Business Partners Code of Conduct
Welcome to 2degrees. We are excited to be partnering with you.
This document details our Business Partner Code of Conduct. It serves to guide how we operate as a business and how we work with our suppliers and partners.
At 2degrees we have high business standards that we continuously work to promote, maintain, and establish. It extends beyond product and service quality standards. It includes legislation related to ethical, social, environmental, and privacy standards too.
Fighting for Fair
At 2degrees we’re passionate and committed to making a positive impact on the lives of our customers and partners, our whānau, our community, and on our environment. Since our launch as a challenger in the mobile market, Fighting for Fair has been at the heart of 2degrees. As we’ve continued to grow our business, our purpose of “Fighting for Fair” continues to be embedded into everything we do. This includes maintaining the highest standards within our organisation and with external business partners.
As a values-based organisation, our four values reflect who we are, what’s important to us and how we operate. We’re obsessive about serving our customers, we’re always caring for our people, we’re bold and challenge the status quo, and we take ownership for what we do and how we do it.
2degrees recognises that environmental, social, and economic responsibility is integral to the success of a business and its community. Our long-term success also depends on how promptly we identify and respond to risks and opportunities, and that we consistently comply with laws, regulations, ethical principles, and our own voluntary commitments.
Our business partners play a key role in the success of our business, and we expect all our partners to operate with the highest level of integrity and with core values that are similar to our own.
This Code defines our key standards and expectations for fair, safe, and responsible working conditions across our supply chain and applies to all 2degrees’ business partners. 2degrees requires all business partners to comply with the standards of this Code, as well as all relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards in all the countries in which they operate.
For the purposes of this Code, business partners include all dealers, resellers, wholesale partners, distributors of 2degrees products and services as well as all suppliers, including their subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, contractors, or subcontractors, who provide products or services to 2degrees directly and indirectly.
This Code has two sections:
- Code Standards and expectations for Business Partners;
- Code Applicability, Compliance and Monitoring.
2degrees requires all business partners to ensure compliance with the following Code Standards:
Integrity and trust are at the forefront of everything we do, and we expect our business partners to maintain the highest standards of integrity and transparency in all interactions.
Business partners will uphold standards of fair business practices, implementing robust procedures to avoid any offering or accepting all forms of bribery, corruption, extortion, and embezzlement, money laundering including improper offers, illegal payments, and fraudulent activities. Each business partner will be responsible for reporting such circumstances at the earliest possible time. Business partners will perform all business dealings transparently and in good faith.
Business partners should not allow bias, conflict of interests, or inappropriate influence of others to override professional judgments and responsibilities. Business partners shall voluntarily declare any such conflicts involving 2degrees personnel.
Business partners should provide notification of any actual and perceived conflict of interest in your business dealings with 2degrees.
Business partners must notify 2degrees of any current or pending lawsuits, or convictions of such proceedings by the supplier or its subsidiaries that may have a direct impact to 2degrees and the business partner’s compliance with this Code, at the earliest possible time.
2degrees requires all business partners to ensure compliance with the following Code Standards:
At 2degrees we are passionate about caring for our people, customers and the community and we foster an encouraging, inclusive, enthusiastic, and supportive working environment for all employees. We embrace change, diversity, and new ideas, and we champion equity, and every individual shall be treated with respect and dignity.
Business partners must adhere to international human rights standards in their workplace and monitor and address these standards within their supply chain. Every individual shall be treated with respect and dignity. 2degrees expects that business partners will comply with New Zealand employment standards and maintain a workplace that is free from any discrimination. The business partner must:
- Comply with all applicable human rights legislation in respect of their employees and business operations.
- Conduct their business activities in a manner which respects human rights as set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation.
- Act in a manner consistent with 2degrees’ Modern Slavery Statement.
- Promote an inclusive and respectful workplace where ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender, pregnancy, parenthood, political affiliation, trade and union membership, medical condition and disability are no impediment to recruitment, promotion, employment terms, access to training and ongoing employment.
- Provide a workplace that is free from all forms of direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and bullying, and ensure this commitment extends to all aspects of workplace relations.
- Not engage in practices relating to forced and compulsory labour, human trafficking, as well as all other forms of modern slavery at any stage of the manufacturing or service delivery process.
- We expect Business partners to take all reasonable steps to prevent bonded labour or involuntary prison labour in their supply chain.
- Employment relationships are entered into on a voluntary basis and may be terminated by employees at their own discretion and within a reasonable notice period.
- All workers will be of the relevant legal age throughout the supply chain.
- Business partners must reject all conscious use of forced and compulsory labour.
- Business partners must ensure that working hours correspond at least to the respective national legal requirements or the minimum standards of the respective national economic sectors.
- Suppliers shall respect the rights of employees to join or not to join trade unions or similar representative bodies and the rights of employees to collective bargaining to the extent permitted by applicable law.
- Suppliers shall allow open communication and direct engagement between its employees and management in building employee relations and for the resolution of any issues.
2degrees is also committed to making New Zealand a better place to live by serving the wider community and environment in which we operate. Business partners shall at all times act in compliance with international, national, and local environmental legislation, especially in terms of waste, energy, emissions, noise, resource consumption and dangerous substances.
To drive meaningful action, 2degrees has set Science Based Targets (SBTs) that outline our commitment to reduce absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 43% by FY30 from the FY22 base year, and to ensure that 75% of our supplier spend is with suppliers who also have SBTs validated by FY28. 2degrees encourages business partners to adopt SBTs and continuously assess and improve environmental and community practices including but not limited to:
- Measuring their Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHG), setting ambitious targets in line with science and taking active measures for carbon reduction.
