WHO WE ARE – Bright water

What we offer

We partner with the leading, progressive MEP brands in the market

CORE VALUES

At Bright Water, we are committed to a set of core values that not only define who we are but also serve as guiding principles
to help us become the company we would like to be. We aspire to live these values every day.

We take
RESPONSIBILITY

We make a
POSITIVE IMPACT

We keep
PROMISES

We behave ETHICALLY
and FAIRLY

We SPEAK UP

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Bright Water Rubber & Plastic Manufacturing Company and its parent company (Bright Water Ltd) believe in fair and ethical dealings with all its stakeholders. To support this objective, we have developed Core Values that represent our essential beliefs, serve as guiding principles to our employees, and represent us to the external world. We have also implemented ‘Standards of Employee Conduct’ that provide guidance to the employees in conducting transactions and dealings. We also remain committed to full compliance with the applicable laws and regulations.

Bright Water Rubber & Plastic Manufacturing Company and Bright Water Ltd have zero tolerance towards fraud, corruption, unethical or illegal practices. We, therefore, provide a mechanism to report such cases, which are independently reviewed and investigated on merit. The cases of fraud, corruption, unethical or illegal conduct can be reported at: ethics@brightwater.af

Please provide the evidence/supporting documents to substantiate your concern or complaint. The above email ID should only be used for reporting cases of fraud, corruption, unethical or illegal practices. Any irrelevant matters reported on this email ID will be disregarded.

VIEW STANDARD OF EMPLOYEE CONDUCT

1. Relations with stakeholders
Our stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, banks, regulators, etc. expect that the dealings with Bright Water will be fair, professional, and confidential. To ensure a high standard of service and to improve the quality of service provided, it is essential to adopt a courteous, helpful and professional attitude in our dealings with stakeholders.

2.Avoiding Conflict of Interest

Conflict of interest refers to situations where an employee’s personal or professional interests conflict with the best interests of the company. Employees should:

1. Not be involved directly or indirectly in any official decision which could affect the value of their own investments.
2. Not use any information obtained in the course of their duties to advance their private interests or those of others.
3. Not engage in other paid/unpaid employment. However, certain positions and activities may be allowed with prior written permission of the HRD and CEO, such as serving as a board member, consultant, etc., but these must not conflict with the interests of the Group. The approval can be revoked if it is deemed that the position is of a conflicting nature or impedes the staff’s duties.
4. Not to abuse the power of his/her office for the sake of personal gains or to be involved in activities, projects, programs, or influence or be involved in the decision-making process in favor of a close relative or a personal associate.
5. Inform Management in advance if either they or their relatives stand to benefit from a particular business arrangement.
6. Inform HRD if a relative is known to be working with a supplier, customer or competitor. Such information received by HRD should be immediately passed on to the concerned HOF, CEO, and Group Business Excellence Department. This document cannot specify every scenario of conflict of interest. The employee should consult with the respective HRD if he/she is unsure whether a particular situation gives rise to a conflict of interest. A relative is defined in section 15 below.

3. Conduct in Money Matters

Any money accepted on behalf of Bright Water must be accounted for or deposited with the relevant authority within the company or in accordance with the applicable policy.
The following principles apply to handling of company’s money:

Only authorized staff are allowed to collect cash or cheque from customers or other parties.
Company’s money must be spent for legitimate business needs, after taking required approvals.
All transactions must be timely and accurately accounted for.
Cash collected from third parties should not be used for personal benefit and should be deposited in the Company’s account as per the applicable policy/guidelines.
Use of personal money or credit cards for business needs is also prohibited, unless express, written permission is obtained from the CFO. If the CFO is the user, the CEO’s approval is required.
Corporate credit cards, where issued, should be retained by authorized personnel and used as per the policy/guidelines.

The following principles apply to handling of company’s money:

Only authorized staff are allowed to collect cash or cheque from customers or other parties.
Company’s money must be spent for legitimate business needs, after taking required approvals.
All transactions must be timely and accurately accounted for.
Cash collected from third parties should not use for a personal benefit and should be deposited in the Company’s account as per the applicable policy/guidelines.
Use of personal money or credit cards for business needs is also prohibited, unless express, written permission is obtained from the CFO. If the CFO is the user, the CEO’s approval is required.
Corporate credit cards, where issued, should be retained by authorized personnel and used as per the policy/guidelines.

