Environmental, Social & Corporate Responsibility

To achieve this, we ensure that when we recruit, we do so solely on the basis of merit, and to the exclusion of discriminatory or unfair characteristics. These decisions are made having regard for our own ethical values.

We have clear procedures in the form of employee handbooks, employment policies and recruitment and monitoring procedures, which are consistently applied in a non-discriminatory way. We will ensure fair and equal pay, irrespective of the characteristics of our employees. We expect all of our employees to treat each other with respect and dignity.

We proactively monitor our recruitment practices and our workforce statistics to ensure we reflect the communities that we serve and to ensure that there are no unintended practices that are unfair. We will adopt fair processes to investigate discriminatory conduct. Where we identify poor conduct or culture, or discrimination in whatever form, we will take corrective action in accordance with the law to achieve that.

We are proud to say that not only are we owned by ethnic minority women, but data suggests that our existing global operation represents true diversity and inclusion in respect of gender, age and ethnicity. To meet our own commitment to inclusion, we are already a registered ‘Disability Confident’ (UK government scheme) employer. So far, we have employees from over 20 countries across the world. We have also pledged our support for the UN LGBTI global business standards and have implemented these policies into our recruitment, retention and reward policies and practices.

To deliver this, we have a clearly defined mission statement: transforming lives by empowering access to medicines globally. This mission statement is our DNA. We ensure that not only is it visible on our website, our marketing literature, our public announcements and our recruitment adverts, but it is also the guiding force by which decisions are made at all levels of our business.

At a basic level, our senior management team set clear values which promote good, ethical and patient-centred behaviours. This provides a foundation for effective decision making throughout all of our global operations. We have formalised this in our policies, procedures and employee handbook, covering the expectations we have of all of our staff. This also includes procedures on managing conflicts of interest, whistleblowing, anti-bribery and corruption and modern slavery.

The majority of our business operations are managed by our quality system. We have developed this system with these ethical values in mind, to ensure that the right decisions are made within a defined framework. We have a quality manual, which sets out the expectations and principles that apply. Our quality documents are drafted to comply with domestic legislation and best practice, taking account of our own risk appetite. It also affords appropriate discretion to competent professionals, so that they can make pragmatic decisions enabling medicines to reach patients.

Our senior managers take part in regular meetings to ensure effective oversight of our business. These meetings include stakeholders from across the business, including our regulatory colleagues, to ensure that the senior management team are aware of trends and issues, as well as strategic opportunities. Our senior managers have access to a wide range of data to support their decision-making processes.

To meaningfully contribute to the global sustainability agenda, we have adopted the relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals, which set out a pathway to ending poverty, hunger, inequality, and for providing protection for the environment and natural resources across the globe. It is hoped that this will be achieved by 2030. To meet this target, action by governments, commercial and NGO, and individuals will be required. Smartway will do its bit to help deliver this vision.

Our initial focus in transforming lives by empowering access to medicines globally feeds directly into Goal 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing. We will use our knowledge, expertise and infrastructure to provide that access to patients across the globe. However, we can meet the other goals. With operations across the world that help us distribute pharmaceuticals to patients, Smartway can make an impact on many of the other sustainable development goals.

As a global distributor of medicines and pharmaceuticals, we focus on the reduction of carbon in our operations. We work in partnership with our clients to develop carbon neutral programs including working in partnership with a charitable project to trees for carbon capture.

As part of our ethical values, we will continue to support charitable causes through donations, fundraising and raising awareness on important and relevant issues. We will continue to provide our expertise to help influence domestic and foreign policy.

To do this, we have policies in place to manage the risks of these practices. This defines that we adopt a zero-tolerance approach to any form of corruption or abuse in our operations. We expressly prohibit all forms of bribes or analogous inducements, whether that be paying for them or receiving them. We take the same approach to forced labour, modern slavery or human rights abuses. This is regardless of whether it is considered acceptable in the relevant jurisdiction or not.

To prevent working with such organisations, we employ onboarding processes for suppliers, customers and other supply chain partners, which assess suitability across a range of parameters using a range of information sources. This assessment period is ongoing throughout the life of our relationship. We will not work with anybody that does not meet our rigorous standards.

To ensure that such behaviours are eliminated, we have a whistleblowing procedure that enables the reporting of information to designated members of our senior management team, who are empowered to make immediate decisions to arrest any risk of working with anybody that would be in contravention of our ethical values. These reports can be made anonymously or openly.

As a policy decision, we will cooperate with regulators and take legal action of our own. We have legal protection in place which allows us to take robust action against those who engage in such conduct within the supply chain.

Download our modern slavery statement