The Global Business Standards

The Global Business Standards set forth the fundamental responsibilities of all those who represent Sara Lee.

These standards describe the ethical and legal responsibilities all Sara Lee employees are expected to uphold. It is a guide and a resource, and is intended to help employees understand significant legal and ethical issues that frequently arise.


What the Global Business Standards Are Not

The Global Business Standards booklet is not a comprehensive document intended to address every ethical issue that an employee might face, nor is it a summary of all laws and policies that apply to Sara Lee businesses. Most importantly, the Global Business Standards are not a substitute for good judgment, nor a restraint on the entrepreneurial initiative and imagination of Sara Lee employees and managers.


The Global Business Standards Are Not Enough

One of the truest clichès heard around the world is that “actions speak louder than words.” Our Global Business Standards are effective when each of us at Sara Lee reads them, understands them, and lives up to them. To aid in this, Sara Lee has established a business practices committee, made up of officers of the company, to establish appropriate ethical and legal standards and to oversee compliance with laws, regulations, the Global Business Standards and related policies and procedures.

Sara Lee also has designated a business practices officer responsible for overseeing the day to day implementation of, and compliance with, Sara Lee’s ethical standards, including communications, training and assessment. Business practices committees and officers have also been established in different areas of the company around the world.


The Global Business Standards Are Global

The Global Business Standards apply to all employees worldwide and to the members of the board of directors when they are acting on behalf of Sara Lee. Employees cannot use a contractor, agent, consultant, broker, distributor or other third party to perform any act prohibited by law or by Sara Lee policy. If compliance with the Standards appears to conflict with local law, employees should discuss their concerns with the law department.


Names in the Global Business Standards

All references to Sara Lee in this document also refer to Sara Lee’s businesses and units worldwide, as well as joint ventures where Sara Lee has management responsibility. References to functions like law or human resources, or titles like the CEO refer to those functions by business unit, unless otherwise specified.