Our Ethics Charter
Elegance, expertise, the French way of life, authenticity and creativity are all key DAMMANN Frères values that inspire the goals of our code of ethics. This philosophy and these values are essential components in the success we have enjoyed since the business was first founded in 1825.
This code is the embodiment of our commitments in our daily work and governs our actions. It is aimed at all our staff, as well as our customers and our suppliers.
We are committed to running our business ethically and with corporate and social responsibility, in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable in the countries where we currently or may in the future operate.
It is not designed to provide a comprehensive list of ethical guidelines and professional conduct. This code helps us develop DAMMANN Frères’ good reputation and realize our raison d’être as part of our social responsibility.
No.1 ADHERENCE TO LAWS, STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
DAMMANN Frères undertakes to act in accordance with all international, national and local laws and regulations. We notable undertake to comply with:
- The principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948;
- The United Nations’ guiding principles for businesses and human rights dating from 16 June 2011;
- The fundamental principles of the International Labour Organization;
- The principles of the French Union of Tea and Infused Plants (STEPI);
- The principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
To ensure international regulations are properly adhered to, Dammann Frères analyses all raw materials before their production and often establishes internal rules that go beyond the regulations and standards in force.
No.2 HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL COMMITMENTS
Human rights, the banning of child labour and forced labour, and respect of the freedom of association are key priorities for DAMMANN Frères.
Our staff work in accordance with all applicable laws. All work must be completed voluntarily and employees must be treated with dignity and respect.
We take care to ensure the principles of non-discrimination and individual rights are adhered to and that all initiatives taken help eliminate any discrimination based on race, skin colour, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, marital status, age, religion, political opinions, nationality, ethnicity or social background.
We are committed to protecting our staff from all of the aforementioned prejudices, from the moment they first join the company through to their development as part of DAMMANN Frères.
Recruitment and promotions are based on skills, merit and performance. DAMMANN Frères is therefore committed to ensuring equal pay and the company favours recruitment from its local workforce.
We take special care to inform our staff of the risks related to health and safety at work.
Our employees work in safe and healthy conditions and on premises that comply with all applicable laws.
We aspire to promote our staff’s personal development and wellbeing in order to promote a relationship of trust between the business and employee. We also facilitate access to training and skills development courses in a climate of equal opportunities.
We also educate our staff on the issue of dangerous and inappropriate behaviours such as sexual harassment and bullying. Harassment of any kind is strictly prohibited. We take care to ensure every staff member is free to work in our company without any physical or psychological restraints.
And our employees also make the same commitment! Every staff member is required at all times to act in a loyal fashion towards DAMMANN Frères in order to the protect the business’ interests and reputation. As a contributor to the business’s image, they must act with integrity and encourage the collective success of DAMMANN Frères by promoting a healthy atmosphere at work, respect DAMMANN Frères’ tangible and intangible assets, respect all colleagues they interact with and encourage dialogue as a means of conflict resolution, and play an active role in the policy of ongoing and progressive improvement for all issues related to quality, hygiene, safety, the environment and sustainable development.
No.3 CONSTANT ATTENTION TO QUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
To respect the principles of sustainable development, we have put actions in place that are designed to have a positive impact on society, to promote a sustainable business model that adds value to all stakeholders, and to reduce our impact on the environment. Every year, DAMMANN Frères renews its commitment to the United Nations Global Compact.
Our commitments are manifested in strict maintenance of quality standards for our products and services, which guarantee the sanitary status of our products. The business has been IFS-certified since 2013 and follows a strict inspection protocol that goes beyond the requirements of the regulations in force in order to ensure consumers receive safe and healthy products, where possible free from traces of pesticides.
These commitments are manifested in our respect of the communities and environments we work in.At our production site, DAMMANN Frères takes care to ensure manufacturing processes work in harmony with nature and the environment. In the many regions of the world where we operate, DAMMANN Frères is committed to protecting and improving the quality of the environment by favouring sustainable, virtuous and respectful agricultural practices in this field.
DAMMANN Frères encourages its customers to make choices that optimize transport methods in order to reduce carbon footprints.
The business encourages its partners to support projects that aim to improve the environment, both at work and in their local community.
No.4 PREVENTING AND DETECTING CORRUPTION
We are duty-bound to protect DAMMANN Frères’ best interests at all times.
All behaviour is prohibited that could be defined as an active act of corruption. This notably applies to gifts and offers of gifts made directly or indirectly to public or private individuals, including offers, promises, advantages and bribes designed to encourage someone to complete or not complete an action directly or indirectly linked to their duties.
Our staff and commercial partners are required to comply with the anti-corruption laws applicable to them and to report any extortion of or attempt to extort money.
Our staff must accept no form of personal enrichment that could compromise their ability to make objective commercial decisions in DAMMANN Frères’ name.
Personal relations that unduly influence or appear to unduly influence commercial decisions, as well as all conflicts of interest, are prohibited.
Confidential information is neither used nor divulged for personal purposes by our staff.
The business’ resources, time and workforce are used solely for commercial purposes and never for any personal gain or personal business.
Gifts and contributions must be made in accordance with applicable laws.
DAMMANN Frères and its employees undertake to pay producers and suppliers fair prices for high-quality products and services, and agree to pay prices for agricultural ingredients that are above average market prices only in exchange for higher quality.
When it comes to packaging, DAMMANN Frères agrees to pay prices above market prices only in exchange for packaging that is better for the environment.
No.5 RELATIONS WITH CUSTOMERS AND COMMERCIAL PARTNERS
We make a promise to our customers that our products comply with all quality and food safety standards in force. This commitment applies to our entire supply chain, from raw ingredients to the finished product.
We combine tradition and innovation to pass on our values, maintain our expertise and pass these on to future generations, all with a constant commitment to satisfying our customers and clients.
We work only with commercial partners who respect this code, our business, and our products and services.
Our commercial partners undertake to comply with the laws applicable in the countries where our products are sold.
Audits may be completed to ensure our commercial partners comply with this code. Breaches of the code are punishable by termination of the relationship with the partner in question.
Any unethical or illegal act completed by a commercial partner is capable of damaging our reputation and the trust we place in them.
DAMMANN Frères is committed to helping its commercial partners develop a continuous improvement plan for corporate social responsibility.
No.6 OUR COMPETITORS
We undertake to respect competition law to prevent market imbalances. We respect our competitors’ intellectual property rights and confidentiality. Moreover, we have an ethical and legal responsibility to promote a fair and accurate image of DAMMANN Frères’ competitors. The use of unfair means to obtain information on the competition by our staff will not be tolerated.
No.7 INFORMATION PRIVACY
We are responsible for protecting data regardless of its source (current and past commercial partners, staff, for example). Identifiable data is collected, used and shared in accordance with applicable data protection laws (personal data in particular).
Staff undertake to take particular care over documents and messages that contain confidential information that could be seen or misused.
Periodic reviews of the charter are carried out by the GDPR Committee (comite.RGPD@dammann.fr), who report their findings to the Mission Committee.
