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In our international purchasing activity, we have developed a conscientious, “good-citizen” process, completely in step with the E. Leclerc group's ethical policies.

Respect of the individual's rights and dignity is of the utmost importance to us, as is the protection of the environment.

Beyond business development concerns, we also look to foster sustainable growth in the regions where we operate. When we have to choose between projects of equal quality, we choose the one with the highest benefits to society.

As early as 1996, Siplec implemented a code of ethics, defining the rules of behaviour that our suppliers and ourselves are held to.

Since then, the Social Clause Initiative (ICS) - the normative ethical framework for the major retailers, including the Leclerc group - has adopted these rules.

Encouraging our partners to preserve the environment, helping them work in stable and safe conditions are some of the other ways in which we invest in quality and performance, while spreading the values dear to the Leclerc Movement: development and solidarity.



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Our ethical policy defines the rules we apply to ourselves and which our suppliers must follow responsability within 5 specific areas:

• Environmental protection
• Child labour
• Forced labour
• Safety and working conditions
• Discrimination

All companies wishing to do business with Siplec must first agree to enforce these policies and to submit to Siplec's audits, to ensure compliance with the policies, for the duration of the contract.

For Siplec, protecting the environment is a constant preoccupation. We are working in order to reduce all risks to a minimum by monitoring:

• The origin of products and packaging
• Manufacturing or farming methods
• Manufacturing facilities
• End of product life (recycling process).

Some emblematic examples

Food products
We ensure that our suppliers' farming methods respect the balance of nature and reject outright all processes with a significant negative impact on the ecosystems. For instance, we refuse to import palm hearts harvested by cutting down trees from Amazon rain forests.

Manufactured products
We are fully involved in the fight against the illegal trade in exotic timber. We ensure the traceability of wood used in our garden furniture and are committed to reducing our use of endangered timber species in our product range. Siplec is a buying member of the Tropical Forest Trust, an organisation that controls the origin of timber used by the companies we have chosen to work with.

• The textiles industry is also a source of environmental degradations. This is why we include water treatment processes in our production site audits. Dye works use a great deal of water and potentially contribute heavily to water pollution. We pay particular attention, therefore, to sites equipped with water recycling plants.

Petroleum products
• Siplec was the first French independent company to develop a biofuel product range for petrol and diesel engines.
• For shipping our supplies by sea, we take particular care to choose ships that provide good safety features, in terms of their age and architecture (mandatory double hull, in particular).
• We audit our petroleum storage on a regular basis with the same concern for managing environmental risks.

Siplec was the first independant operator to distribute biodiesel in France (starting in 1994).
Siplec is also a pioneer for the distribution of E85 bioethanol for the french market.