Responsible Supply Chain
All the below policies apply to Tower Semiconductor Ltd. and its subsidiaries, with respect to all businesses, countries, and regions (collectively the “Company” or “TS Group”).
Responsible Supply Chain
Tower Semiconductor Partnership with the RBA
Tower is dedicated to corporate social responsibility and reporting our internal social responsibility standards to our customers allowing them to evaluate and assess their global supply chains, including responsible sourcing of minerals in our supply chains.
Tower is a partner of the Responsible Business Alliance (“RBA”) since 2014 and has a corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) program to ensure implementation and enforcement throughout our organization. The RBA is formerly the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (“EICC”). Our partnership with the RBA allows for transparency and customer accessibility to CSR data and performance. The RBA provides assessment tools, including a self-assessment questionnaire which is designed to help members identify social, environmental and ethical risks in their supply chains and take action to put in place systems to further improve their social contribution. Tower participates in the RBA self-assessment questionnaire (“SAQ”) for all of its wholly owned facilities every year and works to adopt improvements based on input collected through the SAQ. Certain Tower customers monitor Tower’s SAQ and recognize that Tower has achieved a noteworthy rating since completing the first SAQ. The risk level assigned to Tower as a result of each assessment is low.
Similarly, Tower Japanese affiliate, TPSCo has completed the RBA SAQ for two of its three fabs, resulting in a low risk rating.
Global Tower Ethical Requirements for Suppliers – RBA Supplier Code of Conduct
Ethics
To meet social responsibilities, suppliers are expected to conduct their Business in an ethical manner and to act with integrity, all in accordance with Tower’s code of ethics and Tower Policy on Labor and Human Rights available on www.Towersemi.com; Our requirements include among others the following aspects:
Business Integrity
- Suppliers are expected not to practice or tolerate any form of corruption, extortion or embezzlement.
- Suppliers will not offer or accept bribes or other unlawful incentives to/from their business partners.
- Suppliers are expected not to offer to Tower employee’s gifts or any other kind of personal benefit resulting from the relationships with the suppliers.
Fair Competition
Suppliers will conduct their business in line with fair competition and in accordance with all applicable anti-trust laws.
Privacy & Intellectual Property
Suppliers will safeguard and make only appropriate use of confidential information and ensure that all employees’ and business partners’ privacy and valid intellectual property rights are protected.
Identification of Concerns
Suppliers will provide means for their employees to report concerns or potentially unlawful activities in the workplace. Any report should be treated in a confidential manner. Suppliers will investigate such reports and take corrective action if needed.
Conflict Minerals
Suppliers are expected to ensure that products supplied to Tower do not contain metals derived from minerals or their derivatives originated from conflict regions that directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups.
Labor
Suppliers are expected to protect the human rights of their employees and to treat them with dignity and respect. This includes the following aspects:
Child Labor Avoidance
We do not tolerate child labor in our supply chain. Suppliers should avoid any sort of child labor in their business operations consistent with the ILO’s2 (International Labour Organization) core labor standards and the United Nations Global Compact principles.
Freely Chosen Employment
Forced, bonded or indentured labor or involuntary prison labor will not be utilized by the suppliers.
Diversity and Inclusion
Equal treatment of all employees will be a fundamental principle of the supplier’s corporate policy. Typical discriminatory treatment takes into consideration – consciously or unconsciously – irrelevant characteristics of an employee such as race, national origin, gender, age, physical characteristics, social origin, disability, union membership, religion, family status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any unlawful criterion under applicable law. Suppliers will ensure that their employees are not harassed in any way. Tower encourages suppliers to provide an inclusive and supportive working environment and to exercise diversity when it comes to their employees as well as in their decisions to select subcontractors.
Fair Treatment
Suppliers will provide their employees with a workplace free of harsh and inhumane treatment, without any sexual harassment, sexual abuse, corporal punishment or torture, mental or physical coercion or verbal abuse of employees, or the threat of any such treatment. Furthermore, suppliers are expected not to unfairly terminate any employment contract or without clear evidence specify that the termination of an employment contract, in relation to the working performance of an employee, is permitted by law.
Working Hours, Wages and Benefits
Working hours for suppliers’ employees will not exceed the maximum set by the applicable national law. Compensation paid to employees will comply with applicable national wage laws and ensure an adequate standard of living. Unless otherwise provided by local laws, deductions from basic wages as a disciplinary measure will not be permitted (this does not exclude the entitlement of damages on a contractual or legal basis). Suppliers are expected to provide their employees with fair and competitive compensation and benefits. Compensation and benefits should aim at providing an adequate standard of living for employees and their families. Suppliers’ employees will be paid in a timely manner. It is recommended that suppliers offer their employees ample training and educational opportunities.
Freedom of Association
Suppliers will be committed to an open and constructive dialogue with their employees and workers’ representatives. In accordance with local laws, suppliers will respect the rights of their employees to associate freely, join labor unions, seek representation, join works councils and engage in collective bargaining. Suppliers will not disadvantage employees who act as workers ‘representatives.
Health, Safety, Environment and Quality
Suppliers are expected to provide a safe and healthy working environment and, if applicable, safe and healthy company living quarters, and to operate in an environmentally responsible and efficient manner. Suppliers will integrate quality into their business processes. This comprises the following aspects:
Quality Requirements
Suppliers will meet generally recognized or contractually agreed quality requirements in order to provide goods and services that consistently meet Tower’s needs, perform as warranted and are Safe for their intended use.
Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality Regulations
Suppliers will comply with all applicable quality, health, safety and environmental regulations. All required permits, licenses and registrations will be obtained, maintained and kept up-to-date. Suppliers will fulfill their operational and reporting requirements.
Product Safety
Material safety data sheets containing all necessary safety-relevant information will be made available by suppliers for all hazardous substances and will be provided to Tower and other parties in case of legitimate need.
Occupational Health and Safety
Suppliers will protect their employees from any chemical, biological and physical hazards and physically demanding tasks in the workplace as well as from risks associated with any infrastructures used by their employees. Suppliers will provide appropriate controls, safe work procedures, preventative maintenance and necessary technical protective measures to mitigate health and safety risks in the workplace. When hazards cannot be adequately controlled by these means, suppliers will provide employees with appropriate personal protective equipment. Safety information relating to hazardous materials3 – including compounds in intermediate materials – shall be available to educate, train and protect workers from hazards. A safe and healthy working environment also includes as a minimum potable drinking water, adequate lighting, temperature, ventilation and sanitation and, if applicable, safe and healthy company living quarters.
Process Safety
Suppliers will have safety programs in place for managing and maintaining all their production processes in accordance with the applicable safety standards. Suppliers will address product-related issues and their potential impact during all stages of the production process. For hazardous installations the supplier will conduct specific risk analyses and implement measures that prevent the occurrence of incidents such as chemical releases and/or explosions.
Emergency Preparedness, Risk Information and Training
Suppliers will make available safety information on identified workplace risks and suppliers’ employees will be correspondingly trained to ensure they are adequately protected. Suppliers will identify and assess likely and potential emergency situations in the workplace and minimize their impact by implementing emergency plans and response procedures.
Waste and Emissions
Suppliers will have systems in place to ensure the safe handling, movement, storage, recycling, reuse and management of waste, air emissions and wastewater discharges. Any of these activities that have the potential to adversely impact human or environmental health will be appropriately managed, measured, controlled and handled prior to release of any substance into the environment. Suppliers will have systems in place to prevent or mitigate accidental spills and releases into the environment.
Resource Conservation and Climate Protection
Suppliers are expected to use natural resources (e.g. water, sources of energy, raw materials) in an economical way. Negative impacts on the environment and climate will be minimized or eliminated at their source or by practices such as the modification of production, maintenance and facility processes, material substitution, conservation, recycling and material reutilization. Suppliers will engage in the development and use of climate-friendly products and processes to reduce power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Security
Suppliers will have good security practices across their supply chains. Suppliers will maintain processes and standards that are designed to assure the integrity of each shipment to Tower from its origin through to its destination and all points in between. Suppliers are expected to implement the necessary and appropriate measures in their area of responsibility to ensure that Tower products, their workable components or raw materials as well as the corresponding know-how do not end up in the hands of counterfeiters or third parties and do not leave the legal supply chain.
