Ethical Sourcing & Modern Slavery Policy

Office Brands Limited is Australia’s largest independent office products buying group whose members operate under Office National, Office Products Depot, Office Power and O-Net (unbranded).

Ethical Sourcing Framework

Office Brands strives to promote sustainability and minimise the adverse environmental impacts of its operations and products sold by its dealers.

Office Brands aims to supply its dealers with access to products and services in a manner that minimises adverse environmental impacts, by being sensitive to environmental issues throughout the dealer network.

Office Brands undertakes to:

• Comply with all applicable laws, regulations and internally established environmental performance standards;
• Communicate this policy to all its stakeholders;
• Promote sustainability by conserving resources in conducting its internal operations and giving it consideration in the preferred supplier agreements for the procurement of products available for its dealers to distribute;
• Seek opportunities to improve its ability to identify, measure and control the environmental impacts of its preferred suppliers and their products; and
• Maintain an open and constructive dialogue on environmental issues with its key stakeholders.

Office Brands undertakes to engage with its preferred suppliers, internal teams, independent environmental leaders and its dealers, in its efforts to promote sustainability and minimise adverse environmental impacts.

Ethical Sourcing of Paper-Based Products

To achieve its ethical sourcing objectives, Office Brands seeks to eliminate, from its supply chain, wood fibre from the following “high risk” sources:

• Forest known or suspected to be of high conservation value, except where the forest is certified, or in progress to certification under a credible certification system;
• Forest actively converted from natural forest to a plantation or other land use, unless justified on grounds of net social and environmental gain (including enhancement of high conservation values in the surrounding landscape);
• Material illegally harvested or traded;
• Material traded in a way that drives violent armed conflict or threatens national or regional stability;
• Harvesting or processing entities, or related political or military regimes, that violate human rights;
• Material sourced from genetically modified trees; and
• Unknown source forests.

To progress its achievement of these goals, Office Brands undertakes to:

• Seek information from suppliers on the source of the wood, fibre or other forest materials in the products sourced for its dealers;
• Review chain-of-custody information against this policy and supporting operational procedures; and
• Continually improve the level of compliance with these policies using annual reviews, reports and actions agreed with our preferred suppliers.

Modern Slavery Policy

While there are currently no legal requirements for Office Brands to report on our actions to eliminate modern slavery, we are committed to open and transparent reporting on the challenges we face. This statement reflects our commitment to respecting Human Rights and highlights key actions we are taking to address risks in our own operations, and our supply chain, including risks associated with modern slavery.

1. Business Integrity

Suppliers and licensees must demonstrate a high degree of professionalism and have a close affinity with our business ethics. Fair dealing and the proper treatment of workers are required at all times. Bribes, favours, gifts, benefits, facilitation payments, secret commission, or similar unlawful or improper payments, in case or kind, are strictly prohibited, whether given to obtain business or otherwise.

2. Labour Rights

• Employment is freely chosen
• There is no forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour
• Workers are not required to lodge deposits or their identity papers with their employer and are free to leave their employer after reasonable notice.

3. Working Conditions

• A safe and hygienic working environment shall be provided, bearing in mind the prevailing knowledge of the industry and of any specific hazards. Adequate steps shall be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health in the working environment.
• Workers shall receive regular and recorded health and safety training and such training shall be repeated for new or reassigned workers.
• Access to clean toilet facilities and to clean and drinkable water and, if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food storage shall be provided.
• Accommodation, where provided, shall be clean, safe, and meet the basic needs of the workers.
• Suppliers will ensure that personal protective equipment is available, and workers trained in its use. Safeguards on machinery must meet or exceed local laws.

4. Child Labour

Suppliers and licensees shall not use child labour and must only employ workers who meet the local minimum age requirement. Suppliers must verify the age of their workers and maintain evidence of workers’ proof of age.

5. Living Wages

• Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week meet, at a minimum national legal standards or industry benchmark standards. In any event, wages should always be enough to meet the basic needs and to provide some discretionary income.
• Suppliers and licensees must comply with all laws regulating local wages, overtime compensation, and legally mandated benefits
• All workers shall be provided with written and understandable information about their employment conditions in respect to wages before they enter employment and about their particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned each time that they are paid.
• Deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure or any deductions from wages not provided for by Law shall not occur without the expressed permission of the worker concerned.

6. Working Hours

• Working hours comply with any Law and benchmark industry standards, whichever affords greater protection.
• In any event, workers must not be required to work excessive working hours per week including overtime and have the option of at least one day off in seven. We expect that all record keeping will be strictly accurate, complete and transparent at all times.

7. Discrimination

• All conditions of employment must be based on an individual’s ability to do the job, not on the basis of personal characteristics.
• There must be no discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, union membership or political affiliation.

8. Harsh or Inhumane Treatment

Physical abuse or discipline, the threat of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment and verbal abuse or other forms of intimidation shall be prohibited.

9. Entitlement to Work and Immigration

• Only workers with a legal right to work shall be employed or used by the supplier or licensee.

• All workers, including employment agency staff must be validated by the supplier or licensee for their legal right to work by reviewing original documentation.