Assignment II
Assignment II: Challenges in the Business Environment, Pt 1
Student Name: Edson I. Gonzalez-Chavez
BUS475: Business and Society
Instructor Name: Dr. LaShunda V. Lewis / TA Dr. William Carmichael / TA Dr. Adrian Allen
June 2, 2018
Letter from Bayer’s Chief Compliance Officer
Bayer’s Code of Conduct for Suppliers takes into account well-established sustainability principles that have also been incorporated into some important internal regulations in the Bayer Group. CITATION BAY18 l 1033 (BAYER AG, 2018)
Bayer has developed a Code of Conduct for Suppliers that establishes the key social, ecological and ethical standards that the Bayer Group expects its suppliers to share. In addition, as a founding member of the United Nations Global Compact, Bayer is one of the companies that seek to modify its operations and strategies to comply with the ten universally acquired principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and, the fight against corruption. Since 1994, Bayer has also supported the voluntary initiative of Responsible Care in the chemical industry, according to which companies work together to improve their health, safety, and environmental performance continuously. Therefore, this Code of Conduct for Suppliers is made available to our suppliers with the aim of strengthening our mutual understanding of how to practice sustainability in everyday business.
The Bayer’s Code of Conduct for Suppliers is an extension of Dover’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The Code sets the standards for doing business with Dover. Dover seeks and expects its suppliers to use this Code as a guide for ethical, responsible and legal business practices in their operations:
What Bayer has been improving recently.
To promote its vision better, Bayer has issued the Code of Conduct for Suppliers. The code requires Bayer suppliers to manage their business with integrity, protect and respect the rights of their employees, provide a safe and healthy work environment, operate responsibly and efficiently from the environmental point of view and implement management systems to facilitate compliance with all applicable laws.
Bayer promotes collaboration with PSCI and TfS to establish new sustainability standards for the company’s supply base. Both initiatives are integral elements of Bayer’s commitment to sustainability in the supply chain. CITATION The15 l 1033 (The Business of a Better World™, 2015)Both initiatives focus not only on conducting audits or evaluations but also on capacity building for providers, for example, through training courses and events. This helps suppliers to operate in a manner consistent with industry expectations regarding sustainability.
How Bayer Partner-up to improve supplier participation
Bayer believes that compliance with sustainability standards within its supply chain is an important strategic lever to safeguard global competitiveness and the supply of materials and services. The Supplier Code of Conduct of Bayer develops the basis of its commitment to suppliers, which describes the principles and sustainability requirements of the company in operations with suppliers. In 2009, Bayer’s sustainability program was established, and Bayer began evaluating the supply chain to identify potential high-risk suppliers systematically. These evaluations resulted in a fundamental basis for the Group’s category and supply strategies. In addition, to optimize the process, in 2012 Bayer established a partnership with EcoVadis, a leading provider of collaboration platforms with which companies can evaluate the sustainability performance of their suppliers. By using the modular questionnaire platform compatible with the EcoVadis website, the supplier’s sustainability data could reach the Bayer procurement teams more reliably and efficiently, helping them to make better sourcing decisions. CITATION The15 l 1033 (The Business of a Better World™, 2015)Bayer launched at the same time sustainability training programs for its procurement employees and their suppliers. Key business units organized training courses and workshops for selected procurement employees on sustainability audits. Bayer HealthCare also made sustainability roadmaps focused on specific purchasing categories for local procurement organizations throughout the company. In 2014, the Bayer Group invited its key strategic suppliers to the Bayer Supplier Day of the entire company in Leverkusen, Germany, to encourage open dialogue and bring associations to the next level. To minimize the risks and create long-term business relationships with its partners, Bayer also participated in several new collaborative efforts. In 2011, Bayer co-founded Together for Sustainability (TfS) to lead the development and introduction of new sustainability standards for suppliers. Also in 2011, Bayer joined the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI). CITATION The15 l 1033 (The Business of a Better World™, 2015)How BAYER enforce compliance their stakeholders:
Sun Xuejun, general manager of Global Printing, said: “We appreciate the way in which Bayer cooperates with its suppliers, Global Printing will always follow the code as a guide and will continue to seek improvements in either our technology or management.” CITATION Zhu16 l 1033 (Ti, 2016) As a supplier of medicine packaging to Bayer China, Global Printing has taken a progressive approach to also keeping its promises with Bayer and the code, according to Sun.
For example, to provide a better working environment and reduce noise pollution, the walls of the factory have recently been refurbished with materials that hide noise.
Regarding manufacturing, Global Printing has imported many multimillion-dollar energy-saving machines from Germany and has adopted many new waste gas removal methods. CITATION Zhu16 l 1033 (Ti, 2016)Reference:
BIBLIOGRAPHY BAYER AG. (2018, February). Supplier Code of Conduct. Retrieved from https://www.bayer.com/downloads/supplier-code-of-conduct-englisch.pdfx
The Business of a Better World™. (2015, July 9). Bayer: Collaborating with Key Partners to Improve Supplier Engagement. Retrieved from BRS: https://www.bsr.org/en/our-insights/case-study-view/bayer-ag-collaborating-with-key-partners-to-improve-supplier-engagement
Ti, Z. (2016, Oct. 28). Bayer and Global Printing cooperate for a ‘better life’. Retrieved from CHINADAILY.COM.CN: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/kindle/2016-10/28/content_27205101.htm
