Social Impact
At Sutherland, social impact begins with sustainability. We strive to help build communities, workplaces, and environments that meet the needs of our employees, customers, and future generations.
We take these responsibilities seriously, that is why our aim is to impact one life for every employee.
Sutherland – Be Yourself
UN Global Compact
Sutherland is committed to working with the UN Global Compact to create a culture of integrity across our enterprise. This includes adopting universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption and taking actions to advance societal goals with a mission to create a sustainable and inclusive global economy that delivers lasting benefits to people, communities, and markets.
Read the UN Global Compact Commitment letter
Community Technology Center
Community Technology Centers, established and operated by Sutherland, provide local communities with the chance to receive free technology skills training and the opportunity to earn a Microsoft Digital Literacy certificate. To achieve this, we have collaborated with Microsoft, many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and schools in India, and local governments in the Philippines. These centers teach basic computer concepts and skills so that people can use computer technology in everyday life. The education provided by our centers helps to develop new social and economic opportunities for students, their families, and their communities.
To date, over 7,700 students, ranging in age from 12 to 69 years old, have taken part in the program. Most earn the Microsoft Digital Literacy certificate, with some taking more advanced training on the Microsoft Community Learning Portal, which provides additional opportunities to further education and employment. Candidates for the program come from schools, colleges and Non-Government Organizations which otherwise might not be able to afford this type of training.
The centers, located in Chennai and Kochi in India, and in the Tarlac province of the Philippines, have trained over 4,100, 2,400, and 1,200 students respectively, and see increased participation year over year. Additionally, we certified 1,297 graduates in India and 514 in Jamaica between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2016.
Code of Conduct
The global ethics program maintains a written procedure for annual Code of Conduct certification training. Every new fiscal year (1 July), all full-time employees are required to complete refresher training covering the company Code of Conduct content and certify to their compliance with the Code.
The Ethics program manages the deployment of the training closely with the organizational Consulting Learning Services function, delivering the course in multi-language format and tracking completions through automated reporting delivered by the learning management system. Completions are acknowledged by an automated notification and completion certificate, which are translated into the corresponding language completed. The Code is currently translated into six languages (Slovakian, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, French, Japanese and Simplified Chinese), and the course is offered in four of those six languages.
In FY2017 the Code of Conduct certification training began deployment on 11 July 2016. Release continued through September and by 31 December 2016, over 90% of the FTE population had completed their training. An approximate 7-10% of those enrolled and not yet complete were attributed to employees on long term leave of absence and employee terminations cycling out of the enrollment population.
Click here to download Sutherland's Code of Conduct.
Click here to download Modern Slavery Act Statement.
Sustainability
Sutherland believes that reducing or eliminating waste associated with our operations is the right way to treat the communities and environments where our employees live and work. Waste is a burden for the environment and also an added expense for our customers. Waste is eliminated or reduced through the deployment of efficient practices and policies. Therefore, we have implemented sustainable business practices which are seamlessly blended with our everyday business processes. Sutherland’s waste-free policies have been in place for over a decade, leading to an exceptionally low total environmental impact, including low carbon emissions.
The following are standard policies and practices that we currently follow worldwide:
- More than 30% of our client programs operate in paperless environments
- Energy efficient and energy managed thin client PCs, LCD monitors, and electrical equipment throughout global facilities
- Recycling receptacles in facilities for the collection of waste toner/ink cartridges, laptop batteries, cell phones, and other harmful products
- Wastewater in Sutherland’s largest India facilities is treated and reused on site
- Mass transportation is provided for our associates, reducing the impact of pollution
Habitat Conservation
Habitat conservation is a natural extension of overall sustainability and respect for the local environments in which we operate. As a business services provider, the majority of our potential impact on habitats and their contained species are greatest in the following areas:
Facility Construction
Sutherland does not engage in new facility construction or “Build to Suit” leases, dramatically reducing any impact on pristine habitats. All of Sutherland’s operational facilities are housed in re-purposed structures, and many of our facilities are in reclaimed developments such as decommissioned bases, light industrial complexes, or other targeted zones.
eWaste
All eWaste such as PCs, peripherals and batteries are centrally processed in each city, and recycled with an accredited organization.
Transportation
Sutherland facilities are located on public transportation routes. In certain city centers, Sutherland provides mass transportation services to its employees.
Personal Sustainability and our Employees
In addition to the corporate practices above, Sutherland believes that the greatest positive environmental impact comes from each of our employees making informed personal choices that respect the environment. Our employee engagement teams sponsor volunteer activities which maintain local parks and roadways in the communities where we operate, as well as communicate helpful tips and instructions for making environmentally informed individual choices. Some of the topics include keeping water clean, saving energy, and using less toxic product alternatives.