4. Anti-Bribery and Corruption

Bribery is offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting any item of value to influence the actions of another person. Corruption is dishonest behavior by those in positions of power.

Employees are strictly prohibited from accepting, soliciting, offering, or paying bribes, or indulging in any form of corrupt action.

Disciplinary/legal actions shall be taken against the employees as per the HR Policy and local laws and regulations if they are found to be involved in acts of bribery or corruption.

5. Gifts, Meals and Entertainment

Gifts and entertainment can be another form of bribery. Problems may arise when these gifts or entertainment occasions are being used to influence decisions in the company. Consider the following guidelines in relation to gifts, meals, and entertainment (non-exhaustive):

Employees should not accept gifts, meals or entertainment, or any other favor, from customers or suppliers if doing so might compromise, or appear to compromise, their ability to make objective business decisions in the best interest of Bright Water.
Employees must not accept or permit any member of his or her immediate family to accept, any gifts or other favors from any customer, supplier, or other person doing or seeking to do business with Bright Water, other than items of no commercial value. Any gifts that carry a commercial value should be reported to the Line Manager and HRD.
Employees should not ask for gifts, meals, or entertainment from a customer or supplier.
Gifts of symbolic value, such as trophies, calendars, etc., that are given in recognition of a business relationship, may be accepted. Examples of acceptable gifts include a logo pen, diary, calendar, t-shirt, etc.
Employees may accept occasional meals and entertainment from customers and suppliers if the event is attended by the customer or supplier, and the costs involved are reasonable and in line with local custom for business-related meals and entertainment.

6. Confidentiality and use of Official Company Information

All employees have a duty not to disclose, without proper written authority, any non-public information that has been obtained in the course of official duties. This rule extends to all documents, records, and information stored electronically. Likewise, employees are required to protect the confidentiality of information relating to external parties which is obtained in the course of official dealings. This includes information on customers and contractors/suppliers who have official dealings with Bright Water. Ways in which official information can be misused include:

Leaking information to third parties like competitors
Use of information for personal or private gain (financially or otherwise)
Taking advantage of a person based on information gained through confidential records
Removing, falsifying, not properly retaining or destroying official records, both electronic and hardcopy.
Unauthorized access to official Company’s records, both electronic and hard copy.
Sharing of confidential information with other employees or external parties without authorization.

Non-Public information is any information that Bright Water has not disclosed or made generally available to the public. Examples include:

Employees, their compensation and benefits, and personal information
Customers
Suppliers
Financial information
Customers’ orders
Product costs
Contracts/Proposals
Bill of Materials
Business plans

7. Use of Company Vehicles

It is the responsibility of the HOD and the Line Manager / Supervisor to ensure that employees driving company vehicles are appropriately licensed and authorized to drive the vehicles with the following conditions:

License must remain valid
License must be appropriate to the vehicle being driven
Unauthorized passengers must not be carried
Employees must not drive company vehicles when under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicant or drug.
Company vehicles must not be used to provide transport to and from employees’ personal residences.
Any penalties, fines or damages that occur due to the negligence or fault of the driver will be borne by the driver.

8. Use of other company assets

Employees are responsible for the proper use and safekeeping of company assets like mobile phones, laptops, etc. that have been issued to them for business use. As such, they will be held accountable for any costs towards loss or repair of the asset resulting due to their negligence. Necessary action i.e., the decision to recover the loss from the employee or the decision of the company bearing the loss will be taken by the concerned HR department. Employees must also endeavor to protect the Company’s property (furniture, machines, etc.) and not cause any damage to them.

9. Fair and equitable treatment, Discrimination and Harassment

Bright Water expects all employees to act in a professional manner and with respect towards others. A diverse workforce is an asset, and we should actively strive to promote and embrace diversity in the workplace.

The principle of fair and equitable treatment means:

Treat others as you would like to be treated and be aware of the cultural sensitivities
Respect your colleagues (e.g. shouting, misbehaving, abusing, etc. is deemed as harassment)
Never use Group communication channels (email or other electronic devices) to transmit racist, derogatory, discriminatory, offensive, or inappropriate language or material.

Harassment and discrimination against employees are not tolerated in Bright Water.

