BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document

BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document This guide is intended to give an understanding of BES6001:2014 Framework Standard for Responsible Sourcing. It is not a controlled document. 3.2.1 Responsible Sourcing Policy This criterion aims to promote having a responsible purchasing protocol in place to guide sourcing activities within an organisation, either as a stand-alone policy or as part of a broader policy (e.g. sustainability policy). The Responsible Sourcing policy needs to reflect and respond fully to, as a minimum, all the issues encompassed in BES 6001 as listed in Section 4 of the Standard. Whatever the Responsible Sourcing Policy s title or configuration it must be dated and signed by a Senior Manager of the organisation under assessment. The Policy needs to be regularly reviewed, integrated into the organisation s document management system, and communicated to staff. 3.2.2 Legal compliance This criterion aims to ensure a company has a working system in place to identify applicable laws and determine their implications for the organisation s responsible sourcing policy. The organisation needs to demonstrate that it has in place an effective procedure (within its Management System) that can identify and review all current and new legal requirements which impact on the organisation s operations. 3.2.3 Quality Management System This criterion aims to promote the application of the fundamentals of ISO 9000 and the procedures of responsible sourcing. A key purpose of this clause is to ensure the company has an appropriate documented Quality Management System (QMS) (possibly ISO 9001 certificated). The system should include within its scope the BES 6001 assessed products. Viewing the QMS during the audit process enables a check to ensure that responsible sourcing procedures are fully integrated into management systems. Sometimes these responsible sourcing procedures may be in the Environmental Management System (EMS) or Health & Safety (H&S) Management System (not the QMS) so flexibility of approach must be maintained enabling the auditor to see the responsible sourcing procedures wherever they may reside in the documented management system. ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 are management system standards (not product standards). However, as part of the certification process the standards specify the range of products covered by the certification. This scope is used to ensure the certified quality (environment and H&S) principles cover the products under BES 6001 assessment. BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 1 of 13

3.2.4 Supplier Management System This criterion aims to promote an integrated management system for all supply chains and in particular suppliers of the company under assessment. BES 6001 remains focused on direct material inputs into the products/materials under assessment. Ancillary inputs in the manufacturing process (e.g. personal protective equipment, consumables, etc.) are excluded. Lists of approved suppliers of constituent materials in the assessed product are an important element of evidence in a BES 6001 audit. Such lists are a rational basis for organisations to understand and track the compliance of suppliers (e.g. certification, compliance with vendor requirements, etc.) for ultimate presentation in the audit process. If the Tier 1 supplier of an input material used in a product under assessment is located in the EU but constituent materials for that material are extracted from outside the EU, it is not necessary to carry out a risk assessment on the material. Here again the maturity of the sector is a challenge. As individual extraction sectors (for example, aluminium, copper, etc.) develop such risk assessment risk assessments will become simpler as evidence from these extraction sector schemes can be used in the BES 6001 audit. The documented purchasing procedure the company operates (within the quality management system) must be written in order to support all relevant aspects of the implementation of the organisation s Responsible Sourcing policy. Information should be available to assess the proportion of components and their suppliers. Where organisations source constituent materials from outside the EU or from countries that have not declared adherence to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises the risk assessment that must be undertaken needs to be appropriate to the circumstances. BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 2 of 13

