The process has 8 steps so that various supplier relationships can be included, from the suppliers to the union bar to the discount partners on the NUS Extra card.
The Ethical and Environmental Statements
A quick guide for external organisations to NUS core values and expectations of our suppliers and partners.
Sound sourcing guide
In addition to legal requirements, students and student officers have expectations about the standards for workers in the supply chain and the effects of manufacture on the environment.
Our Sound Sourcing Guide introduces what standards we expect of suppliers, partners and their manufacturers.
Ethical Screens
The screening process flags any allegations, convictions or boycotts relating to a specific company in the public domain, the press, academic journals, NGO publications and the world-wide-web.
Ethical screens provide guidance for the NUS Extra management team and when considering sponsorship and advertising partners.
Suppliers of products to union shops and bars are obliged to complete the Ethical and Environmental Accreditation as part of the tender process for supply contracts.
Ethical and Environmental Accreditation
This a bespoke questionnaire set up to ask about standards in manufacture, areas of investment and legal requirements.
The accreditation is a multiple choice questionnaire that provides a grade for each supplier in contract, available on NUS Connect.
Audits
NUS Services' Ethical Supply Chain Co-ordinator visits suppliers in the UK, in particular those who have a lower grade in the EEA and those suppliers that express interest in improving ethical and environmental practices.
Contract Clause
Terms and conditions in our contract with suppliers to union shops and bars ensure that suppliers must work with the NUS when an ethical issue is reported to rectify the situation and ultimately we can terminate the contract if no acceptable outcome can be reached through constructive engagement.
Constructive Engagement
Meeting with suppliers and partners to discuss allegations and reports of unethical behaviour can result in positive changes and is an opportunity to verify facts.
Constructive engagement requests and progress are logged in the constructive engagement register online and briefings are available online so that anyone with an interest in a particular case can read about the meetings that happen.
Sound Ethical Choice
The top scoring suppliers that have no ethical alerts raised through the EEA, step 4, are Sound Ethical Choice suppliers and union shop and bar managers can order or download pre-designed marketing kits from www.nusconnect.org.uk to promote these suppliers.
For more information visit the NUS Supplier Assessment page or log onto www.nusconnect.org.uk and visit the Sound Ethical Choice page.