An ICS Code of Ethics

All companies joining the Social Clause Initiative must sign the Code of Ethics which involves certain commitments :

The company must commission and pay for audits of its suppliers to be conducted by outside independent auditing firms mandated by the Social Clause Initiative.

The external labour audits must be conducted in full accordance with the Social Clause Initiative questionnaire (all 8 chapters must be taken into account).

The company must agree to use the ICS tools provided.

The company must promise to adhere to deadlines in terms of objectives and audit results, and to update the database regularly.

The company must agree not to carry out any marketing competition in this area.

The company, in its communications regarding its ICS labour audit policy, must comply with the shared rules of the existing group, and must systematically refer to its membership of the ICS group.

The confidentiality of the information exchanged between the various parties must be respected.

The company must make an active contribution to works in progress, via the efforts of a competent individual mandated by general management.

When developing their own strategy, the members of each company can make their own decision regarding the following:
- Criteria for selecting sectors/products/countries/auditing firms
- Organisation of internal training and information sessions
- The method of communicating with factories

The members of each company may choose to promote their own values and specificities through the following :
- Communication of their Codes of conduct
- Implementation of specific projects with outside partners
- Participation in various national and international specialised committees

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