3.3. Supply Chain Management Requirements 3.3.1 Material traceability through the supply chain This criterion recognises the importance of analysis of suppliers to allow traceability of materials throughout the entire supply chain all the way from source. The input materials can be considered to be from one of four types of source: Extraction, winning or acquisition of raw material The mining, quarrying, growing, harvesting or extraction by any other means of a raw material. Recovery of recycled materials - Here the traceability of the input material needs to go as far back as the factor trading in the material, eg for scrap steel it is the scrap yard, not the scrapyard s suppliers; for recycled aggregate it is the processor of building waste, not the demolition contractor. Production by-products or production residues - Here the traceability of the input material needs to go as far back as the organisation manufacturing the product of which the component material is considered to be the by product or residue, eg for pulverised fuel ash (PFA) it is the power station, not the coal supplier. Processing of commodity traded chemicals and materials - Here the traceability of the input material needs to go as far back as the trader of the chemical/material. In this case the trader may be sourcing the chemical in a commodity market where their supplier changes depending on price and availability. The trader simply buying in bulk then re-packaging and selling on. It is not feasible to readily capture traceability information in such a supply chain. Industry Benchmarks - where there is a recognised industry benchmark (from a recognised and established industry body) this should be used during the audit. If there is no appropriate industry benchmark then this is not possible. The appropriate sector bodies may well wish to start thinking about developing acceptable and appropriate benchmarks. It is not possible to specify in BES 6001 a generic benchmark for performance in each clause as there are significant differences between sectors. The performance of each audited material will fall into one of the bands of traceable material identified in this clause, ie: < 60% 60% - 75% 75% - 90%, or >90% It is important that these levels are about traceability, EMS and H&S management systems coverage. Risk assessment for input materials from outside the EU and OECD countries is always at 98% minimum (see 3.2.4). BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 3 of 13

3.3.2 Environmental Management Systems through the supply chain This criterion promotes the fundamentals of ISO 14001 and the importance of environmental responsibility through the supply chain. As noted in 3.3.1 above it is the traceable proportion of the input materials identified in that clause that is to be considered in this part of the Standard. All the requirements in the clause apply to the entire supply chain, including the organisation under assessment. 3.3.3 Health and Safety Management Systems through the supply chain This criterion promotes the fundamentals of ISO 18001 and the importance of responsible health & safety management through the supply chain. As noted in 3.3.1 above it is the traceable proportion of the input materials identified in that clause that is to be considered in this part of the Standard. All the requirements in the clause apply to the entire supply chain, including the organisation under assessment. 3.4. Requirements related to the management of sustainable development 3.4.1 Greenhouse gas emissions The aim of this criterion is to encourage the measurement, reporting and reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions by the organisation. The section uses as its basis the principles of the ISO 14064-1 standard. The standard contains definitions for the key terms used in BES 6001. Suitable metrics need to be established for measuring the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removal. The organisation shall report to its stakeholders on emissions and removals of GHG. This relates to both elements of GHG emissions emissions and removals related to direct operations AND indirect emissions and removals related to energy use in its direct operations. Stakeholder reporting must be regular and the reporting shall be freely available to all stakeholders. Higher performance rating and associated credits may only be scored if the preceding BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 4 of 13

All the information and data which has been considered in the forgoing sections of the clause must have had external verification to secure the additional credits. Examples of such verification could be (but is not limited to): PAS 2050 certification Carbon Trust certification 3.4.2 Energy Use This section is not compulsory. The aim of this criterion is to encourage the identification of any opportunity for reducing the energy intensity of the organisation s operations (the reduction of actual energy intensity of the process rather than the carbon intensity). There are parallels between energy management and the management of GHG emissions (clause 3.4.1), but the continual improvement of energy intensity, in combination with GHG emissions management, helps to demonstrate that that both energy efficiency and GHG intensity of energy sources are being systematically managed. For this reason Energy Management has been introduced to BES6001 for issue 3. The scope of the issue covers operations within the organisational boundary, defined as those operations which are under financial and/or operational control of the organisation. This includes operations where operational and/or financial control is shared with another organisation e.g. equity share of an extraction operation, or shared production facilities. An appropriate metric will be required for the monitoring of performance. The Energy Use policy must be signed off and dated by a senior representative of the company. The Policy needs to be regularly reviewed, integrated into the organisation s document management system, and communicated to staff. The scope of the issue covers operations within the organisational boundary, defined as those operations which are under financial and/or operational control of the organisation. This includes operations where operational and/or financial control is shared with another organisation e.g. equity share of an extraction operation, or shared production facilities. 3.4.3 Resource use The aim of this criterion is to encourage the efficient use of resources. The Resource use policy must be signed off and dated by a senior representative of the company. The management principles must be supported by documents within the company s management system, these documents may be part of existing management system documentation. The policy needs to be regularly reviewed and integrated into the organisation s document management system. Higher performance rating and associated credits may only be scored if the preceding BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 5 of 13

