At Dell, we understand that our influence extends well beyond the walls of our offices, factories and other facilities - and that we have a broad impact on the environment, communities and people. As a company with an extensive global supply chain, we recognize that we have a responsibility to work with our suppliers to promote sustainable environmental practices, the health and safety of people and fundamental human rights and dignity.
Because businesses face many uncertainties in this rapidly changing global market, establishing genuine dialogue with workers enables both workers and employers to understand each other's problems better and find ways to resolve them. Dell and its Suppliers are to respect the rights of workers as established by local law to associate freely on a voluntary basis, seek representation, join or be represented by Works Councils, and join or not join labor unions and bargain collectively as they choose. As provided by law, employees who become worker representatives shall not be the subject of discrimination and shall have access to management and co-workers in order to carry out their representative functions. Workers shall be able to communicate openly with management regarding working conditions without fear of reprisal, intimidation or harassment. Basic worker rights to open communication, direct engagement and humane and equitable treatment must be respected even in countries where they are not given meaningful legal protection. Where worker representation and collective bargaining are restricted by law, participants are to facilitate open communication and direct engagement between workers and management as alternative ways of ensuring that workers' rights, needs and views are considered and acted upon appropriately and in good faith.
We also understand that we operate in a world with many different cultures, countries and levels of economic development. Yet even in this diverse world, we believe there are some standards that cross borders, levels of development and cultures - and that meeting these standards is a condition of doing business with Dell. Dell's approach is drawn from a review of global best practices, management systems and acknowledged standards. Included among these are the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, fundamental conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Electronic Industry code of conduct International Organization for Standardization (ISO14001), Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS 18001), The Soul of Dell, The Dell Code of Conduct as well as the benchmark of other corporations and Industries across the globe.
Dell is committed to communicating our requirements to our suppliers and working collaboratively with them to promote high standards of work and behavior. While our principles do not vary regardless of the level of supplier, our focus on communicating and reviewing performance against those standards is at our target supplier list. Suppliers on this list are selected based on location, manufacturing processes, business relationship, and commitment to adhere to EICC provisions. Despite this focus, violation of Dell's Supplier Global Citizenship expectations at any level of our supply chain is unacceptable.
Our approach to global supplier management is built around these key areas:
