Our success is dependent on the trust and confidence of our customers and stakeholders, which means acting ethically is not only the right thing to do – it’s also crucial to our sustainability goals. We aim to behave ethically in every aspect of our business, and have developed three core structures that help ensure that our behaviour meets our own high standards. ‍

1. Procurement and supplier management operating policy

As a company we take our responsibility to improve our ESG performance seriously, and we expect the same of our third party suppliers. Our procurement and supplier management operating policy therefore requires that all our third-party suppliers observe the highest standards of honesty, integrity, confidentiality and fairness – during both the procurement process and ongoing supplier management.

This means we endeavour to work with third-party suppliers who have good ESG credentials and align to Smart’s strategic objectives as well as their own policy requirements, and:

• have a clear carbon reduction agenda
• have good customer and colleague satisfaction ratings
• can demonstrate good health and safety practices and follow policies to protect colleague rights
• are committed to a solid board governance practice, including action on equality, diversity and inclusion.

2. Supplier questionnaire

The behaviours and practices of our suppliers is a major consideration for us at Smart, and we aim to uphold the highest standards throughout our supply chain. To achieve this, transparency is crucial. To give us a clear window into our suppliers’ behaviours, our due diligence screening questionnaires enable us to assess and evaluate supplier sustainability practices – from their environmental impact and labour practices to their social responsibility and their own ethical sourcing.

We  issue questionnaires to all new suppliers. Together with the supplier scorecard process it informs supplier selection, while also serving as a tool for encouraging suppliers to improve their sustainability practices.‍

3. Mandatory training

Our training programme covers a number of areas that support Smart’s sustainability efforts – by ensuring compliance, mitigating risks, promoting colleague wellbeing and driving innovation. Training is mandatory for all Smart colleagues and includes:

• Compliance with regulations – ensuring that colleagues are aware of and comply with relevant laws, regulations and industry standards in areas such as workplace safety, modern slavery, data protection and ethical practices.
• Risk mitigation – including training on cybersecurity awareness, diversity and inclusion, anti-corruption and conflicts of interest.
• Colleague wellbeing and engagement – covering topics like health and safety, display screen equipment assessment and creating a supportive work environment.
• Innovation – promoting  a culture of continuous improvement and innovation, with training on emerging trends, new technologies and best practices.

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