The actions regarding both the improvement of future end-of-life resource use or product lifetime extension must have significant input, involvement and support of the organisation being assessed. End-of-life actions can include, but are not limited to: Support of post-consumer retrieval schemes Research regarding recyclability or re-use options Actions regarding staff and supply chain engagement should be fully embedded in the regular activities of the organisation. Engagement activities can include, but are not limited to: In-house schemes promoting resource use improvements. Participation in sector/industry groups and activities to promote promoting resource use improvements The organisation shall report to its stakeholders on its resource use activities in all areas where it has claimed activity in the earlier sections. Supplementary credit this credit may be scored in isolation to any other credits in the clause. There must be evidence to indicate that there is effective environmental stewardship (ie the responsible planning and management of natural resources through conservation and sustainable use ) at the point of extraction. This is regardless of who is responsible for the extraction of the raw materials, i.e. the client themselves or another organisation down the supply chain. 3.4.4 Waste Prevention and Waste Management The aim of this criterion is to reduce waste sent to landfill or incineration and to control waste arising from operations. The Waste Prevention and Waste Management policy must be signed off and dated by a senior representative of the company. The management principles stated within the policy must be supported by documents within the company s management system. The policy needs to be regularly reviewed, integrated into the organisation s document management system, and communicated to staff. BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 6 of 13

The waste hierarchy is: Reduce Re-use Recycle Recover Dispose Top Bottom The organisation will need to understand the scope of its controlled waste. Controlled waste is defined in the Environment Protection Act 1990 and the Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 as household, industrial and commercial waste or any such wastes that require a waste management licence for treatment, transfer or disposal. The organisation shall report to its stakeholders on its waste prevention and waste management activities in all areas where it has claimed activity in the earlier sections. Stakeholder reporting must be regular and the reporting shall be freely available to all stakeholders. All the information and data which has been considered in the forgoing sections of the clause must have had external verification to secure the additional credits. Supplementary credit this credit may be scored in isolation to any other credits in the clause. Stakeholder reporting must be regular and the reporting shall be freely available to all stakeholders. Regarding the specific aspects where the organisation can report: Typical performance levels with respect to the waste hierarchy must be determined and presented in an independent and impartial manner Actions regarding staff and supply chain engagement should be fully embedded in the regular activities of the organisation. 3.4.5 Water abstraction The aim of this criterion is to promote efficient water abstraction and the reduction of the intensity of the water use of the organisation s operations. The Water Abstraction policy must be signed off and dated by a senior representative of the company. The management principles stated within the policy must be supported by documents within the company s management system. Where the product(s) under assessment do not require the direct input of water the Water Abstraction policy need only be appropriate in scale to the usage level of water and not unnecessarily burdensome on the organisation. BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 7 of 13