Harassment of individuals or a group is regarded as any actions aimed at intimidating employees into acting in a certain manner, coercion to make decisions which they do not feel comfortable with, making degrading comments in front of others, shouting at employees in the presence of others and disrespecting individuals in any other way.

Discrimination is regarded as an act or decision based on any arbitrary grounds that may negatively affect any individual or group and be regarded as unfair (e.g., giving an increase to one group of employees and not another, basing the decision on ethnic origin and not performance criteria).

Continuous negative subtle behavior expressed towards a person, whether in the presence of others or not, such as personal attacks, belittling, defamation of character, and rankism. etc., that are not specifically covered under the category of discrimination and harassment, are also prohibited.

Please see ‘Employee Grievance’ in the HR manual for advice on recourse to be taken in any of these situations.

10. Internal Fraud, Theft, or Illegal Activities

Bright Water has zero tolerance for fraud, theft, and illegal activities. Appropriate disciplinary and/or legal actions are taken against the employees found to be involved in these activities.

An employee must always be alert and vigilant with respect to fraud, theft, or any illegal activity that threatens the company’s interests. If any such activity comes to the attention of an employee, he/she must immediately report the matter to either his Line Manager or HOF or follow the Whistleblowing policy as provided on the intranet. The company also takes a very serious view of those staff who were aware and failed to report any such activity.

All cases of actual or suspected fraud are reported to the Group Business Excellence Department for investigation.

Fraud is any intentional or deliberate act to deprive another (Company) of property or money by guile, deception, or other unfair means. Fraud includes the below three major categories:

Corruption, bribery, etc.
Theft/misuse of assets
Fraudulent financial reporting

All employees are expected to fully comply with the applicable laws, regulations, internal policies and procedures, and delegation of authority at the workplace.

11. Dress Code

The dress and appearance of all employees should reflect a professional image and should also be in line with Afghanistan’s culture. At all times clothing should be appropriate to the duties and employees’ appearance should be respectable, neat, clean, and tidy. Employees are expected to use their good judgment to decide the appropriate wear for the business environment. Uniformed employees should ensure that their uniforms are well maintained.

12. Rumors at the workplace

Bright Water follows the policy of promptly notifying all employees of information that is of general company interest. Bright Water management encourages employees not to depend on rumors but to ask their supervisors/Line Managers or use other official channels if they need further information about the company or about activities that may affect their jobs.

Employees are expected to discourage the practice of starting or spreading rumors and to refrain from being party to such actions.

13. Stakeholder, Media, and Community Relations

Only authorized Bright Water spokespersons may speak to media representatives on behalf of Bright Water. Bright Water spokespersons are to respond in a timely manner to requests for interviews and media inquiries. Refer any questions, approaches, or interview requests from the media to authorized Bright Water spokespersons.

14. Dealing with Governments

Transactions with governments may be covered by special legal rules and may not be the same as conducting business with private parties. Consult the Bright Water Legal Department to make yourself aware of the rules and comply with them.

15. Employment of relatives

Relatives may be employed in accordance with normal staffing requirements and subject to fulfilling the required employment criteria. However, no relatives will be allowed to work in a position that is considered a conflict of interest (e.g. direction supervision of a relative, etc.).

The employee must disclose to their respective HRD about his/her relatives working in the Group companies.

Relatives for the purpose of this document are defined as: parents, children, spouse, siblings, aunt/uncle of first degree, first cousin, stepchildren/parents and in laws.

The employees will sign a declaration annually or once every two years that they have read and understood this Standard and fully comply with it. Any non-conformance with these standards will need to be fully disclosed. The process is managed by the concerned HRDs.

16. Use of Salary Certificates and Company letters

Employees may request for salary certificates. Moreover, certain information about the company/products may be provided on the Company letterheads. Employees are expected to use them responsibly and should not forge or alter any information contained in these letters.

17. Drugs and Alcohol

Possession, purchase, sale or use of alcohol or any illegal drug at work is strictly prohibited. Any non-compliance with the Standards of Employee Conduct may result in disciplinary and/or legal actions against the concerned staff.

3rd Floor of Haroon Market, Haji Yaqub Square, Shahr – E – Naw, Kabul

info@brightwater.af

+93 (0) 7799 99 909

What we offer

CORE VALUES

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

VIEW STANDARD OF EMPLOYEE CONDUCT

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