General tems and conditions
Husqvarna Group has defined General terms and conditions for direct material suppliers, indirect material suppliers and a specific security directive for IT suppliers.
General terms and conditions for direct material
Legal Compliance
The Husqvarna supplier shall comply with all relevant and applicable laws and regulations pertaining to Environment, Social & Working Conditions, Fire, Health & Safety, as well as Labour issues. The Husqvarna supplier shall always comply with the most demanding requirements whether they are relevant applicable laws or Husqvarna specific requirements. The laws and regulations concerned are those valid in the country where an activity is carried out.
The Husqvarna supplier shall have a basic environmental registration/ licence to operate, if the law requires this, and comply with terms stated therein.
Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct underscores the values and principles by which Husqvarna Group conducts its relations with employees, business partners and other stakeholders. The code is adopted by the Board of Directors and applies to all employees irrespective of position or country. Husqvarna Group also encourages suppliers and other business partners to comply with the code, as part of the agreement with such partners.
Husqvarna Group’s suppliers acknowledge and accept the requirements by signing the supplier contract.
Husqvarna Group’s suppliers shall communicate the code of conduct and environmental requirements to all contractors that are involved in the production of Husqvarna products.
Husqvarna Group’s suppliers shall communicate the Code of Conduct and environmental requirements to all co-workers who deal with Husqvarna.
The Code of Conduct is based on the ILO's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the OECD's guidelines for multinational companies, and the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
Supplier Code of Business Ethics
Husqvarna has created the Supplier Code of Business Ethics to clarify what Husqvarna expects from its suppliers under the Husqvarna Code of Conduct in relation to workplace practices, environmental compliance and health and safety.
The Supplier Code of Business Ethics does not limit the applicability of the Husqvarna Code of Conduct in any way and the business principles included in the Code of Conduct shall still apply without limitation.
The Supplier Code of Business Ethics applies to all suppliers of direct materials (i.e. components, raw materials or OEM products) to any company within the Husqvarna group.
California Transparency in Supply Chains Act & UK Modern Slavery Act Statement
The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 and the United Kingdom Modern Slavery Act of 2015 require certain businesses to provide public disclosures regarding efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their supply chains.
The Husqvarna Group, its affiliates, divisions, and subsidiaries strive to conduct business in an ethical and responsible manner. As we expand our business activities and work with suppliers domestically and globally to meet customers' needs, it is important to preserve our collective commitment to human rights and workplace practices, the environment and end-user safety.
Conflict minerals
Tracing the source of minerals of concern, including Conflict Minerals and Cobalt beyond our direct suppliers helps us avoid being unintentionally and indirectly complicit in actions that harm people or the environment. Husqvarna considers Cobalt part of its Conflict Minerals action program and expects the same level of due diligence for both.
Regulation in these regards is on the rise, requiring companies to increase traceability and due diligence on the use and upstream impacts of these minerals. Husqvarna Group supports the goal of protecting people and the environment across its value chain. This includes preventing armed groups from benefitting from trade in Conflict Minerals and Cobalt from the countries and regions under scrutiny.
Conflict Minerals are minerals mined in regions of armed conflict and human rights abuses and may support financing armed groups. The affected countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, South Sudan, Zambia, Angola, The Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda. Minerals concerned are tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold (or 3TG) that are rising in importance in the manufacture of electronic equipment.
US Requirements
Following the Dodd-Frank Act Section 1502, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) set due diligence requirements relating to all companies trading in the US to be transparent regarding their supply chain with respect to trading of Conflict Minerals. The objective of Section 1502 is to dissuade companies from engaging in trade that supports regional conflicts. Section 1502 is applicable to all SEC “issuers” (including foreign issuers) that manufacture or contract to manufacture products where “conflict minerals are necessary to the functionality or production” of the product. If Conflict Minerals are necessary, the next step is to ensure that the origin of the mineral is from other parts of the world than the affected countries. A full traceability of the origin of the minerals is a challenge for many industries as it involves numerous actors and tiers along the supply chain.
Recent EU Regulations
As of January 2021, EU importers of 3TG must carry out due diligence on their supply chain; to check where the minerals and metals they import have been mined and processed and that they have been done so responsibly. This is to make sure the minerals and metals they buy or sell do not directly or indirectly fund armed groups or security forces in areas of conflict. This regulation does not apply to a) EU importers who import less than a certain amount, and b) recycled metals or stocks created before 1 February 2013.
EU importers must identify and address actual and potential risks linked to conflict-affected and high-risk areas when they carry out due diligence of their supply chain. EU Regulation requires them to do so by adhering to the recommendations of OECD Due Diligence Guidance.