The organisation shall report to its stakeholders on its water abstraction activities in all areas where it has claimed activity in the earlier sections. Stakeholder reporting must be regular and the reporting shall be freely available to all stakeholders. All the information and data which has been considered in the forgoing sections of the clause must have had external verification to secure the additional credits. Supplementary credit this credit may be scored in isolation to any other credits in the clause. Actions regarding staff and supply chain engagement concerning water abstraction reduction should be fully embedded in the regular activities of the organisation. 3.4.6 Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) Note Each performance rating in this section is independent of the others. The aim of this criterion is to promote a life cycle approach to manufacturing processes and the determination of the environmental impacts of products at each stage of products cycle of life. The life cycle assessment issue has been significantly revised for issue 3. The intent of the revision is to make the first step of the issue more accessible, and to align the higher performance levels with the latest industry-wide standards for LCA. The LCA policy must be signed off and dated by a senior representative of the company. The management principles stated within the policy must be supported by documents within the company s management system. The policy should be reviewed regularly. In order to meet the base level requirement the organisation under assessment must be able to demonstrate to the auditor that it has systematically considered the whole lifecycle of its product (from raw materials through to eventual disposal) and that the analysis has been used to guide continual improvement. The freely and publically available LCA study must include the provision of data associated with the product under assessment. An LCA is not acceptable as evidence if it is based on data relating to similar products or data for identical products but not including data from the products under assessment. The independently verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) must be freely available to stakeholders. BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 8 of 13

3.4.7 Ecotoxicity This section is not compulsory. The criterion aims to identify potential biological, chemical or physical stressors which could be affecting ecosystems. The issue of ecotoxicity has been introduced to issue 3 of BES6001 in order to allow organisations to demonstrate a pro-active approach to the assessment of chemical hazards in the supply chain for the assessed product. The issue contains a single, optional requirement. The requirement is based on existing REACH regulation. Information on the substances of very high concern (SVHC) Annex XIV listing process and status can be found at: http://echa.europa.eu/web/guest/addressing-chemicals-ofconcern/authorisation/recommendation-for-inclusion-in-the-authorisation-list/previousrecommendations The latest SVHC Candidate List can be found at: http://echa.europa.eu/candidate-list-table The assessment will include not only those chemicals used by the organisation in its production process but also those materials used by suppliers of intermediary materials and products used in the manufacture of the product under assessment. In order to facilitate this activity and its assessment the organisation will need to provide a list of all input materials, both within the organisation s own processes as well as those of suppliers and demonstrate that it has checked all materials against the two lists noted above. 3.4.8 Transport Impacts This criterion aims to promote the effective transportation of materials, goods and people within the organisation to lower the impacts on the environment. The Transport Impact policy must be signed off and dated by a senior representative of the company. The management principles stated within the Policy must be supported by documents within the company s management system and be regularly reviewed. The policy should cover not only the transport by the organisation of goods and materials associated with the manufacture of the assessed product(s) but also the movement of people involve in the operation of the organisation. Methodologies to identify significant environmental impacts can be undertaken by the organisation itself. The methodologies need not be complicated; a typical methodology could comprise actions to: map out the scope of the transport activities over which the organisation itself has direct financial or operational control. BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 9 of 13

identify impacts where improvements can be made. Impacts can include, but are not limited to, a range of issues such as: fuel usage/efficiency emissions to air land and water accidental emissions (spills) to air land and water noise packaging used transport/distribution identify actions to reduce impact prioritise impact reduction activities regularly review progress on these activities regularly report on progress Typical mitigation strategies to reduce environmental impacts can include, but are not limited to, a range of issues such as: Providing driver training for fuel efficiency Modernising fleets Here the Policy as described above must be extended to include a consideration of the supply of the traceable constituent(s) in the assessed products as determined in 3.3.1. Supplementary credit this credit may be scored in isolation to any other credits in the clause. Stakeholder reporting must be regular and the reporting shall be freely available to all stakeholders. Regarding the specific aspects where the organisation can report these must be two of the following: The methodologies used for identifying environmental impacts (see above). The impacts identified by the methodologies above (see above). How the organisation mitigates these impacts (see above). The organisation s performance against energy use targets. 3.4.9 Employment and skills The aim of this criterion is to encourage a systematic, transparent, and regularly reviewed approach the learning and development of employees The Employment and Skills Policy must be signed off and dated by a senior representative of the company. The management principles stated within the policy must be supported by documents within the company s management system. The policy should be reviewed regularly. The policy shall include a specific objective to include the principles of responsible sourcing as a part of the induction training activities of all new employees. Training around the key BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 10 of 13

