TSB’s Responsible Supplier Charter


We believe that acting responsibly is simply the right thing for a business to do. And that all businesses should play their part.

The Responsible Business Charter sets out how we work in partnership with our suppliers to help to deliver the goals of TSB’s responsible business programme - the Do What Matters 2025 plan. It calls out the commitments we make to our suppliers and what we expect in return. So together, we can help to drive financial and social inclusion, promote fair business practice, and support a fair transition to a sustainable world.

We are committed to working with our suppliers to make sure the principles set out in this Responsible Supplier Charter are met by TSB, our suppliers and throughout our supply chain. This includes ensuring meeting legislative and regulatory requirements and demonstrating good industry practice.

Alongside the Charter, we carry-out due diligence with potential and existing suppliers through the Hellios Financial Services Supplier Qualification System (FSQS) – an online portal for suppliers to submit information and compliance data about their organisation. To find out more about how to comply with TSB policies, see our TSB Supplier Qualification Guide and Policy Summary documents.

Our commitments and what we expect of our suppliers.

The foundation of our relationship with our suppliers is fairness, transparency, and integrity. We want to be part of a supply chain based on these values, and we ask our suppliers to engage with their suppliers on the same basis. That means managing their own suppliers in a responsible and sustainable way.

Our charter is focused on the following key themes:

   
Fair business practice – supply chain
Doing better for the Planet – environmental sustainability
Doing right for People - human rights
Doing right for People – diversity and inclusion
   


 

For each of these themes, we have set out what we are committed to and what we expect from our suppliers.

Business Conduct (Supply Chain)

We are committed to:
 

  • Follow our own Supplier Policy and standards for sourcing, onboarding, management, purchase to pay and contract exit.

  • Adhere to the highest standard of professionalism, integrity, and governance in all our activities.

  • Comply with legal and regulatory obligations in relation to sanctions, money laundering, data privacy, fraud, bribery, and corruption.

  • Work collaboratively to encourage and support improvement in the supply chain and the way services are delivered to customers.

  • Pay suppliers promptly upon receipt of a valid invoice. Typically, all invoices will be paid within 15 days and for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), our pledge is to pay within 10 business days.

  • Use specialist external third parties such as Dun and Bradstreet and Craft, to provide supplier intelligence on potential and existing TSB suppliers and their sub-contractors. These providers process publicly available information from sites such as LinkedIn to provide supplier, alerts, and risk information to us for review. We do this under our legitimate interests to ensure we manage risk effectively.

Our expectations of suppliers:
 

  • Adhere to applicable national and international laws and regulations.

  • Comply with our policy due diligence process by using Hellios Financial Services Qualification Scheme (FSQS) to evidence compliance to applicable TSB policies.

  • Manage their own suppliers in a responsible and sustainable manner.

  • Pay suppliers promptly in line with the contractual terms set out with them.

  • Eradicate any corruption, extortion, or bribery within their supply chain.

  • Manage conflicts of interest that arise.

Together we can achieve:

Strong and secure supply chains that operate in line with best business practice without any corruption and wrongdoing.


Doing better for the Planet - environmental sustainability

We are committed to pro-actively managing and reducing our environmental impact.

We are committed to:
 

  • Reduce the environmental impact of our own operations by becoming net zero no later than 2030, and reducing emissions attributed to us from our lending to net-zero by 2050.

  • Measure and reduce our emissions through the setting of science-based targets, including working with suppliers to measure our supply chain emissions and working collaboratively to reduce our environmental impact.

  • Keep our annual business travel emissions below 50% compared to our 2019 baseline.

  • Reduce paper usage by promoting paperless processes and reducing printing.

  • Phase out petrol and diesel powered company vehicles and introduce a wide range of electric and hybrid vehicles, leading to a fully electric company car fleet by 2026.

     

Our expectations of suppliers:
 

  • Collaborate with us to help us to reduce our environmental impact and reach our net zero goal by 2030, including measurement and sharing of emissions data related to goods and services that we procure.

  • Abide by all applicable local, national, and international legislation and regulation relating to protecting the environment.

  • Carry out their business activities with respect to the environment, setting challenging carbon reduction targets and measuring, managing and reporting on your environmental performance.

  • Embed climate change in their strategy and manage all related risks.

  • Provide information to TSB on the steps being taken to reduce their environmental impact.

Together we can achieve:

A supply chain which upholds high standards in environmental protection and actively collaborates to help reduce environmental impact and mitigate environmental risks.


Doing right for People - human rights

We are committed to our responsibilities to respect and uphold human rights across both our own business and across our supply chain.

We are committed to:
 

  • Meet the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA), including the annual update and publication of our own MSA Statement.

  • Never use child labour, forced labour or unacceptable working hours or conditions.

  • Reward colleagues fairly and appropriately for the role that they do and pay, at least, the Real Living Wage.

  • Enable flexible working arrangements which work for our colleagues and customers and ensuring that we do not enter into zero-hour contract arrangements.

  • Provide a safe and clean working environment through pro-active management and controls that minimise health and safety risks for all employees and meet local and international health and safety laws.

  • Monitor key suppliers to make sure they pay employees the National Living Wage.

Our expectations of suppliers:
 

  • Comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA), including the annual update and publication of your own MSA Statement where applicable.

  • Respect the human rights of the local communities within their business operations.

  • Reward colleagues fairly and appropriately for the role they do and are paid at least the National Living Wage.

  • Make sure working hours are in accordance with local regulation and industry best practice and avoid zero-hours contracts.

  • Provide a healthy and safe working environment in accordance with national and international legislation.

  • Provide formal mechanisms to allow staff to raise concerns of operational or business practices that violate laws, regulations or company values and for these concerns to be addressed and resolved in a transparent manner, without fear of retaliation.

  • Identify and help mitigate any social and ethical risks that are found within their business sector and own supply chain.

Together we can achieve:

A supply chain that upholds the highest standards in human rights and will not tolerate any modern slavery within it’s supply chain.


Doing right for People - diversity and inclusion

At TSB we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture, where everyone feels welcome.  Through our Do What Matters plan we are committed to building a diverse and balanced workforce that reflects the customers we serve. We expect the same ambition from those suppliers and partners we work with.

We are committed to:
 

  • Treat our colleagues, customers, and employees with dignity and respect, regardless of their identity, background, or circumstance.

  • Provide a safe, supportive and inclusive environment, free from any direct or indirect discrimination, harassment or bullying.

  • Eliminate all forms of discrimination on the grounds of disability, age, gender (including gender reassignment), race, religion, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity and paternity.

  • Ensure all colleagues complete annual training on how to build an inclusive workplace and how to respond to any forms of discrimination and harassment.

  • Make sure products, policies and processes are inclusive and accessible for colleagues and customers.

  • Continuously strive to achieve diversity and inclusivity in partnership with our Executive sponsored intersectional Inclusion Networks.

  • Treat our suppliers with respect and integrity and promote inclusion and diversity throughout our supply chains.

     

Our expectations of suppliers:
 

  • Treat everyone with dignity and respect, regardless of their identity, background, or circumstances.

  • Promote and build a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment, free of any direct or indirect discrimination, harassment or bullying for all employees to work in.

  • Seek to eliminate all forms of discrimination on the grounds of disability, age, gender (including gender reassignment), race, religion, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity and paternity within their organisation and across their own supply chain.

  • Meet the requirements of the Equality Act (2010), ensuring that all products, services, and environments are fully inclusive and accessible for customers, clients, and employees.

Together we can achieve:

A supply chain built on dignity and respect, which champions diverse perspectives to ensure TSB can offer solutions for all of our customers and colleagues regardless of their background.