Occupational Health and Safety Policy
Sutherland Global Services is committed to achieving high standards of OHS throughout the organization, its associates, business partners and those who may be impacted by its activities.
Click here to download Occupational Health & Safety Policy.
Commitment to Diversity
We consider a diverse workforce a natural requirement to our continued success, and we have maintained a strong commitment to diversity since inception. While our broad geographical reach gives us one of the most diverse total workforces of any US-based corporation, we also take pride in each of our operations centers accurately representing the communities where we operate. Our multi-channel recruiting, hiring and training practices help us employ and develop the best people, from all backgrounds. This workforce in turn serves our clients, often with similar backgrounds. The resulting synergy has created a winning combination for our clients.
The qualities we strive for within our own organization are the same qualities we look for in our suppliers – creativity and innovation. The creativity and innovation that have been key engines of Sutherland Global Service’s growth throughout the company’s history we have found are major strengths of our subcontractors and suppliers as well. These organizations’ employee bases and management rosters reflect the local communities where they reside. Sutherland is fully committed to supplier diversity inclusion; however when no diverse-owned business is available (Tier I vendor), Sutherland looks to partner with vendors who have diversity supplier programs in a Tier II program.
Workforce and supplier diversity are at the very core of our management philosophy. Though it has been a diverse business since its inception nearly a quarter century ago, since 2008 Sutherland has been certified as a minority-owned business by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). This certification allows our clients to choose a minority-owned global corporation that truly supports a diverse environment through its people and practices. Our established diversity initiatives will continue to evolve, creating an even more inclusive environment for our people, suppliers and clients.
Sutherland has officially been recognized as a regional minority business enterprise in good standing with the Upstate New York Regional Minority Purchasing Council, Inc. and is entitled to all privileges of certification. Our certification number is 2623.
Commitment to Fair Labor Practices & Human Rights
Sutherland demonstrates our respect for human rights and fair labor practices by creating an environment of respect and compassion. Our global operational centers adhere to the national and local laws of the locations where we operate. We are committed to being an equal opportunity employer and will not engage in or tolerate unlawful workplace conduct, discrimination, intimidation, or harassment.
Child Labor Avoidance
Sutherland adamantly supports U.S. Child Labor Laws and strictly adheres to them at all of our locations across the globe in addition to any local laws that may be applicable.
Freedom of Association
Sutherland believes that open communication and direct engagement between workers and management is the most effective way to resolve workplace issues. As such, workers are able to communicate openly with management regarding working conditions without fear of reprisal, intimidation or harassment. Sutherland respects the rights of workers to associate freely in accordance with local laws.
Freely Chosen Employment
Forced, bonded or indentured labor or involuntary prison labor is not used. All employment is voluntary and workers are free to leave upon reasonable notice without unlawful penalty.
Sutherland ensures that employee handbooks clearly convey the conditions of employment in a language understood by the worker. Each worker is provided with a copy of their employment contract or terms of their employment, which reflect current and applicable labor laws and regulations.
Humane Treatment
Disciplinary and grievance policies and procedures are clearly defined, communicated to workers and accessible to all employees. Sutherland is committed to ensuring that the workplace is a harassment and intimidation free zone and monitors its supervisors on the treatment of its workers.
Independent Grievance Process
Sutherland ensures their employees have access to an independent grievance process.
Non-Discrimination
Sutherland does not discriminate against any employee based on their ideological views, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other status protected by law. In addition workers or potential workers are not subjected to medical tests that could be used in a discriminatory way unless there is a clear risk of health to other workers arising out of such workers performance of their work.
Training workers on their rights
Sutherland provides training on employee rights and responsibilities. These cover requirements identified in Sutherland’s Code of Conduct, as well as other international human rights standards. This training may be incorporated into existing employee training materials.
Wages and Benefits
Compensation paid to workers complies with all applicable wage laws, including those relating to minimum wages, overtime hours and legally mandated benefits. If required by local law, workers that perform overtime work shall be compensated for overtime at pay rates greater than regular hourly rates.
Deductions from wages not provided for by national law or local law are not permitted without the express, written permission of the worker concerned.
Working Hours
Sutherland ensures that its non-exempt workforce is not subjected to excessive working hours, both daily and weekly in the aggregate. All overtime work is voluntary and workers are not penalized for refusing overtime work.
Supplier Diversity
As a member of the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) community, we consider a diverse workforce to be requisite to our continued success. We have established operations centers on a multi-national level, and it is these sites which have given Sutherland one of the most diverse workforces of any US-based corporation while simultaneously providing regionally-sensitive support to clients whose operations span the globe. Through our established diversity initiatives, we will continue to develop inclusive environments for our employees, suppliers, and clients. As a part of this dedication, we take care to utilize diverse-owned businesses. A large portion of resources we employ for implementation and maintenance are provided through our partnerships with minority, women and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises.