ETHICAL CODE (CE-0907)
This Code sets out the ethical undertakings and commitments assumed by the collaborators of AN Textile Units and its group companies (please see Entities that have subscribed the Ethical Code) in the management of its business activities, be they directors, collaborators or employees of any kind in the said companies.
AN Textile’s mission is to generate and distribute value in the international market of chemical specialities for a wide variety of industries in order to meet clients’ needs, benefit shareholders’ investments, increase competitiveness in the countries where it operates and the cover the expectations and needs of those working for our companies.
In its work, AN Textile Units thinks of its surroundings, respecting the environment and the safety of individuals, with the commitment of ensuring a better world for future generations.
AN Textile Units aspires to maintain and develop a relationship of trust in those areas where it engages in its activities, i.e. with all stakeholders, whether persons, groups or institutions, whose contribution is necessary to bring about AN Textile Units’ mission or having an interest in that mission or in managing to achieve its goals.
These stakeholders include those making investments related to the activities of AN Textile Units: firstly its shareholders, collaborators, clients, suppliers and partners. In a wider sense, other stakeholder equally engaged are all those individuals or groups, as well as the organizations and institutions representing them, whose interests are influenced by the direct and indirect effects of AN Textile Units’ activities.
Any behaviour that fails to meet our ethical standards undermines this trust-based relationship between AN Textile Units and its stakeholders. All behaviour by anyone, whether an individual or an organization, attempting to appropriate for themselves the fruits of collaboration by others through the exploitation of positions of power are unethical and foster the adoption of hostile attitudes towards the firm.
Our good reputation is an essential intangible resource. A good reputation in external relations favours investment by shareholders, customer loyalty, the attraction and retention of the best human resources, the trust of our suppliers and greater reliability vis-à-vis third parties.
Since the Ethical Code clarifies the specific obligations of AN Textile vis-à-vis its stakeholders (fiduciary obligations), effective compliance with the Code is viewed as the benchmark by which to judge the reputation of AN Textile Units. Therefore, the Ethical Code is made up of:the general principles on relations with stakeholders, which define in the abstract the reference values for AN Textile Units’ activities;the behaviour criteria with respect to each type of stakeholder provide the specific standards and guidelines to be observed by collaborators of AN Textile Units in order to respect the general principles, thus complying with Legislation and preventing the risk of unethical behaviour;the implementation mechanisms, which describe the control system for complying with the Ethical Code and its continuous improvement.
This Code, marked by an ideal of co-operation, aims at a mutual benefit for the stakeholders, while at all times respecting the role of each. In consequence, AN Textile Units requires all stakeholders to act in accordance with principles, laws and rules inspired by a similar idea of ethical behaviour.
The principles and provisions contained in the present Ethical Code are applicable to all collaborators, the members of the Board of Directors, the Ethics Committee and other control organs of AN Textile Units and of all the companies in the Group, in addition to the executives, employees and collaborators related to the Group due to contractual relations derived from any situation, including occasional or temporary situations.
Furthermore, AN Textile Units requires all of its subsidiaries and companies in which it holds a stake and its main suppliers and partners to conduct themselves in accordance with the general principles of the present Code.
The Ethical Code is valid in both Spain and abroad, always bearing in mind the cultural, social and economic differences among the various contracts in which AN Textile Units operates.
In decisions affecting relations with all stakeholders, the selection of clients to whom to supply products, relations with shareholders, the management of personnel or work organization, the selection and management of suppliers, and relations with its surroundings, AN Textile Units avoids all types of discrimination by age, gender, sexual orientation, health status, nationality, political opinions and religious beliefs of its interlocutors.
Within the scope of its professional activities, all collaborators of AN Textile Units must diligently respect all laws in force, the Ethical Code and the internal procedures. In no circumstances may the achievement of the interests of AN Textile Units justify any form of dishonest behaviour.
In the performance of any activity, it is necessary to avoid situations in which the parties involved in the transactions are, or appear to be, in a situation of conflict of interest.This is understood to mean both when a collaborator holds a different interest from the company’s mission and the equilibrium of the interests of the parties involved or may benefit “personally” from the company’s business opportunities, and also when the representatives of clients or suppliers, or of public institutions, are acting against the fiduciary obligations related to their positions in their relations with AN Textile Units.