Management Systems
Suppliers are expected to implement management systems to facilitate compliance with all applicable laws and to promote continuous improvement with respect to the expectations set forth in this Supplier Code of Conduct This includes the following aspects:
Legal and Other Requirements
Suppliers will comply with all applicable laws, regulations, contractual agreements and generally recognized standards.
Communication of Sustainability Criteria in Supply Chain
Suppliers will communicate the principles set forth in this Supplier Code of Conduct to their supply chain. Supplier will ensure personnel awareness of the importance of ethical behviour.
Commitment and Accountability
Suppliers are encouraged to fulfill the expectations set forth in this Supplier Code of Conduct by allocating appropriate resources.
Risk Management
Suppliers are expected to implement mechanisms to identify, determine and manage risks in all areas addressed by this Supplier Code of Conduct and with respect to all applicable legal requirements.
Documentation
Suppliers are expected to develop adequate documentation to demonstrate that they share the principles and values expressed in this Supplier Code of Conduct. This documentation may be reviewed by Tower upon mutual agreement.
Training and Competency
Suppliers will establish appropriate training measures to allow their managers and employees to gain an appropriate level of knowledge and understanding of the contents of this Supplier Code of Conduct, the applicable laws and regulations and generally recognized standards.
Continuous Improvement
Suppliers are expected to continuously improve their sustainability performance by implementing appropriate measures.
Responsible Sourcing Minerals Policy (Conflict Minerals Policy)
TS Group has adopted a conflict minerals policy in order to ensure that it does not incorporate Conflict minerals (as defined below) into items manufactured at TS Group’s facilities. “Conflict minerals,” as defined in Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, are Columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite, or their derivatives. Metals derived from these minerals are tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold (3TG). These metals are derived from minerals that are mined throughout the world, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) , adjoining countries, and high-risk areas (CAHRAs) (collectively the “Covered Countries”). Armed groups operating in the Covered Countries have controlled many of the region’s mines and/or transit routes and have engaged in armed conflict, as well as committed some of the world’s worst human rights violations. Products which do not contain necessary Conflict minerals that directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the Covered Countries are considered “Conflict free”.
TS Group is committed to responsible sourcing of Conflict minerals throughout its supply chain and to continued compliance with the applicable SEC rules and regulations related to Conflict minerals. TS Group supports the position of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) and Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) to avoid the use of Conflict minerals that directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the Covered Countries.
TS Group has established programs aligned with the internationally recognized OECD due diligence framework to regularly evaluate its supply chain and require its suppliers to do the same as it does not purchase any tungsten or tantalum directly from smelters, refiners, or mines, but rather is many steps removed in the supply chain from the mining of these necessary Conflict minerals. Suppliers are prohibited from supplying TS Group with materials known to be derived from the Covered Countries that have not been confirmed as “Conflict free” via a recognized and credible third party process such as the Conflict Free Sourcing Initiative’s Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP). Suppliers shall have in place policies and due diligence measures that will assure that products and components supplied to them containing Conflict minerals are Conflict free. In addition, TS Group requires its direct suppliers of items that include 3TG to submit completed Conflict minerals declarations using the RMI (www.responsiblemineralsinitiative.org) Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT). TS Group reserves the right to take appropriate actions to enforce its conflict minerals policy, including discontinuing purchases from suppliers that fail to comply with this policy.
On an annual basis, Tower discloses on Form SD (Specialized Disclosure Report) its compliance with Rule 13p-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including its reporting and disclosure requirements related to Conflict Minerals.
In addition to the SEC rule regarding the conflict minerals reporting, Tower voluntarily performs due diligence on the sourcing of Cobalt and reports its findings through the Cobalt CRT on its website.
Please direct any question about the Tower policies to the Company’s Corporate Compliance Officer at compliance.officer@towersemi.com.