EF’s Responsible Supplier Guidelines
At EF Education First, we strive to positively impact people, communities, and the planet. Learn about the legal, ethical, environmental and professional standards that shape how we operate.
By working together with our vendors and suppliers, we have a unique opportunity to make significant progress on issues that are important to the entire EF community and society as a whole. To help make that progress, these guidelines outline our high-level legal, ethical, environmental, and professional minimum standards within our own organization and among our vendors and suppliers.
Compliance with laws
We expect all suppliers who work with us to comply fully with all laws and regulations applicable to them.
Environmental sustainability
We expect all suppliers to demonstrate a clear understanding of the environmental risks, impacts, and responsibilities associated with the products and services they provide.
Suppliers should make practical efforts to minimize the use of energy, water, and raw materials. Where possible, these should be renewable or sustainably sourced.
Suppliers should make practical efforts to eliminate or reduce levels of generated waste and should reuse and recycle waste materials wherever possible.
Suppliers should aim to eliminate the usage of all unnecessary single-use plastics and replace them with more sustainable alternatives.
We prefer to collaborate with suppliers who have a sustainability program including carbon reduction goals.
Human rights
Suppliers must ensure that they and/or their subcontractors and suppliers abide by all local laws, directives, and regulations relating to the elimination of slavery and human trafficking.
Suppliers must ensure that they and/or their subcontractors and suppliers respect the rights of their employees and comply with all relevant legislation, regulations, and directives in the country or countries in which they operate.
This includes all rights and minimum standards relating to wages, benefits, and working conditions applicable across their entire workforce. Suppliers shall ensure that no exploitation of child labor or of any other vulnerable group takes place within their business or supply chain.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Our sourcing decisions, contracts, and management of supplier relationships will reflect and promote our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, in that they will seek to ensure that suppliers do not victimize, harass, or discriminate against any employee or party to the contract due to their sex, gender identity/expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, ethnicity or national origin, caste, disability, religion, sexual orientation, age, or part-time status.
Local communities
We are committed to providing economic, social, and environmental benefits to all of the communities where we live, work, and travel to. Our sourcing decisions will reflect this commitment by directly supporting local businesses and livelihoods.
We expect suppliers to collaborate with their local communities and support local entrepreneurs and small businesses, so that we can preserve local cultures and encourage sustainability together.
Animal welfare
We expect suppliers to adhere to EF’s animal protection standards and not introduce or facilitate services, venues, or activities that endanger animal welfare. The set of criteria that assess the welfare of an animal are “The Five Freedoms”:
- Freedom from hunger, thirst, and malnutrition
- Freedom from fear and distress
- Freedom from physical and thermal discomfort
- Freedom from pain, injury, and disease
- Freedom to express normal patterns of behavior
We expect suppliers to collaborate with their local communities and support local entrepreneurs and small businesses, so that we can preserve local cultures and encourage sustainability together.
Health and safety
Suppliers must ensure that they and/or their suppliers abide by all local laws, directives, and regulations relating to health and safety in the workplace and outside the workplace, where production or work is undertaken, and that they implement any amendments to these laws, directives, or regulations.
Ethics
The highest standard of integrity is expected in all our business dealings. Any forms of corruption, extortion, bribery (including facilitation payments) and embezzlement are strictly prohibited and may result in immediate termination and legal action.
Monitoring and compliance
EF may conduct annual compliance surveys and site inspections to confirm compliance with the minimum standards of these EF Responsible Supplier Guidelines. However, EF expects that suppliers will actively audit and monitor their day-to-day management process and provide evidence to EF upon request.
At EF, everything we do ripples outward, transforming people, communities, and ultimately the planet. This impact defines who we are as a company and how we contribute to a better world. Learn more at ef.com/impact.
