Policy statement on human rights

Acting with responsibility is fundamental to PricewaterhouseCoopers as expressed in the PwC Code of Conduct. Within the code we state that "We express support for fundamental human rights and avoid participating in business activities that abuse human rights."

PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (of which PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, in the UK, is a member firm) is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and as such supports both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) core labour standards, both of which were used to derive the Compact's principles.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC") in the UK are committed to supporting the UDHR by conducting business in a manner that supports and respects the fundamental human rights of individuals with whom we come into contact through:

• our operations;
• the treatment of our partners and staff;
• the provision of services to clients; and
• our interaction with suppliers.

Our operations

In managing our operations we will:

• conduct our business in a manner that supports and respects the fundamental human
• rights of individuals with whom we come into contact;
• consider human rights in the way we interact with our key stakeholders (employees, clients, suppliers);
• actively support and promote diversity and equal opportunities;
• regard all harassment and bullying as unacceptable within PwC and the community in which we operate; and
• promote our position on human rights where appropriate.

Our commitment to Human Rights is embedded in the way we operate and incorporated into our policies such as:

• our Diversity and Equality Policy - which commits to partners, staff, job applicants, clients and suppliers being treated fairly and with respect, regardless of their actual or assumed background including gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic origin), religion/belief or disability
• client and engagement acceptance policies;
• supplier engagement guidelines;
• community affairs;
• health & safety policy and procedures.
• Treatment of partners and staff

PricewaterhouseCoopers is committed to being an employer of choice and we support and encourage staff to fulfil their personal and professional objectives. Our employment and professional conduct policies provide our partners and staff with guidance on how they are expected to behave both within PwC and in their interactions with our clients and suppliers.

Provision of services to clients

As a provider of professional services, the most significant potential impacts we can make on human rights are through the services we provide. Our human rights commitment therefore means that we must not be complicit in human rights abuses through the services we provide to clients.

PwC uses systematic assessment procedures for new clients and engagements not only for anti-money-laundering purposes, but also for assessing whether or not we are comfortable working with the client on the project identified. These assessment procedures include consideration of the company's reputation, and the ethics and integrity of its senior management.

Interaction with suppliers

We also seek to use our influence to have a positive impact on human rights through our procurement of products and services and to work with our suppliers to address any human rights issues and risks identified.

Responsibilities

Final responsibility for human rights in PwC rests with the Management Board.

To ensure there is a mechanism to put procedures into place and monitor their effectiveness, specific duties are allocated within PwC as summarised here:

Responsibility for ensuring our commitment to human rights is embedded in all our policies and procedures is shared jointly between corporate responsibility, human capital, procurement and risk management and the line of service leaders. Support and review is provided by the Head of Corporate Responsibility at PwC.

The responsibility for compliance with the policies and procedures which gives expression to our commitment to human rights is shared by our partners and staff.

The Chairman, on behalf of the Management Board of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, approved this policy statement on December 6th 2006.