INTEGRITY IN HOW WE DO BUSINESS
"Our Code of Conduct is more than a document; it's our shared commitment to doing what's right. Integrity isn't optional – it's the foundation of trust with everyone we do business with."
Judy Carter,
SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer
Expectations for BNSF Suppliers & Vendors
Why It's Important
To continue delivering excellence to those who trust us, BNSF sources materials and services from a diverse network of external suppliers and vendors who are required to act ethically and with integrity in all interactions with BNSF, our customers, and third parties. We require full compliance with legal and regulatory obligations and expect BNSF suppliers and vendors to uphold our commitment to ethical business practices, environmental responsibility and operational excellence. Together, we ensure the safety of the communities we serve and the reliability of the freight we deliver.
The BNSF Supplier Code of Conduct
When working with outside suppliers, it is important you communicate BNSF's expectations of them. These standards are delineated in the BNSF Suppliers Code of Conduct. Topics covered include expectations for suppliers in the areas of:
- Ethical Business Practices and Anti-corruption
- Labor and Human Rights
- Environmental Compliance and Sustainability
- Health and Safety
- Confidentiality and Data Integrity
- Conflicts of Interest
- Gift and Entertainment Policies
Potential Consequences
Failure by BNSF suppliers to adhere to our standards in all of their dealings with BNSF may result in a formal review process, including requests for corrective action plans, termination of contracts and/or business relationships, and escalation through legal or regulatory channels.
Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption
Why It's Important
The economic and social effects of bribery and corruption are far-reaching, and can include obstructing local economic development, undermining the rule of law, weakening trust in local public institutions and allowing organized crime to flourish.
BNSF's Anti-Corruption and Prohibited Business Practices Policy helps ensure our business dealings and interactions with partners and government officials are ethical and in compliance with applicable law.
INTEGRITY CHECK:
A Suspect Consultant – Raise the Flag
You are working on an international deal and are dealing with a local consultant. The consultant manages to get deals from government officials that seem too good to be true. Should you raise your concerns or just take the good deals?
The Right Track
If you have concerns about a consultant’s propriety, you should raise them with the Law Department or BNSF Compliance.
Key Guiderails
Vetting Consultants
BNSF's Anti-Corruption and Prohibited Business Practices Policy provides requirements for engaging potential agents and intermediaries and ensuring their conduct is consistent with applicable law and BNSF Policies.
Read on to learn more about this topic.
REMEMBER:
Using a consultant does not shield employees or the Company from liability for acts of bribery and corruption.
Potential Consequences
Bribery and corruption are regarded as crimes throughout the world. Anti-bribery and corruption laws and regulations govern our behavior at home and abroad. Consequences for companies and individuals can include:
- Penalties
- Fines
- Loss of reputation
- Repayment of profits
- Redress to victims
- Loss of employment or license to operate
- Imprisonment
Improper Business Advantages
A business advantage is improper if it is the result of an offer, promise or payment intended to induce another person to misuse his or her official position. In other words, it is an advantage that wouldn't have been granted or achieved without the bribe. This may involve winning or retaining business, but can also be a regulatory benefit, such as obtaining or expediting a permit or avoiding an inspection. While all improper gifts and payments are prohibited, employees should be particularly careful when dealing with any foreign or domestic government official, regardless of the official's role or level.
Gifts, Hospitality & Travel for Government Employees or Officials
Why It's Important
No gift or entertainment may be offered to a government employee, elected official or candidate for government office without appropriate VP approval and in accordance with BNSF Corporate Policies.
Extending hospitality to or providing travel for government officials is a legally sensitive matter. Be particularly careful if you are in a situation that involves extending hospitality to government officials or reimbursing them for travel to a Company site visit or other event.
If you must make payments for government fees, approvals, permits or other types of government requirements, make sure the payments are properly documented and described in detail. If you have any uncertainty about hospitality or travel involving government officials, check with the Law department.
Expenses involving foreign or domestic government officials must be accurately identified on an employee's expense report. For additional information, see the Anti-Corruption and Prohibited Business Practices Policy, the Gifts and Entertainment Policy and the Travel and Entertainment Expense Policy.
Accurate Record-Keeping
Why It's Important
Many serious global bribery and corruption offenses involve some degree of inaccurate record-keeping. Federal law and BNSF Policy define recordkeeping standards. Knowing and following these standards is imperative, since false, misleading or inaccurate records of any kind could potentially damage BNSF.
ALWAYS keep proper records. An improper record is one that conceals, distorts or misrepresents the true nature of the transaction or event. If you are not sure if a certain expense is legitimate or if it has been properly documented, ASK. If you learn of any false or misleading accounting entries, or unusual or unrecorded payments in BNSF’s financial statements, you should report them immediately.
It is your responsibility to diligently review all records of transactions or events that you are required to review as a leader. These records may include expense reports, time-keeping records, FRA reports, purchase orders and invoices. Your careful review helps protect BNSF from fraud, waste and abuse.
Expense Reimbursement
Why It's Important
BNSF reimburses employees for reasonable and appropriate expenses incurred while conducting business. It is important to always accurately describe expenses on an expense report.
Integrity in Every Transaction
You should NEVER:
- Submit expenses for any benefits, gifts or entertainment provided to a Foreign Governmental Official without a description, purpose, receipt, amount of money spent and the manner of payment.
- Claim additional attendees at a meal or event to make the overall cost appear more appropriate.
- Prepare a fictitious receipt to hide inappropriate or vague expenses.
- Provide or offer benefits, gifts or entertainment with intent or expectation of obtaining more favorable business terms.
