Social Compliance Statement for STM

Our Business, Operations and Supply Chain

Shurtape continuously strives to be regarded as an industry-leading manufacturer and marketer of adhesive tapes and consumer home and office products. Shurtape employs over 1,600 people globally with operations in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, Denmark, and China. Shurtape is a limited liability company headquartered in the United States with subsidiaries operating worldwide. Finished products are manufactured both in Shurtape-owned facilities in the US and China as well as by external suppliers.

Our Governance and Policies

Three of Shurtape’s core values, Believing in People, Fostering Stewardship, and Communicating Openly and Honestly exemplify the principles behind our actions and programs implemented to address Modern Slavery throughout the Company and our supply chain.

Shurtape’s Modern Slavery (Social Compliance) program and policies are of the utmost importance to the Shurtape Executive Leadership Team, who reviews and approves the policies and their implementation.

Consistent with our core values, Shurtape’s Board of Directors and the Executive Leadership Team are committed to establishing an ethical culture which continuously fosters an atmosphere of integrity and equitable treatment of all employees. These core values are reflected in our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the “Code”). The Code summarizes basic guiding principles and standards of conduct to guide all employees, officers, and directors of the Company in meeting our goal of achieving the highest business and personal ethical standards as well as compliance with all laws and regulations applicable to our business. Shurtape expects its business partners including, but not limited to, agents, consultants, contractors, suppliers, and representatives, to also adhere to high business and personal ethical standards.

The Code covers a wide range of business practices and procedures, but it cannot address every applicable law or respond to every ethical question or concern that could potentially arise. All Shurtape employees, officers and directors must conduct themselves in accordance with our ethical and compliance standards in every aspect of our business and seek to avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing or improper behavior.

In 2022, Shurtape continued to educate and inform internal employees and supply chain partners of the policies and procedures addressing Modern Slavery, Shurtape continued employee training on the Code and risks of Modern Slavery in our Company and supply chain.

Risks of Modern Slavery and Our Actions to Assess and Address Those Risks

Shurtape has identified the risks of Modern Slavery in our supply chain related to our sourcing of raw materials (rubber) and its manufacturing. These risks include human trafficking, forced or compulsory labor, child labor, and working conditions (wages, penalties and working hours).

Shurtape continues to monitor our operations and direct Tier 1 suppliers and assess the data generated via continued use of The Slavery & Trafficking Risk Template (STRT) and SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) platform.

Using the risk assessment results, Shurtape conducts announced and unannounced third-party audits of a subset of identified higher-risk suppliers. Our expectation is that any critical vulnerabilities identified by our audits will be promptly and certifiably addressed by our suppliers. Failure to do so will result in escalation of the issue, which may include termination of the commercial relationship and notification of the appropriate legal authorities.

Shurtape did not identify any critical violations in data gathered via accepted methodologies (e.g., STRT, Sedex) which would require a third-party audit.

Shurtape also informs new suppliers of Shurtape’s commitment to addressing the risks of Modern Slavery in our supply chain. Shurtape’s Modern Slavery program requirements are communicated through the onboarding process and via Shurtape’s Supplier Human Trafficking Self-Certification. The Self-Certification captures the supplier’s commitment to ensure indicators of Modern Slavery do not exist in their operations or supply chain. Shurtape requires all new and existing suppliers to certify that they have completed the following:

• Assessment of their supply chains for risks pertaining to Modern Slavery in the country or countries in which they conduct business.
• Agreement to permit Shurtape to initiate third-party evaluation of operations for indicators of Modern Slavery.
• Certification that they have trained their management and workforce on Modern Slavery provisions.
• Verification raw materials, components, or finished goods are not sourced in whole or in part from a banned country, region, or entity.

Failure by a supplier to address indicators of Modern Slavery shall result in actions taken by Shurtape, which may include termination of the commercial relationship and notification of the appropriate legal authorities. In the event Modern Slavery is identified in Shurtape operations, Shurtape will collaborate with local organizations who assist Modern Slavery victims, and local authorities, as appropriate, on remediation. In the event Modern Slavery is identified in the Company’s supply chain, Shurtape will encourage its supplier to immediately implement appropriate remediation measures and will cooperate with the supplier’s efforts in that regard. To date, Shurtape is not aware of any identified incidences of Modern Slavery in a Shurtape manufacturing factory, distribution center, sales location, or supply chain.

Shurtape assesses the effectiveness of its actions to address the risks of modern slavery through evaluations of internal metrics and key performance indicators such as internal and third-party audits of the supply chain, year-over-year improvement in the STRT, results of the self-certification, and supplier participation in SEDEX. High-priority findings are elevated to the Executive Leadership Team.

Shurtape continues to set internal goals and expand our efforts to raise awareness of Modern Slavery.

Approved on 18 August 2023 by the Board of Directors of Shurtape Technologies, LLC, and signed by:

Vuk Trivanovic
CEO, Shurtape Technologies, LLC