To our stakeholders:

I am pleased to confirm that BraunAbility reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture, and daily operations. We also commit to sharing this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

Sincerely yours,
Nick Gutwein
President & Chief Executive Officer

The core purpose of our business, wheelchair accessible lifts and vehicles, supports and enhances human rights, as our products provide mobility and independence to wheelchair users around the globe. Our employees also support human rights within our own community by modifying local homes to be wheelchair accessible. We do this through the “Servants at Work” program, wherein our employee volunteers build wooden ramps to enable wheelchair users to better access their homes.

Internally in 2017, we developed a BraunAbility Code of Conduct and implemented a whistleblower reporting system. Our Code of Conduct clearly outlines the company’s expectations from employees and illustrates how human rights tie into our corporate values, while the whistleblower reporting system allows the concerns of our employees to be easily and anonymously reported. A Supplier Code of Conduct has been developed to ensure this same commitment from our business partners.

All employees reviewed the Code of Conduct and Whistleblower Procedure and signed a statement of commitment and understanding.

All employees signed a statement of commitment and understanding of the BraunAbility Code of Conduct.

Two whistleblower hotline reports were logged and fully investigated, with a written report provided to our Compliance Officer. While the issues reported were not directly relevant to compliance, the reports evidenced that employees are aware of the whistleblower service and the methods of reporting.

Our BraunAbility Code of Conduct (developed and implemented in 2017) and our Supplier Code of Conduct (developed in 2017), highlight our commitment to the elimination of all forms of compulsory labor. In addition, our Employee Handbook makes clear that BraunAbility is an “employer at will”, meaning employees have the right to leave their employment at any time.

Both our Employee Handbook and Code of Conduct include the right to collective bargaining, and the Employee Handbook also includes several prohibitions with respect to discrimination, including a commitment to a workplace free of all types of harassment and discrimination, as well as a zero-tolerance policy regarding workplace violence.

All employees reviewed the Code of Conduct and Whistleblower Procedure and signed a statement of commitment and understanding.

All employees signed a statement of commitment and understanding of the BraunAbility Code of Conduct.

Two whistleblower hotline reports were logged and fully investigated, with a written report provided to our Compliance Officer. While the issues reported were not directly relevant to compliance, the reports evidenced that employees are aware of the whistleblower service and the methods of reporting.

As part of our 2017 corporate compliance program, an Environmental, Health and Safety Policy was developed and we assessed our environmental aspects, impacts, and risks. One of our most prominent efforts in 2017 was the development of four reduction goals, that aimed for 5% reduction from 2016 on a per unit basis in the following areas: water consumption, waste disposal, electrical consumption, and natural gas consumption. Along with establishment of these reduction goals, reduction plans were developed and a website was created to monitor our progress.

Our newly developed Environmental, Health, and Safety Policy was implemented to all our employees and we increased environmental awareness among our employees through shop talks, newsletters, training sessions, and companywide announcements on our corporate video bulletin board.

Throughout 2017, we also made headway in our goal of achieving ISO 14001:2015 Certification through the implementation of an Environmental Management System.

Completed an Environmental Legal Compliance Audit and were found to be in compliance.

Completed a Management Review of our Environmental Management System.

Completed a Stage 1 Audit for ISO 14001:2015 Certification.

As part of our 2017 corporate compliance program, BraunAbility introduced an anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy with accompanying procedures and checklists. This policy included a gifts given and gifts received reporting requirement, the input of which is monitored by management, in addition to preclearance procedures when giving gifts or other items of value. This policy also addressed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and UK Bribery Act.

Our anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy and procedure were implemented to all employees. The procedure was further implemented by distributing a written training sheet to all our employees and displaying educational posters throughout campus. The sections of the procedure addressing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and UK Bribery Act were implemented using a seventy-minute online training that was required for anyone with international dealings within their role at BraunAbility.

A whistleblower reporting system was also implemented to all employees and follow-up procedures were put in place.

Quarterly tracking and reporting of all gifts given and received.

100% of employees who have international dealings within their role at BraunAbility completed online training of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and UK Bribery Act.