If a vendor or other third party makes payments on BNSF's behalf, even if it is without consent, BNSF may still be open to an accusation of bribery and corruption. Unusual payment requests raise a red flag and may indicate that the true nature of the transaction is being concealed. Authorizing or paying expenses that are improper, unauthorized or not supported by proper documentation breaches BNSF Policy.
Antitrust & Dealing with Competitors
Why It's Important
Antitrust refers to laws and regulations that promote healthy competition between businesses in the open market. Regulatory bodies around the world enforce antitrust laws to help ensure open and free markets, promote vigorous competition and protect consumers from anti-competitive arrangements, including price fixing (when companies collude to set prices), bid rigging (when bidders agree to submit bids that are intentionally uncompetitive), and market or customer allocation (when there is an agreement between two companies to stay out of each other's way and reduce competition in the agreed territories).
BNSF's Antitrust Compliance Policy is designed to help you fulfill your legal and ethical responsibility to guard against breaches of antitrust laws.
INTEGRITY CHECK:
Get the Information or Stop the Conversation?
Suppose a part of your job is to establish commercial terms for a customer for a shipment that will originate on BNSF but terminate on another railroad. When you call the other railroad to discuss the terms of the specific shipment for the joint customer, the other railroad's representative begins to comment on terms applicable to other shipments, including shipments that do not involve BNSF. How should you respond?
The Right Track
If someone is revealing inside information about a competitor you should stop the conversation or insist it be limited to appropriate topics.
All interline shipment discussions should be handled one-on-one with the other participating carrier. Limit discussions only to the immediate business opportunity. Consider adding "interline movement communication" to the header of any email or other document to identify it properly.
Key Guiderails
Avoid Restricting Competition
Agreements that restrict competition may violate antitrust laws. Engaging with, or even appearing to engage with, a competitor in prohibited activities could seriously damage our company’s reputation and result in legal consequences. This could include severe penalties, and even prison sentences for individual employees and potential liability for our company as well. Antitrust laws also prohibit collusion between parties to rig bids and control the market. Bidding too high or too low, and suppressing bids so that contracts can be rotated between colluding parties, are violations of antitrust laws. Dividing territories is also a violation of antitrust laws.
Potential Consequences
Breaches of antitrust laws are taken seriously. Penalties can include substantial fines, the loss of reputation and even prison sentences. Aggrieved parties, including competitors and customers, can also bring legal claims for significant damages against a business for anti-competitive conduct.
Environmental, Health & Safety
Why It's Important
BNSF is committed to the health and safety of our employees, contractors, visitors to our facilities, and the communities in which we operate. We are also committed to protecting the environment and operating in a sustainable manner that provides long-term economic, environmental, social, and community benefits. As part of protecting the health and safety of our employees, we provide a workplace that is free from illegal drugs, alcohol, and threats of violence.
If you have questions, you can find out who to contact here. For additional information, see the Environmental, Health & Safety Policy, the Use of Alcohol and Drugs Policy and the Violence in the Workforce Policy.
INTEGRITY CHECK:
Speak Up or Keep Moving?
Imagine you are walking through a BNSF yard and notice an unidentified substance on the ground, or a sheen on the water. You didn't witness a release, nor can you confirm the source. Do you report it, or figure someone else already has or that it's not your responsibility?
The Right Track
The prompt reporting of spills helps ensure that BNSF provides the most rapid and effective response possible, makes all required governmental notifications, and tracks the release and recovery of materials into the environment. The BNSF Service Interruption Desk (SID) can engage the appropriate parties to investigate and determine the need for additional actions.
Key Guiderails
Your Reporting Options
- SID: 817-593-6823, toll-free at
1-800-832-5452, or through the Resource Operations Call Center - Your local Manager of Environmental Operations (Click here to find the right territory lead.)
- The BNSF Environmental Guide
- The Environmental Question Line:
1-800-308-7513 or environmentalquestions@bnsf.com
Safety Vision
BNSF's vision is to operate accident and injury free. Our safety, health, environment and sustainability programs, training and technology are core elements of the tasks we perform to make that vision a reality. The skills we learn and practice empower our workforce to take responsibility for their personal safety and the safety of fellow employees, the environment, and the communities we serve.
Safety Concepts
We believe that every BNSF employee should be guided by the following safety concepts:
- Instill a culture of commitment and consistently modeling exceptional safety, health, and environmental leadership behaviors.
- Encourage effective and engaging Job Safety Briefings (JSBs) to identify exposures and control or minimize safety, health, and environmental risks.
- Routinely interact with employees and contractors about safety, health, and environmental requirements and consistently provide feedback to correct at-risk, and reinforce safe, behaviors.
Ensuring a Safe Workplace
Safety, health and environmental stewardship are everyone's responsibility. As BNSF employees, each of us has an obligation to comply with safety rules and procedures to be mindful, courteous, and to report when safety rules have been violated or are deficient, or when hazardous. We perform our work duties in a manner that complies with our environmental risk management programs and supports BNSF's efforts to continuously improve in these areas. Doing so supports our Vision & Values and our commitment to safety.
BNSF and federal law strictly prohibit any retaliation, harassment or intimidation that discourages or prevents someone from requesting or receiving proper medical attention or reporting an accident, illness or injury. Retaliation, harassment, or intimidation against an employee who reports a hazardous safety or security condition, or for following orders or a treatment plan of their physician, is also strictly prohibited.
WORKPLACE RETALIATION IS
AGAINST OUR VALUES
BNSF and federal law strictly prohibit any retaliation, harassment or intimidation that discourages or prevents someone from requesting or receiving proper medical attention or reporting an accident, illness or injury.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ACTING WITH INTEGRITY IN HOW WE DO BUSINESS
If you have questions, you can find out who you need to contact here.