AN Textile Units guarantees the confidentiality of any information it owns and complies with the Data Protection Act and refrains from seeking private information, except in cases of express authorization and in accordance with the legal rules in force. In addition, the collaborators of AN Textile Units must not make use of private information for purposes unrelated to the exercise of their own activities, as in the case of abuse of confidential information or market fixing (insider trading).
AN Textile Units strives to ensure that the economic and financial returns are such as to safeguard and increase the value of the enterprise, in order to provide adequate remuneration for the risk assumed by shareholders when investing their capital.
AN Textile Units’ collaborators are an indispensable factor for its success. For this reason, AN Textile Units oversees and promotes the value of its human resources in order to improve and increase the skillsets and competitiveness of the abilities of each collaborator.
In the subscription and management of contractual relationships implying the formalization of hierarchical relationships (in particular with collaborators), AN Textile undertakes to act in such a way that authority is exercised fairly and correctly, avoiding any kind of abuse.
In particular, AN Textile guarantees that authority is not transformed into the exercise of any power that is harmful for the dignity and independence of the collaborator, and that the choices made in the organization of the work protect the values of its collaborators.
AN Textile Units guarantee the physical and moral integrity of its collaborators, working conditions that respect individual dignity, the rules of behaviour inherent to good manners, and safe and healthy working environments. Furthermore, it acts in such a way that no episodes of intimidation or bullying arise in the workplace.
No tolerance will be shown with regard to requests or threats designed to induce any person to act against the dictates of the Ethical Code or any legislation, or to engage in any behaviour that is detrimental to the moral and personal convictions and preferences of each one.
All collaborators of AN Textile Units must furnish full, transparent, understandable and accurate information at all times, in such a way that, when establishing relations with the company, those involved are able to take independent decisions in the full awareness of the interests in play, their options and the pertinent consequences.
AN Textile aims its activities at satisfying and defending its own clients, echoing any requests that may favour the improvement of the quality of its products and services. For this reason, AN Textile Units addresses its research, development and marketing activities to achieve high standards of quality and to protect the environment in its services and products certified by International Standards ISO 9001 and ISO 14,001.
AN Textile intends to defend the principle of fair competition by refraining from any conduct considered collusion or predatory.
The environment is a primary good that AN Textile Units undertakes to protect; to this end, it schedules its activities by seeking a balance between its economic initiatives and the essential needs of the environment, taking into account at all times the rights of future generations.
Therefore, AN Textile Units undertakes to reduce the environmental and landscape impact of its activities, as well as to forestall any risks for the population and the environment not only by respecting the regulations in force but also by taking into account the advances of scientific research and the best practices in each area.
With respect to internal controls, AN Textile Units adopts a specific system with the aim of verifying that its different business processes are adequate in terms of efficacy, efficiency and economic optimization; guaranteeing the reliability and accuracy of the accounting records; safeguarding the business’s assets and guaranteeing the compliance of its transactions with internal and external standards and the business directives and guidelines with the aim of ensuring a solid and effective management in accordance with all Statutes and Standards in force.
AN Textile Units has entrusted the task of reviewing the balance sheet and the consolidated balance sheet for the financial year with total transparency and strictly respecting the regulations in force.
AN Textile Units acts with total transparency, adopting specific procedures to guarantee the accuracy and truthfulness of its communications and to prevent the commission of crimes and breaches.
All financial communication from AN Textile Units is characterized not only by mere respect for regulatory provision but also by the use of understandable language, the exhaustive and timely nature of the information and the uniformity of the reports given to all collaborators.
AN Textile Units feels it is beneficial for its own interests to maintain an ongoing dialogue based on mutual understanding of the roles with its collaborators in general.
AN Textile Units processes the personal details of the persons involved with the maximum respect for their confidentiality and privacy. For this purpose, specific policies and procedures are applied and constantly updated for data protection. In particular, AN Textile Units:Has established an organizational data-processing structure that guarantees an adequate separation of roles and responsibilities;Classifies the information and adopts the pertinent countermeasures at each stage.Requires the collaborators involved in data processing to sign non-disclosure agreements.