EU regulation focuses on conflict-affected or high-risk areas as defined as: 1) areas in a state of armed conflict, 2) fragile post-conflict areas, 3) areas with weak or non-existent governance and security, such as failed states; or 4) in all cases, areas with widespread and systematic violations of international law, including human rights abuses.
https://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/conflict-minerals-regulation/regulation-explained/
Cobalt: an emerging supply chain risk
Cobalt is a key component of lithium batteries and estimates show that over 50 percent of the world’s cobalt production is derived from mines located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Demand for cobalt is expected to rise significantly due to battery acceleration in various industries including automotive, energy and electronics sectors. Cobalt is currently extracted in mechanical and artisanal mining operations in comparably peaceful Copperbelt area of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba Provinces. Reports from human rights groups as well as international media channels that have conducted their own investigations on the impacts of cobalt have highlighted concerns over unsafe working conditions and child labor in artisanal cobalt mining. This led to The China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Importers & Exporters (CCCMC), the Responsible Cobalt Initiative (RCI) and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) sharing a common objective to ensure the responsible production, trade and processing of cobalt.
Husqvarna Conflict Mineral Standards means that we will:
-
Discontinue sourcing from any supplier that uses Conflict Minerals if Husqvarna determines the product is not Conflict Free and the supplier fails to implement reasonable steps to transition to Conflict Free sources.
-
Commit to transparency in our work by making reports available to our stakeholders and the public.
Husqvarna expects the following of its suppliers:
-
Suppliers shall exclusively source conflict-free Conflict Minerals. No products sold to Husqvarna may include Conflict Minerals that are not conflict free;
-
Suppliers should develop Conflict Minerals policies, due diligence frameworks, and management systems to prevent Conflict Minerals that are not conflict free from being included in products sold to Husqvarna Group;
-
Suppliers are required to guarantee that if Conflict Minerals are present in any product or Husqvarna tool, it does not originate from restricted sources in regions of conflict.
-
Suppliers shall immediately advise Husqvarna if the supplier has concluded or has reason to believe that products it currently sells or has sold to Husqvarna are not conflict free;
-
Suppliers shall maintain business records supporting the legitimacy of the source of Conflict Minerals; and, at Husqvarna’s request, provide information concerning the origin of Conflict Minerals in products sold to Husqvarna.
Consequences of Supplier Non-Compliance
-
Suppliers who do not comply with these Conflict Mineral standards will be under review by Husqvarna’s supply chain organization to evaluate future business.
-
If Husqvarna determines that a supplier’s efforts to comply with these Conflict Mineral standards are insufficient and/or the supplier fails to develop and implement reasonable remedial steps, Husqvarna Group reserves the right to take appropriate action up to and including discontinuing purchases from the supplier.
Restricted Material List (RML)
Husqvarna Group intends to minimize the amount of hazardous chemical substances in products and processes. The Restricted Material List (RML) is the main chemical compliance requirement for Husqvarna Group products.
The document provides:
-
Information to suppliers, producers, importers and traders on how to fulfill the contractual terms of chemical content in articles and products purchased by Husqvarna
-
Links to lists of Banned or Restricted substances, Reportable substances and Internal substance requirements in Husqvarna Group’s products
-
Link to a Best Practices for Chemical Compliance document
Restricted Material List - Requirements
Quality requirements
Husqvarna expects high quality standards and suppliers therefore need to comply with our quality requirements.
Our suppliers have to comply with a quality assurance process based on the ISO 9001 standards. The purpose with ISO 9001 is to harmonize the companies' different requirements of suppliers and to help suppliers to develop their quality systems. Moreover, utilizing the ISO 9001 standard shall result in continuous improvements, prevention of problems and reduction of variations. It should also be a starting point for our supplier to develop a close cooperation between companies and their suppliers.
Some main points of the quality assurance process are control plan, dimensional tests, capability studies and full run test.
Supplier classification
The Supplier Classification Process at Husqvarna Group aims to provide You with accurate and detailed data of Your company’s performance, and hence give input to Your company's development as well as strengthen the collaboration between our companies.
The Supplier Performance Scorecard is provided to suppliers part of the EXCITE program on a quarterly basis in order to keep an open and transparent communication.
Packaging requirements
Packaging is a key element of our value chain, contributing to the customer experience we deliver, enabling carbon footprint and cost reductions and ensuring quality of our products and components. For all those reasons, we defined several packaging requirements that our suppliers have to comply with.
Colour requirements (Colour Master)
Colour is a key element of our brands identity and the colours used on our products can not suffer any approximation. The Colour Master is used as unique reference for our colour specifications.
NCS colour masters can be received from Scandinavian Color Institute AB, Stockholm. Send the order as an attached file to the mail addresses according to the form.
Important notes:
- The colour master is sensitive for light, heat and outer contaminations (dirt, grease from fingers etc) and should therefore be stored in a cool, dark place.
- The plastic colour masters are valid for a limited time. The valid date is indicated on the colour master. Send the masters for calibration before expiring expiry dates.