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Policies & Guidelines

The purchase of and payment for equipment, supplies and services from external suppliers must be conducted in accordance with established Cognizant Purchase policies. The associates involved in ordering products and services from external suppliers through the CAPPS purchasing system must be familiar with all policies related to purchasing and payables.
 

Standards of conduct

Dear Cognizant Suppliers and Prospective Suppliers:

We are pleased to release our revised Supplier Standards of Conduct, which are effective October 1, 2021. To view the standards click the link below.

At Cognizant we partner with companies who share our commitment to conducting business ethically and lawfully. We expect all our suppliers to uphold the supplier standards and urge them to adopt similar standards within their own businesses and apply those standards to their next-tier suppliers. The standards are applicable to all of our third-party representatives, suppliers, vendors, subcontractors, and business development agents and their parent, subsidiary, and affiliated entities, including suppliers engaged by Cognizant’s subsidiaries and affiliates. 

The standards align with Cognizant’s Code of Ethics. We hold our suppliers to the same standards to which we hold our employees.

We earn trust. Cognizant is committed to working with reputable business partners who share our dedication to ethical business conduct and policies.

We do the right thing, the right way. Cognizant expects its suppliers to conduct business in an ethical manner and in compliance with all local laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which they do business, including, but not limited to, anticorruption, insider trading, and international trade laws.

We respect people and the environment. We hold our suppliers accountable for complying with Labor, Human Rights, and Environmental laws and standards and for having policies and procedures in place to measure and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in their operations and supply chains.

We live up to our responsibilities. Cognizant’s suppliers must respect intellectual property rights, protect data related to Cognizant, and meet minimum Information Security standards.

We look forward to your continued support and partnership. 

Sincerely,

Melanie Temkin

Chief Procurement Officer

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How to report a violation

Cognizant Suppliers who become aware of any actual or potential violation of the Supplier Standards, Cognizant’s Anti-Corruption Policy, or Cognizant’s Code of Ethics, or of any applicable law, can report them to the Cognizant Ethics & Compliance Helpline, which is staffed by a third-party provider and available by phone or online. Individuals who provide services to or on behalf of Cognizant, or perform work on behalf of our suppliers, may also access the Cognizant Ethics & Compliance Helpline to raise concerns or report grievances anonymously, if desired. 

  • To access the Ethics & Compliance Helpline via the internet, go to http://www.cognizant.com/compliance-helpline and follow the instructions for submitting a report.
  • To make a report by telephone, dial the number specific to your country and follow the prompts.
    • U.S. and Canada: 1-866-824-4897
    • India: AT&T Direct Access Code 000-117 followed by 866-824-4897
    • UK: AT&T Direct Access Code 0-800-89-0011 (or 0-500-89-0011) followed by 866-824-4897
    • All other locations: Country access code + 866-824-4897
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Occupational health and safety (OHS) policy

OHS is an integral component of supplier selection at Cognizant. Suppliers working with us are required to:

Know the Cognizant OHS policy

Understand Cognizant’s expectations of OHS aspects and related operations

Ensure compliance to Cognizant’s OHS policy and statutory legal requirements

OHS policy:
At Cognizant, it is imperative for all our suppliers to abide by the OHS policy:

We will continuously strive to achieve excellence in implementing best-in-class OHS practices.

We will adhere to the highest standards of OHS by pioneering path-breaking practices, leveraging well-defined organizational policies and exceeding statutory requirements.

We are deeply committed to a strong organizational culture of consistently upholding, harnessing and enhancing Cognizant’s OHS management standards and practices.

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Cognizant’s environmental policy

Global Procurement requires all its suppliers to comply with Cognizant’s environmental policy

At Cognizant, we will pursue sustainable growth with environment-friendly practices and responsible use of natural resources. We will achieve this by following these guidelines:

Having a deep commitment to conduct business by promoting a strong environment-friendly culture towards responsible and sustainable growth

Complying with applicable legal and other requirements to which Cognizant subscribes and relates to its environmental aspects

Complying with industry best practices and supporting voluntary national and international climate change polices, protocols and initiatives

Conserving resources, improving energy efficiency, reducing pollution, reducing waste and recycling and disposing waste in a responsible manner

Implementing environmentally-responsible procurement processes to realize environmental objectives

Communicating with associates, suppliers and other relevant stakeholders to disseminate the organization’s environmental objectives and performance

Measuring environmental impacts and exceeding targets continually to reduce environmental impact

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Supplier diversity policy

We are deeply committed to advancing diversity, inclusion and sustainability, and we continue the work to develop business relationships with historically under-represented diverse businesses in the United States.  We are focused on achieving objectives centered on quality, reliability, technical parameters and cost, and we acknowledge the importance of promoting business opportunities with suppliers that reflect our employees, our communities and our customers.

To qualify for our supplier diversity program, suppliers must possess or be willing to obtain a third party certification of their status as a minority, women, disabled, LGBTQ or veteran-owned business in the United States.  We will verify the suppliers’ information against information from third party-certified diversity supplier databases.

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Cognizant’s global position on COVID-19 vaccination

Globally, we believe in and strongly encourage vaccinations for all associates and contractors.

In accordance with local law, COVID-19 vaccination will be required when mandated by a client or the government, regardless of work location.

Newly hired contractors and supplier personnel with Cognizant IDs are required to attest to their vaccination status upon joining (in countries where allowed).