aspects of responsible sourcing as outlined in Section 4 is included as an ongoing element of both professional training as well as functional training of other, non-professional staff. Having Investors in People (IiP) certification is not, in itself, a means of securing credits in this section. However elements of the organisation s IiP activities may well furnish the appropriate evidence required in this clause. The credit can be secured by either OR Extending the Policy described above to include an intention to enhance the diversity and inclusiveness of the workforce and undertake regular reviews of its performance against set objectives and targets. The set objective and targets must be transparent and set and agreed by senior management. Report to stakeholders on its overall learning and development activities as well as the extent of the diversity and inclusiveness of the workforce. Issues of inclusiveness and diversity within the Employment and Skills Policy should be considered by the organisation in its broadest terms: Inclusion is about a work environment where everyone has an opportunity to fully participate in creating business success and where each person is valued for their distinctive skills, experiences and perspectives. Diversity is the recognition of the existence of many unique individuals in the workplace. This includes men and women from different nations, cultures, ethnic groups, generations, backgrounds, skills, abilities and other unique differences. Stakeholder reporting must be regular and the reporting shall be freely available to all stakeholders. All the information and data which has been considered in the forgoing sections of the clause must have had external verification to secure the additional credits. 3.4.10 Local communities This criterion aims to encourage systematic, transparent and regularly reviewed engagement with stakeholders and local economies. Within the scope of responsible sourcing the introduction of local sourcing aspects aims to promote economic inclusion of local businesses and consider the benefits of choosing local suppliers and local labour where practical and possible. Organisations ought to always be aware of the importance of keeping their supplier portfolios up to date, so enabling them to BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 11 of 13

determine which purchases would benefit the most from local supply. Whilst there is no one appropriate definition for local in this context, businesses might want to consider the local knowledge of local suppliers within the broader scope of sustainability. BES6001 issue 3 now recognises local sourcing as a contributor to the local communities criterion. Local is defined as anywhere within an administrative area where the production facility is located (the home administrative area), or a neighbouring administrative area of the same rank that is contiguous with the home administrative area. Such a neighbouring administrative area may lie over a national boundary provided that the minimum journey time from gate to gate is no more than one hour by an appropriate mode of transport. The Local Communities Policy must be signed off and dated by a senior representative of the company. The management principles stated within the policy must be supported by documents within the company s management system and should be reviewed regularly. The organisation must have a written procedure to address and respond to complaints from the local community including any resulting prosecutions. The organisation will regularly review its performance regarding local community relationships and liaison and complaints. Stakeholder reporting must be regular and the reporting shall be freely available to all stakeholders. The organisation may choose to extend its Local Community Policy to include local sourcing or it may choose to have a separate Local Sourcing Policy. All the information and data which has been considered in the forgoing sections of the clause must have had external verification to secure the additional credit. 3.4.11 Business ethics This section is not compulsory. This criterion promotes the awareness of ethical principles within the businesses operations. The issue of business ethics has been introduced to issue 3 of BES6001 in order to allow organisations to demonstrate a commitment to high ethical standards and integrity. The issue of business ethics means different things to different people, however the sub-issue of bribery and corruption is common to the majority of definitions and so the requirement focuses on that element. The Business Ethics Policy and associated Code must be signed off and dated by a senior representative of the company. The management principles within the policy must be supported by documents within the company s management system. The policy should be reviewed regularly. BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 12 of 13

There must be an obligation that all employees of the organisation adhere to the Code associated with the policy. Some tangible means of demonstrating acceptance and adherence must be seen in evidence for the credits in this section to be earned. An example of such acceptance and adherence would be that each employee signs a statement regarding the Code as a fundamental part of their employment at the time of the induction training (see above). The mechanism or procedure for the confidential reporting and acting upon suspected bribery and/or corruption must be a part of the organisation s documented management system. BES 6001 Issue 3 Guidance Document, May 2014 Page 13 of 13