Williams is committed to fostering a business culture that respects internationally recognized human rights and prevents human rights infringements throughout our business actions. Our Human Rights Policy and Statement outlines our commitment to respect human rights and avoid complicity in human rights abuses. The statement includes our expectations related to workplace discrimination, D&I, workplace conditions and freedom of association. Our commitment applies to everyone involved in Williams’ operations, including employees, officers, contractors, leased workers, suppliers, vendors and customers. In situations where Williams does not control operations, we collect relevant data and report all noncompliance issues to our ethics and compliance team to confirm that involved parties align with our human rights standards.
Our human rights commitment extends to our supply chain, whereby we expect our suppliers to honor our Core Values related to freely chosen employment, working hours, respect in the workplace, wages and benefits, and health and safety. Williams has embedded the expectation of compliance with all human rights and labor laws in our standalone Code of Business Conduct for Suppliers and Contractors, which we require all business partners to sign. We also review our suppliers’ culture, policies, practices and ask whether they have a Code of Conduct during the supplier qualification process. We see supplier relationships as an opportunity to share best practices with respect to human rights and promote continual learning and improvement.
Since 1992, Williams has offered the Action Line, a 24/7 toll-free number that empowers employees and other stakeholders to report concerns including those related to human rights. Internal procedures are in place to handle all concerns submitted via the Williams Action Line.
