Here at O.C. Tanner, our mission is simple and clear: we help people everywhere thrive at work. To do that, we put ethics first. We care about humankind, equity, fairness, and our planet. And to live by these values, we hold ourselves and the companies we do business with to the highest possible sustainability expectations. Ultimately, we view it as our responsibility to make the world a better place.
A potential supplier must submit an evaluation survey before establishing a relationship with O.C. Tanner. The survey includes questions about the suppliers’ environmental and social initiatives, quality standards, warranty expectations, anticipated delivery timetables, and stock requirements.
Once a partnership is established, a scorecard is run on all suppliers at a frequency based on dollar spend. The scorecard evaluates lead time, inventory turnover, quality, on-time delivery, and performance. If a supplier fails to meet standards, we work with them to clearly define a corrective action plan to meet expectations before we terminate the relationship.
O.C. Tanner diligently resolves quality-related issues across the supply chain. We track vendor-related quality issues daily. Purchasing managers also meet as needed to discuss improvements and resolutions reached with suppliers. Product audits are conducted and resolved on a case-by-case basis to determine product disposition and resolve quality-related issues.
O.C. Tanner strives to adopt Lean manufacturing techniques throughout our entire company and collaborates with our people to bring new ways of thinking and operating to the table. As we continue to improve, we also encourage our suppliers to adopt continuous improvement techniques and processes.
We believe work is not a transaction—O.C. Tanner is a place to connect and grow. We expect employees to be stellar corporate citizens and model the utmost respect and demeanor with each other, our guests, and our clients. We approach every person, task, and partnership with integrity, which creates a ripple effect that extends into a virtuous cycle through our homes and communities.
O.C. Tanner recognizes and values individual differences and believes that different perspectives lend vitality, creativity, new ideas, and growth to our business. We’re committed to creating an environment that appreciates and values those differences. Our diverse staff represents 62 countries and 64 different languages. We partner with employees, their families, and the local community to improve quality of life. O.C. Tanner employees enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions, and competitive wages.
O.C. Tanner is committed to supporting refugee communities through education and employment opportunities in partnership with One Refugee. Through the One Refugee Education Initiative and the One Refugee Careers Initiative, One Refugee provides a holistic experience to help refugees in our home state, Utah, from the beginning of their higher education journey to successfully landing a valued position at a good company. The program matches refugees with potential employers from a network of organizations across the state and in several industries.
Equal opportunities are key in the execution of O.C. Tanner’s social standards. We are committed to partnering with Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) companies and work to utilize them in all areas of procurement.
O.C. Tanner expects suppliers to behave ethically and with sensitivity toward social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues. We foster long-term relationships with like-minded companies that positively impact society and make a positive contribution to bottom-line results. We work with our suppliers to address social responsibility while respecting cultural and legal differences in other economies.
O.C. Tanner applies fair standards across our manufacturing and supply network. We require suppliers of finished goods to uphold fundamental labor and human rights standards and maintain a zero‑tolerance policy for modern slavery. In compliance with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (S.B. 657) and the Modern Slavery Act of 2015, our supply chain must not engage in forced labor or human trafficking. All new suppliers formally agree to these requirements through the O.C. Tanner Supplier Set‑up Survey.
O.C. Tanner is committed to full environmental compliance, zero violations, and continuous improvement, with science-aligned emissions and water-reduction targets and expanded global reporting to support a 1.5-degree future.
The environmental pillar of sustainability is rooted in environmental stewardship, which includes voluntary reporting and actions beyond applicable governing requirements. For example, O.C. Tanner completes the CDP Climate Change and Water Security questionnaire annually and EcoVadis survey at least annually. Both the CDP Climate Change and Water Security scores for O.C. Tanner increased to B-, within the management level. C is the current North American average CDP score for both Climate Change and Water Security. The EcoVadis score improved by 6.82% between the last two reporting dates and the official scorecard may be requested through the EcoVadis platform.
O.C. Tanner has two continuous targets for environmental compliance: zero violations or citations, especially as recorded in EPA’s ECHO database, and full compliance with current environmental permit(s).
There are two environmental sustainability targets shown in the table above. As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, voluntary emissions reporting expanded to include global operations beginning for reporting year 2023. Our new emissions and water conservation targets of 4.2% absolute annual reduction are aligned with a 1.5-degree future, recognizing the importance of mitigating climate change as much as possible. With select scope 3 emissions categories being newly measured, we have not yet set a goal until we measure all relevant categories, maintaining the greatest level of accuracy.
Emission and water use reduction take place mainly through efficiency improvements and equipment replacement/upgrade. Examples include upgrades for ventilation scrubbing system, light system motion sensors, HVAC equipment, air compressors, and water heaters.
Upstream environmental considerations:
O.C. Tanner is using a third-party ESG database for global suppliers as of the beginning of 2026 to monitor and measure sustainability and ethics performance.
Operational environmental considerations:
Downstream environmental considerations for customers:
O.C. Tanner built our business on transparency and trust. The personal data of O.C. Tanner clients and their recipients must never be compromised. We use all recipient information exclusively for the management of our client programs, and the delivery of awards and merchandise to the employee recipient.
O.C. Tanner vets Tier III vendors handling customer or corporate data to ensure proper protection using recognized industry standards.
O.C. Tanner assesses vendors for information security risks before onboarding and reassesses them regularly based on risk level to ensure data protection and compliance.
O.C. Tanner conducts survey‑based due diligence annually for Tier I and II vendors and at least every three years for others, accepting attestations when controls remain unchanged.
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