Our Approach

Black & Decker aims to ensure working conditions for our suppliers’ employees are at or above minimum acceptable standards through communication, on-site auditing and corrective action.

Policy and Practice

We have a history of working with our suppliers, targeting continuous improvement through regular contact. Our company values extend into our supplier base, where we try to operate with integrity. We take responsibility through our Supplier Social Accountability program that drives our ethical expectations from suppliers towards their workforce. This process:

• communicates our standards to, and gets agreement from, every supplier factory manager;
• allows suppliers to internally appraise themselves and improve against these requirements;
• allows Black & Decker audit staff to appraise compliance via on-site audits;
• provides for corrective action to be followed up to improve non-compliances; and
• allows business to be removed from non-compliant suppliers.

This supplier program was developed and tested in 2003, becoming operational and rolled out into all Black & Decker’s businesses in 2004. It is now a requirement in the terms & conditions of doing business with Black & Decker. Regular on-site audits are conducted to assess suppliers.

We believe our assessment program is among the best in the industry.  A November 2006 article in Business Week commented, “BusinessWeek reviewed summaries of 28 recent industry audits of Chinese factories serving U.S. customers. A few factories supplying Black & Decker, Williams-Sonoma, and other well-known brands turned up clean, the summaries show. But these facilities were the exceptions.”

The ten areas of factory assessment are:
           
a. Child Labor

Suppliers must never use child labor. Using child labor may subject the supplier to immediate termination of business.  The term “child” refers to a person under the age of 15, or higher if the local law dictates.

b. No Forced Labor 

Employment must be voluntary. Forced or prison labor will not be tolerated. This applies to labor used in contracting, sub-contracting or other manufacturing relationships.

c. Health and Safety

Suppliers must provide safe working conditions for all employees. We strongly recommend the use of personal protective equipment such as eye wear and hearing protection. Additionally we will require safety guarding changes to machinery, above local acceptable standards. We work with suppliers providing best practice examples to facilitate these changes.

Manufacturing locations must have adequate ventilation, well-lit work stations, clean rest stations, an infirmary and adequate unlocked fire escapes.

d. Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

Employees of the supplier have the right to join lawful labor associations to represent them collectively, and must not be prevented from doing so.

e. Workplace Disciplinary Practices

Black & Decker will not do business with a supplier that uses physical or mental punishment in their employment practices.

f. Workplace Discrimination

Workers must be employed based on their ability to perform the job, not on personal values and beliefs. Our suppliers must be committed to basic principles of human rights. Suppliers should not discriminate against workers in hiring practices or during employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation or political belief.

g. Compensation

Suppliers must fairly compensate their employees by paying legal wages and benefits and at the same time meeting local manufacturing standards. Working hours must be posted in the facility and hours worked in excess of those hours must be compensated accordingly.

h. Working Hours

Suppliers shall maintain reasonable employee work hours in compliance with local standards and applicable laws of the jurisdictions in which the suppliers are doing business. Employees should be permitted reasonable days off (at least one day off for every seven-day period) and leave privileges.  Black & Decker will not use suppliers who, on a regularly scheduled basis, require employees to work in excess of the statutory requirements, or without proper compensation as required by applicable law. 

i. Environmental

Suppliers must operate in line with local environmental legal regulations. We seek suppliers that share our commitment to environmental excellence. Workers must not be exposed to toxic levels of pollutants, and chemicals must be stored appropriately. Suppliers are encouraged to reduce excess packaging and to use recycled and non-toxic materials whenever possible.

Suppliers are required to comply with all contract provisions and applicable laws, regulations and import requirements of the countries in which they operate and the countries in which the products we purchase from them are to be sold.

j. Factory Management Systems

Suppliers must demonstrate they have adequate systems to manage all of these requirements.

Examples of improvements made with suppliers:

Fire Exit improvements: Doors can now open without keys from the inside, and operating instructions are posted.

Emergency evacuation improvements: Emergency signs and safety lighting have been added.