall in particular comply with the following:
- Elimination of all forms of illegal, forced or compulsory labour;
- Elimination of child labour: you shall not employ persons not having reached the minimum age required for work and shall never support the use of child labour, except as part of an official government approved educational youth training scheme;
- Elimination of discrimination of any kind in respect of employment and occupation;
- Compliance with applicable laws and regulations related to maximum working hours and minimum days of rest;
- Compliance with applicable laws and regulations related to the minimum level of wage;
- Respect for freedom of association for their employees, in compliance with applicable laws;
- Compliance with applicable laws and regulations related to employee termination.
2) ETHICS
- Commitment to Integrity
Instaclustr has a firm commitment to conducting business with the highest level of integrity. You shall comply with all applicable legal requirements related to you activities and business environment.
- Prevention of Corruption and Bribery
Instaclustr prohibits all unlawful payments and practices. We reject corruption in all of our business transactions and we are fully committed to complying with all applicable anti-corruption laws and regulations in the countries where we are present. Bribes, kickbacks and money laundering are strictly prohibited. A bribe or kickback is the giving or accepting of money, fees, commissions, credits, gifts, favors, or anything of value that is either directly or indirectly provided in return for favourable treatment. We expect our suppliers to adhere to these same prohibitions when conducting business.
- Gifts and Hospitality
You should refrain from offering gifts and hospitality to Instaclustr employees. Instaclustr will refuse all gifts and hospitality that are not of reasonable, modest and symbolic value, nor occasional, transparent and cannot be reciprocated.
- Conflicts of Interest
A conflict occurs when your private interests interfere – or appear to interfere with the interests of Instaclustr. Your company should base its business decisions on your company’s needs, rather than on the personal interests of your employees, the interests of family or friends, or any other reason that creates a conflict which could impact either party’s objectivity. In this regard, be aware that any personal business relationships that you or your company may have with an employee, supplier, customer or competitor of Instaclustr should never influence the decisions you make on our behalf.
- Compliance with Competition Law
Competition laws ensure that companies compete fairly in the market. Any agreement with competitors that has the purpose or effect of fixing prices, distorting a bidding process, sharing markets or customers, limiting production or boycotting a customer or supplier is prohibited. In your capacity as a supplier supporting Instaclustr, if you are required to gather information about our competitors, only gather such information from public sources freely available to others.
3) ENVIRONMENT
You shall implement and/or pursue initiatives that contribute to the preservation of the environment and mitigation of your impact on natural resources.
You shall limit the amount of waste material generated from your operations and ensure the disposal of such waste in a manner that is respectful to the environment.
You shall avoid the use of hazardous substances. In the event no alternative is available, you shall ensure the safe handling and disposal of those substances. You shall promote the development of environment friendly technologies (e.g. controlling pollutant, CO2 emissions, etc.) as well as energy saving and recycling solutions, and implement logistics strategies that minimise environmental impacts (notably with respect to storage, shipment and transportation).
4) OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
If applicable, you shall ensure that your activities are safe for the health of your employees, your own contractors, the local community and the users of your products.
Instaclustr’s Suppliers and Contractors shall adopt a proactive attitude to health and safety issues. Risks linked to their activity shall be identified, evaluated and either eliminated or mitigated.
5) PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Instaclustr values products and services that eliminate or mitigate negative environmental, health and safety impacts from their products during their life cycle, while maintaining and/or improving the quality of usage of their products. Consequently, Instaclustr implores you to seek, develop and propose low environmental footprint solutions i.e. being energy and material efficient, hazardous substances free, low noise emissions, easy recyclable solutions and any other relevant solutions.
6) CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY
You and your personnel shall:
- Comply with our Privacy Policy available at https://www.instaclustr.com/policies/privacy-policy/
- Comply with all applicable data privacy laws and regulations when processing the personal or identifying information of anyone with whom you conduct business, which may include suppliers, customers, consumers, and employees.
- Strictly safeguard the data and information privacy of any personal information you receive from or through Instaclustr.
- Implement reasonable and industry standard efforts to keep data secure and confidential at all times.
- Not share or disclose Instaclustr’s intellectual property, confidential information, or any other proprietary information that you may acquire or have access to through your relationship with Instaclustr. This includes, but is not limited to, the information you develop in connection with your engagement with us, and any information relating to Instaclustr products, Instaclustr clients, Instaclustr merchants, Instaclustr personnel, pricing, costs, strategies, programs, processes, and practices. If you have executed a non-disclosure agreement with Instaclustr, that agreement will supersede this section.
7) Books and Records
You and your personnel shall:
- Cooperate fully with Instaclustr in any government audits to the extent relevant and applicable to you. We may request an audit once per annum at our expense and with reasonable notice.
- Keep accurate books, accounts, and records for all transactions related to your business with Instaclustr.
- Not use fictitious, inaccurate, or misleading documents to support transactions related to business with us.
- Not engage in false or misleading accounting practices, such as using undisclosed or unrecorded payments.
8) ALERT PROCEDURE
It is your obligation to immediately report any known or suspected violations of this Code of Conduct (whether the violation is by you, your personnel, Instaclustr or Instaclustr’s personnel) via https://www.instaclustr.com/policies/whistleblower-policy/
9) COMPLIANCE
Failure to comply with this Code of Conduct will be considered a breach of your contract with Instaclustr, and may result in Instaclustr terminating its business relationship with you immediately. To the extent your contract contradicts or supplements this Code of Conduct, the contract shall govern as it applies to that contradicting or supplemental provision.