Ethics

To Act with Honesty and Integrity

We are committed to acting responsibly and with integrity. This is reflected through our Values. We expect our third parties to trade with honesty and integrity. Therefore we have introduced a Third Party Code of Conduct, which communicates what we expect from our trading partners in relation to health, safety and environmental standards, internationally accepted standards of workers’ rights, use of child and forced labour, ethical standards, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, and compliance with relevant laws and regulations. During the 2020 financial year, we have reviewed all of our policies which underpin our internal Code of Conduct and compiled one page summaries which have been used as a basis for an internal training programme. Our employees are encouraged to report behaviours that are contrary to our Code of Conduct via our How to Raise a Concern Procedure.

Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption

It is our policy to conduct all business in an honest and ethical manner. We take a zero tolerance approach to bribery and corruption and are committed to acting professionally, fairly and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships wherever we operate, and to implement and enforce effective systems to counter bribery and corruption. The Audit Committee is kept regularly informed of the ABC programme. All employees are required to comply with the Dechra ABC Policy, which was updated during the 2020 financial year. The ABC Policy clearly defines what constitutes bribery and corruption, outlining prohibited activities and providing guidance on what activities are allowed around the world. A new e-learning course for employees will be rolled out during the forthcoming year across the Group as compulsory training, to be repeated annually. Face-to-face bespoke training has been delivered to the Dechra Veterinary Products International and the Product Development and Regulatory Affairs teams, designed to specifically address areas of risk in the markets in which they operate.

Human Rights

We are committed to upholding and respecting human rights both within our business and in that of our third parties. In line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (Guiding Principles), we base our human rights policy commitment on the International Bill of Human Rights (consisting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and the principles concerning fundamental rights set out in the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. We are committed to respecting internationally recognised human rights relevant to our operations.