Setting Expectations for Our Suppliers
Every supplier doing business with Ford is subject to Ford’s Global Terms and Conditions. This core contract dictates our prohibition of the use of forced labor, child labor and physical disciplinary abuse. These requirements were added in January 2004 for production suppliers and in September 2005 for all others. We have provided a standard for these areas – the same as we use in our own facilities (Ford’s Code of Human Rights, Basic Working Conditions, and Corporate Responsibility) – that supersedes local law if our standard is more stringent. The Global Terms and Conditions also prohibit any practice in violation of local laws.
In addition, the Global Terms and Conditions serve to:
- Set the expectation that suppliers will work toward alignment with our Code in their own operations and their respective supply chains in the areas of harassment and discrimination, health and safety, wages and benefits, freedom of association, working hours, bribery and corruption, community engagement and environmental responsibility
- Make clear Ford’s right to perform third-party site assessments to evaluate supplier performance
- Communicate that Ford can terminate the relationship for noncompliance or for failure to address noncompliance in a timely manner
Our Terms and Conditions are accompanied by Supplier Human Rights and Environmental Guides to assist suppliers in the application of expectations. For example, the supplier guide that covers human rights and working conditions amplifies the expectations set out in the Terms and Conditions, providing context on Ford’s expectations for the automotive supply chain. Among other resources, it provides specific guidance and recommendations for self-assessments and alerts suppliers to the factory-level training. In April 2012, we reissued both of these Guides with extensive edits such that clear guidance is provided to all suppliers on due diligence for conflict-free sourcing, business ethics, anti-bribery actions, environmental specifications for engineering and working conditions expectations.