tele2 Code of conduct
and Business Partner Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy and Conflict Minerals Policy
Tele2 has a vision to be the smartest telco in the world, enabling a society of unlimited possibilities. We believe that ‘how’ we deliver our vision is equally important as ‘what’ we are trying to achieve.
Tele2's customers, shareholders and other stakeholders should be confident that how we do business does not only comply with legal requirements, but also meets the highest standards of ethics and integrity. We believe this goes hand in hand with delivering a strong and sustainable financial performance.
The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to help each of us understand our responsibilities as representatives of Tele2. We should also not forget that it is our duty to ensure that our business partners such as dealers, consultants, suppliers, vendors and others keep to this code when they represent Tele2.
Our code helps us understand our responsibilities as representatives of Tele2. It covers a wide range of issues, such as:
- how we treat people with respect and provide fair working conditions
- business integrity topics such as anti-corruption, stakeholder interaction, governance and financial reporting
- how we work with, and what we expect of, suppliers and vendors
- our impact on the environment
- safety and integrity of our products and services
The code is based on the ten principles provided by the United Nations Global Compact.
Tele2 requires all employees, management and members of our Board of Directors to:
- Read and understand the Code
- Sign a written or digital acknowledgement that they have done so
- Ensure that both the content and the spirit of the Code are acted upon
- Ensure that Tele2 affiliates understand and comply with the Code
Tele2 Code of Conduct
Tele2 Business Partner Code of Conduct
We at Tele2 are proud of our Code of Conduct (CoC) and the document has a very strong position in our company. Naturally as part of our sustainability and compliance efforts, we expect our Business Partners (suppliers, consultants and other categories) to adopt equally, or higher, requirements. Those requirements have been clearly formulated in our Business Partner CoC, which will be sent out to our potential Business Partners early in the procurement process.
CoC Compliance and Follow up for Business Partners
To do business with us, we expect you, as a Business Partner, to sign, implement and comply with the code. Tele2, or the external party that Tele2 appoints, will occasionally perform CoC audits on compliance with the elements included in the code. Such audits will not cover any other processes than those covered by the code meaning that confidential business information, processes and material will be left out. Tele2 would like to draw your attention to the fact that part of each audit will focus on how you, as Business Partner, ensure compliance with your suppliers. We therefore strongly recommend you to spread the requirements, separate or all together as a code, relevant to the CoC areas and follow up on progress and compliance for your supply chain and other relevant parties.
Our view on general requirements, for parties developing their own code as referred to above, we suggest and encourage Business Partners to look into the following, if/when designing own codes:
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)
The Universal declaration of Human Rights
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
The International Labour Organization Standards
The United Nation's Children's Rights and Business Principles
The first on the list above, the UNGC, consists of a overall corporate responsibility short list with 10 principles in the fields of Environment, Labour Rights, Human Rights and Anti-corruption. Applying the UNGC is likely to cover most companies basic needs, in relation to sustainability and compliance, and is an excellent starting point to help qualifying for a Business Partner at Tele2.
Tele2 regularly engages in dialogues with our largest suppliers to discuss the contents of our Business Partner Code of Conduct, including issues related to environment, social and governance. In addition to the Business Partner Code of Conduct, we are using EcoVadis Business Sustainability Ratings to assess the sustainability performance of our partners and suppliers and to encourage them to report their progress on various environmental and sustainability topics.
On-site audits to ensure a sustainable supply chain
Through our Business Partner Code of Conduct we set our demands on suppliers that they should conduct their operations in a sustainable way. To make sure that these demands are followed, we conduct on-site audits at selected suppliers’ sites, based on our risk analysis. The risk analysis assesses suppliers based on e.g. EcoVadis performance, sector-, country-, commodity-specific risks, etc. For each audit we publish an audit report. You can find our most recent audit reports here and here.
A worthy cause
We are fully aware of that this is considered a difficult area, much depending on the spread and number of suppliers as well as their geographical position. Nonetheless we expect you to make all reasonable efforts and take reasonable actions to ensure compliance with our code and for being a trustworthy Business Partner to us and in society at large. For any questions regarding the Business Partner CoC please do not hesitate to contact Erik Wottrich, Head of Sustainability at erik.wottrich[a]tele2.com.
Policies for Human Rights and Conflict Minerals
Tele2 believes that all people are entitled to basic human rights and recognizes its responsibility to respect and support human rights in all its business operations, including in the supply chain and communities in which Tele2 operates. This means that Tele2 avoids causing or contributing to negative human rights impact through its business operations, as well as through the activities to which Tele2 are directly linked via a business relationship. To clarify our commitment we have adopted a dedicated Human Rights Policy.
In Tele2's latest Human Rights Impact Analysis (HRIA), the following salient human rights risks were identified related to Tele2's operations and business relations: Privacy rights; Freedom of expression; Non-discrimination; Child rights; Labor rights; Forced labor. Additionally, three vulnerable groups were identified related to the industries that Tele2 is linked to through its operations and business relations: Children; Women, LGBTQ+, and individuals from relegious and ethnic minorities; Migrant workers.
Tele2 respects and promotes all internationally recognized human rights outlined in the International Bill of Human Rights (consisting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), the principles concerning fundamental rights in the eight ILO core conventions as set out in the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and, where applicable, additional standards relating to the rights of specific groups and populations.
As a telecommunications company, managing Tele2’s risks in relation to conflict minerals is part of our supply chain compliance efforts. While Tele2 does not produce physical products that can contain conflict minerals, Tele2 sees that this is an important issue for our supply chain. To that end, Tele2 has adopted a Conflict Minerals Policy, which contains Tele2’s commitment to not use conflict minerals in products we use or sell, and describes Tele2’s approach to responsible sourcing of minerals.