No gifts of any kind will be accepted if they may be interpreted as exceeding normal levels of commercial practice or courtesy, or are intended to obtain any favourable treatment in the performance of any activity that may be binding on AN Textile. In particular, any kind of gift to Spanish or foreign public officials, clients, suppliers, auditors, or to any family relatives of the foregoing is prohibited if it may be construed as influencing the independence of judgement or inducing any kind of guarantee or other favour.
This rule, which does not allow any exclusions or exceptions even in those countries where it is customary to offer gifts of a certain value to commercial partners, is applicable to both gifts offered or promised as well as to those already received; for the sake of clarification, a gift is understood to mean any kind of favour (participation in congresses free of charge, promise of an employment offer, etc.).
All communication by AN Textile Units with those areas in which it is carrying out its activities (including through the mass media) is characterized by respect for the right to information; in no case is it allowed to disseminate false or tendentious stories or comments. All communications activities respect all laws, rules and practices of professional conduct and are carried out with clarity, transparency and timeliness, safeguarding, among others, sensitive information pertaining to prices and industrial secrets.
The evaluation of personnel to be contracted is carried out considering whether the profiles of the candidates correspond to those expected and the different business requirements, respecting the principle of equality of opportunities for all stakeholders.
The information requested will only be used to verify the aspects related to the professional profile or psychological aptitude of candidates, respecting at all times their private affairs and opinions. the company’s management and the human resources department, in the light of the information available, will adopt appropriate measures to avoid favouritism, nepotism or any other form of cronyism in the selection and hiring phases (for example, by ensuring that the person selecting the personnel has no blood or other ties to any of the candidates).
All personnel are contracted by means of a legal employment contract; illegal employment will not be allowed in any circumstance. Whenever an employment relationship is established, each collaborator receives precise information with respect to:
This information is presented to all collaborators for consideration and acceptance once it is fully understood.
Access to functions and posts is also established in accordance with the individual’s skills and abilities; in addition, provided that this is compatible with the general efficiency of the work carried out, the company encourages a flexible employment organization that facilitates the management of maternity and, in general, the care of children.
The evaluation of collaborators is conducted extensively with the involvement of the pertinent managers, the Organization’s Management and Human Resources Department and, whenever possible, those individuals who have come into contact with the person evaluated.
AN Textile Units places internal and remote-access instructional and training tools at the disposal of all collaborators so that the personnel’s specific skills can be assessed and their professional value retained.Training is assigned to groups or specific collaborators in accordance with their individual professional development needs. Institutional training is planned to be provided at specified moments in the collaborator’s business life (for instance, for newly-hired personnel, an introduction is scheduled for them to understand the company and its lines of business) and refresher training is scheduled for operational personnel.
The training history of each collaborator is recorded on the personnel computer system so as to verify the degree of use made of the training provided and to design subsequent training itineraries.
It is an abuse of a position of authority to request beneficial actions or personal favours or any behaviour constituting a breach of the present Ethical Code as an act due to a hierarchical superior.
Whenever any re-organization of work activities is carried out, it is necessary to safeguard the value of the human resources by arranging in advance, whenever necessary, training actions and/or professional re-qualification activities. for this purpose, AN Textile Units abides by the following criterion:
Should it become necessary to manage new or unforeseen situations, collaborators may be assigned tasks other than those carried out previously, safeguarding at all times their professional competencies.
AN Textile Units undertakes to disseminate and consolidate a safety-oriented culture by increasing awareness about the risks and promoting responsible behaviour on the part of all collaborators; similarly, it works to preserve, especially through preventive actions, the health and safety of its workforce, as well as the interests of all other stakeholders.
AN Textile Units’ aim is to protect its human, property and financial resources by constantly seeking the synergies required not only within the Company but also with suppliers, partners and clients involved in its activities.
For this purpose, a diffuse internal structure, attentive to the evolution of the reference settings and any consequential variation in the corresponding hazards, performs technical and organizational interventions through: