Social Responsibility

Solco constantly strives to operate in a socially responsible manner throughout its activities. Solco observes specific conduct and safety philosophies and codes of practice, and promotes well-being in its employees and sensitivity to cultural diversity and indigenous issues.

Code of Conduct

Solco is committed to operating with integrity and maintaining the highest standard of ethical conduct in all of its activities. Our business success is dependent on trusting relationships, which are built on this foundation. Our reputation is founded on the personal veracity of our personnel and our dedication to:

• Honesty in communicating within the company and with our suppliers and customers, while at the same time protecting the company's confidential information and trade secrets.
• Quality in our products and services, by striving to provide defect-free products and services to our customers.
• Responsibility for our words and actions, confirming our commitment to do what we say and do.
• Compassion in our relationships with our employees and the communities affected by our business.
• Fairness to our fellow employees, shareholders, customers and suppliers through adherence to all applicable laws, regulations and policies, and a high standard of ethical behaviour.
• Respect for our fellow employees, shareholders, customers and suppliers, whilst showing willingness to solicit their opinions and value their feedback.
• Respecting the different cultures and the dignity and rights of individuals in the countries where we operate.

Solco Initiative Towards Safety

All personnel are committed to safety. Health and safety is a consideration of every decision made and every job conducted. All employees are empowered through training of awareness that they are responsible for their own safety and that their actions can impact on the safety of others. Health and safety are a core part of our quality system.

Employee Development

Employees of Solco are trained to the competencies required to ensure excellence and quality of services and products in line with the company's corporate strategy.

Aid for Developing Countries

Solco continues to install community-scale systems to provide much-needed water and power to organisations and villages in developing countries. Completed projects in Sri Lanka, East Timor and Fiji have been complemented by A new 3kW pumping system near Dili, installed in December 2007. This 'Jetstream' Sun Mill system delivers around 45,000 litres a day to a community against a sixty metre head where people previously fetched water by hand.

Purchasing Policy

When purchasing components to go into systems, more than quality and cost is considered before parts are approved. As part of our social responsibility commitment, factors that weigh into purchasing decisions include:

• Use of oppressed labour in the manufacturing process
• Ongoing maintenance/replacement costs of parts to end users
• Use of local labour wherever possible if it is of benefit to the community
• Community involvement in introduction of and acceptance of new technologies
• Interchangability of new components with existing equipment for end user
• Appropriate pricing for target market and Solco
• Labour required and where it is sourced from (internal/external, domestic/international)