RDMG Code of Conduct for Procurement 2018

With our aim to become one of the global players in the industry, it is our long-term desire to maintain a balance between business growth and social responsibility. We define sustainability as the continuous effort of our business, not only to adhere to sustainability principle, but to contribute positively to the long-term development of society and the conservation of natural resources to sustain future generations. We say, “Better. Life. Ahead.”

We are recognizing the importance of integrating the social and environmental principles in our daily activity in our search for business excellence. We will measure our performance based on our code of principle which was conceptualized and founded on our values, mission and vision. We are implementing a clear Corporate Social Responsibility strategy throughout RD Manufacturing Group (RDMG).

As part of this initiative, we source the raw materials used in our products with suppliers who shared our principles. We summarized our expectations in the RD Manufacturing Group Code of Conduct for Responsible Fish Procurement. This code includes practices and standards of international consensus with respect to sustainability criteria of the competent authorities Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the principles of our Code of Conduct for Tuna Fishing.

RD Manufacturing Group expects from all its tuna suppliers to share the principles expressed in this Code of Conduct and that they be applied to their company headquarters, subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as to the rest of the individuals with whom they maintain business relationships. The expressed commitment and compliance of our suppliers is considered essential to maintain fair, stable and long-term relationships with our suppliers.

We developed management system to ensure that our suppliers comply with these principles. RD Manufacturing Group commits to maintaining communication with its suppliers to strengthen mutual understanding so that social responsibility criteria can be implemented in our daily activities every step of the way. We commit to support our suppliers in the implementation and monitoring of the measures needed towards full compliance of the Code.

We will maintain and continue to reinforce the RD Manufacturing Group Code of Conduct for Responsible Tuna Procurement. We hope that this will make RD Manufacturing Group worthy of our clients and suppliers’ trust and confidence. We believe that implementation of the RD Manufacturing Group Code of Conduct for Responsible Fish Procurement will essentially improve the overall sustainability of the tuna sector and will further strengthen the product quality, competitiveness and profitability of both our company and that of our partners.

The Supplier must conduct their business in accordance with all the existing legal requirements for the conservation and preservation of the environment.

RD Manufacturing Group expects from its supplier to adhere to responsible fishing practices in a long term basis in order to have a continuous and productive fishing supply now and in the future generations. We believe in enhancing the monitoring of fleet by upgrading both the equipment and the system to have a more accurate and readily available data for analysis and review. RD Manufacturing Group expects this objective to be shared by its suppliers.

All criteria relating to this must be obligatorily fulfilled by the suppliers and their non-compliance will be considered as non-conformity to the code.

1. Compliance with the Local, National and International Fishery Management Regulations.

• Suppliers fishing operations must be conducted in a manner that does not lead to over-fishing or depletion of the exploited populations and, for those populations that are depleted, must be dealt in a manner that leads to recovery.
• Suppliers fishing operations should be subject to management system that respects local, national and international laws and standards and incorporates institutional and operational frameworks that require use of the resource to be responsible and sustainable.
• All vessels supplying for RDMG should be authorized and registered by the RFMO (Regional Fishery Management Organization).
• RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels which are identified to be an IUU by Regional Fisheries management Organization.
• RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels identified by RFMO as non-compliant with respect to the conservation areas and closures implemented by the RFMOs or by the national states.
• RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels which are identified or with indication that poison or explosives were used in fishing.
• RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels which are identify or with indication that practices shark finning.

2. Monitoring and Control of Management Systems on Fleets

• RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels, with gross tonnage above 600MT, which have been transhipped at high seas as this method compromises the traceability of the fish.
• RDMG will not engage in transactions in fish with vessels that tranship at sea, whether high seas, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), territorial seas or archipelagic waters. Exemptions will be made in cases where the at-sea transhipments are authorized (as necessary, by all of the following: the vessel’s flag state, by the coastal state where the transhipment took place, and by the relevant RFMO) and the transhipped catch is adequately sampled according to the RFMO science provider. Such exemptions shall be based on a detailed report that will be reviewed and approved by competent authorities.
• RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels which are not equipped with VMS (Vessel Monitoring System) control to allow environmental and fisheries regulatory organizations to track and monitor the activities of fishing vessels.
• For the Pole-and-Line caught fish, there must be a sufficient monitoring to ensure that vessels are registered and with appropriate fishing licenses and that the captures are controlled by the competent authorities of the flagged nation, including those related with the use of bait.
• RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels which use drift nets method.
• RDMG requires its suppliers to conform to the rules and policies of RFMO regarding by-catch and do proper reporting on turtles, shark and other species accidentally caught and is identified by RFMO as sensitive in terms of conservation. The same must be properly reported to the relevant Regional Fisheries Organization. The supplier must retain on board and land all incidental catch that has not been released alive (with the exception of those species whose retention is forbidden or those not fit for human consumption for reasons other than size).

3. Avoidance of Illegal Fishing and its Products

• RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that are in the official list IUU (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated) for non-compliance.
• RDMG requires its suppliers or vessels pertinent data like origin, fishing vessel, fishing dates, fishing area, port of transfer or unloading and processing plant and other data as necessary, of the commercialized tuna batches.
• RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that have fishing activities on marine reserves or from protected areas identified by the coastal states and the RFMO.

4. Supports and Promotes Fishing Practices that are in Accordance with the Local, National and International Standard and Policies.

RDMG will only purchase fish from suppliers accredited by the Earth Island Institute (Ell) international dolphin safe monitoring program which ensures we can carry the ‘Dolphin Safe’ logo on cans of tuna because no dolphins are intentionally deployed or encircled with nets and no dolphins were killed or seriously injured in the nets in which the tuna were caught during the catch.

RDMG expects their suppliers to comply with the criteria so that 100% of the fish bought from its suppliers are in compliance with the Local, National and International Policies and with the RD Manufacturing Group Code of Conduct for Responsible Fish Procurement.

5. Suppliers Accreditation

All suppliers are required to undergo the accreditation process to ensure that they follow the requirements and that suppliers are in compliance with the standards and policies.

RDMG expects from its suppliers to respect the human rights of workers and offer them fair and dignified treatment in accordance with the local, national and international principles.

All criteria relating to this must be obligatorily fulfilled by the suppliers and their non-compliance will be considered as non-conformity to the code.

1. Prohibition of Child Labor
RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that do not comply with the International Labor Organization (ILO) principles. Suppliers and vessels must not employ a person below fifteen (15) years of age or one who is over eighteen (15) but is unable to fully take care of or protect himself/herself from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, or discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition.

2. Prohibition of Forced Labour and Human Trafficking
Human Trafficking
RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that recruit, obtain, hire, provide, offer, transport, transfer, maintain, harbor or receipt of persons with or without the victim’s consent or knowledge, within or across national borders by means of threat, or use of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position, taking advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or, the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation which includes at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or the removal or sale of organs.

Forced Labor and Slavery
RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that extract work or services from any person by means of enticement, violence, intimidation or threat, use of, force or coercion, including deprivation of freedom, abuse of authority or moral ascendancy, debt-bondage or deception including any work or service extracted from any person under the menace of penalty.

Involuntary Servitude RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that enforce compulsory service induced by means of any scheme, plan or pattern, intended to cause a person to believe that if he or she did not enter into or continue in such condition, he or she or another person would suffer serious harm or other forms of abuse or physical restraint, or threat of abuse or harm, or coercion including depriving access to travel documents and withholding salaries, or the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process.

Any other form of actions violating the International Labour Organization (ILO) principles

3. Prohibition of Discrimination of Workers
RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that discriminate for reasons of race, colours, gender, sex, age, religion, affiliation, orientation, ethnicity, disabilities, politics, participation in trade union, or marital status.

4. Health and Safety at Work
RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that do not comply with all the requirements of the country which they operate with regard to workers health and safety. Supplier must comply the guidelines relating with occupational safety and health management such that of ILO and IMO. Suppliers guarantee, as a minimum, access to drinkable water, appropriate light and ventilation, adequate safety systems for accident and illness prevention, appropriate medical attention in case of emergencies and illnesses.

5. Hours of Work and Rest
RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that do not comply with the applicable laws in relation to the number of hours and days of work.

6. Work Agreement, Remuneration and Social Protection
RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that do not comply with the existing laws for work agreements, remuneration and social protection. The Suppliers must ensure that they abide with the signed contract with the workers. The contract must be signed by the worker and it must reflect clearly the remunerations and other working conditions required by applicable law. The Suppliers must ensure that that the proper and on-time payment of wages is done regularly. The Suppliers must also entitle the workers to benefit from social protection in accordance to local, national and international regulations.

7. Ethical Standards and Anti-Corruption Policies
RDMG will not purchase fish from suppliers or vessels that do not conduct their business following ethical standards. The suppliers must not engage in any form of corruption including extortion, fraud, bribery between individuals or in any authorities and officials.