- When requested by 2degrees, business partners shall identify, monitor and minimise their GHG emissions, providing relevant data to 2degrees.
- Striving to reduce, eliminate or prevent waste of all types.
- Maximising the efficient use of energy, water and resources.
- Looking to source products and services that are as environmentally friendly as possible, using circularity principles where possible.
- Aiming to use renewable energy sources and limit usage of raw material resources as much as possible.
- Working with their own subcontractors and business partners to assess and address environmental and sustainability issues within their supply chains.
At 2degrees we ensure health, safety and wellness is at the forefront in our workplace, and we expect our business partners approach their operations with a similar effective approach.
Business partners must:
- Comply with all Health and Safety legislation, applicable to the country and Industry in which it operates.
- Proactively maintain a healthy and safe work environment to ensure the quality of products and services, consistency of production and employee retention and morale.
- Recognise employee input and education is key in identifying and solving health and safety issues.
- Operate a health and safety management system, which is effective and enables employee involvement.
2degrees recognises its important role in helping build a safer, more secure and resilient New Zealand. The communication services we provide place us in a special position, for “the ability to communicate” is a key requirement for other critical sectors.
2degrees is a provider of telecommunication services to the NZ government and large multinationals and, therefore, has to maintain high-security standards and comply with relevant NZ controls and requirements such as PSR, NZISM and TICSA, as well as international standards like ISO27001.
Business partners shall abide by obligations relating to protection, collection, and proper handling of confidential and personal information.
Business partners must comply with:
- Must have adequate Information Security Policies and Standards and review/uptade these on the regualr basis. As well as have security and privacy policies align with industry standards (ISO-27001, NZ ISM, ISO-22307, CoBIT, etc.)
- Have independent audit and assurance assessments according to relevant standards at least annually.
- All applicable privacy, data protection, and information security laws and associated regulatory requirements as well as 2degrees privacy, data protection and information security policies.
- Any security requirements notified to them by 2degress and adequately protect any information, assets, tools and materials provided. All information must be promptly returned when requested.
Application of the Code, Compliance and Monitoring:
This Code will form part of our business partner’s agreements and forms part of our General Terms and Conditions that accompany all Purchase Orders.
Acceptance and acknowledgement of this Code will now form part of our partner and supplier onboarding and due diligence processes.
2degrees’ fight for fair will evolve over time and 2degrees may make changes to this Code from time to time. 2degrees recommends that business partners regularly monitor the website for updates to this Code to ensure their ongoing compliance.
Business partners are required to comply with this Code.
Each business partner is:
- Encouraged to take all reasonable endeavours to promote this Code to its suppliers and subcontractors.
- Expected to identify, correct and monitor the continued compliance of any activities that fall below the standards of this Code.
- Required to immediately report to 2degrees any serious breaches of this Code in relation to services to 2degrees and together with 2degrees agree a schedule for corrective action.
A breach of this Code may be considered to be a material breach of contract with 2degrees, and 2degrees accordingly reserves all its legal rights and remedies in respect of any such breach.
At 2degrees we understand that business is about partnership. Our long-term success also depends on how promptly we identify and respond to risks and opportunities. For identified concerns in our supply chain, and for identified non-compliance we will actively take steps to address any identified issues with this partner or supplier, seek to drive improved standards and, if deemed necessary, will either suspend or terminate its relationships with any such business partners.
To the extent required by law, business partners must keep records of the relevant documents and notes to ensure compliance with regulations. This includes keeping records of necessary permits and licenses.
2degrees may review and audit the business partner’s compliance with this Code at any time.
2degrees audits some of its key suppliers on over 150 ESG indicators, including sustainable practices, human rights, and modern slavery. The purpose of the audit is to identify the level of conformance to recognised CSR standards. 2degrees joined the Joint Alliance for CSR (JAC) in 2022 as part of this effort. The JAC is a global association of telco operators aiming to verify, assess and develop the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of ICT suppliers through audits. Its aim is to promote safe and fair working conditions as well as responsible social and environmental management. As a member, we audit at least five key suppliers annually and drive corrective actions with the objective for continuous improvement and risk mitigation in the supply chain, especially Modern Slavery.
At 2degrees request, the business partner must provide 2degrees or its nominated representative with all relevant documentation, information and assistance as reasonably required in connection with such review or audit (including access to any relevant premises, facilities, personnel and systems involved in the performance of the business partner’s contract with 2degrees).
In conducting any audit, 2degrees will:
- Treat any information received by 2degrees in connection with that audit as confidential information in accordance with 2degrees contract with the business partner,
- Give the business partner at least 20 business days’ prior written notice, unless a different period is agreed or the nature and severity of potential non-compliance requires a shorter notice period.
- Conduct any on-site audit activities during normal business hours, in a manner that does not unreasonably disrupt the supplier’s business operations and complies with the business partner’s reasonable security requirements.
- Not audit a business partner more than once in any 12-month period unless the preceding audit identified a non-compliance.
- Conduct such audits at 2degrees cost unless that audit identifies a non-compliance with this Code.
The rights set out in this section are in addition to any rights set out in the business partner’s contracts with 2degrees.
Strict confidentiality and privacy is maintained throughout the entire process. 2degrees is committed to the protection of whistle-blowers and has implemented a whistle-blower system that guarantees the highest possible protection for whistle-blowers and affected persons. Discrimination against whistle-blowers is a serious regulatory violation and is not tolerated. 2degrees and business partner staff are encouraged to safely report at whistleblower@2degrees.nz.
