Listing on the SEE website is a pre-requisite for using the SEE Logo and tag-line

Once a client company has: 1) successfully completed the evaluation process; 2) agreed (via consent of the nominated company officer) to publish its responses on this website; and 3) paid the appropriate fees; then SEE Ltd will grant the client permission to carry the SEE Logo, according to these Terms, within 14 days of completion of these three aforementioned conditions.

Payment of the licence fee

A licence fee is required in addition to the joining fee. If necessary, the client company will also be invoiced for any hours that exceed the maximum number allocated, according to the published fee schedule, or for any hours of advice/support provided during and/or after the designated 60-day period of evaluation.

Publication of the client company's responses and background information on the SEE website will only occur after SEE Ltd receives the licence fee, and any additional payments due, in full and in cleared funds.

The licence period

As long as the company complies with the continuing requirements of these Terms, it's SEE listed status will last for the period of 12 months from the date on which the company is first listed on the SEE website and granted a licence.

During each 12 month licence period, a SEE listed company will have four hours of advice and support from SEE Ltd in order to maintain its information and questionnaire responses, published on this website, to the required standard. If required, any additional time beyond the set amount will be charged at SEE Ltd's published hourly rate.

Copyright on client information and SEE Questionnaire responses

SEE Ltd will jointly own the copyright, with the client company, of the SEE Questionnaire responses and 'boilerplate' company information that is published on the SEE website. This is to protect the integrity of the SEE scheme and the community of SEE listed companies, for the mutual benefit of all parties. SEE Ltd does not own the copyright in any information held on external servers.

Receipt of the SEE Logo and style guide

SEE Ltd will email suitable graphics files of the SEE Logo and the accompanying style guide to the nominated company officer as soon as the client company's information and responses are published on the SEE website.

Formatting requirements for listed company logos on the SEE website

Company logos must be suitably formatted before they can be placed on the SEE website. Each company logo will be formatted by SEE Ltd or its contractor, redPepper, before use on the SEE website. SEE Ltd reserves the right to determine when a company logo is suitably formatted.

Fees for participation in the SEE scheme cover the basic rendering and formatting necessary to prepare each logo for use on our website. An additional cost of £25 per half hour will be charged if a logo cannot be supplied in the required format or if extensive reformatting and/or redrawing is necessary for any reason.

Using the SEE Logo

Only licensed companies are permitted by SEE Ltd to use the SEE Logo. In addition, it may only be used in accordance with the related style guide.

The SEE Logo may be used on a company's marketing materials, brochures and other business promotional materials, packaging materials, stationery and other items, within the guidelines set out in the style guide - which may be revised and updated from time to time.

Should a company lose its status as a SEE listed company (for whatever reason), its licence to use the SEE Logo automatically terminates and lapses at the same time. The company's listing on the SEE website will become 'greyed out', that is, its ID and company logo will remain visible but all other information will be obscured and a note will be added stating why the user can no longer view it. A company will remain 'greyed out' until it confirms that the SEE Logo has been removed from all its promotional and other business materials. See Term number 12 below.

New and/or revised questions on the SEE Questionnaire

SEE Ltd undertakes to write new questions or periodically revise existing questions for the SEE Questionnaire to ensure it is always relevant to current social, environmental and ethical issues. However, to allow SEE listed companies to keep their information regularly up-to-date, these new or substantially revised questions (that will substantially alter company responses) will not be introduced at a rate exceeding one new question per calendar month unless a supplementary sector specific questionnaire is introduced (see below). Minor revisions might be introduced more frequently.

A SEE listed company is obliged to keep its responses to the SEE Questionnaire up-to-date, so it will be expected to prepare responses to the new or revised questions on a regular basis.

Whenever new or revised questions are introduced, a client company has 30 days to answer them, starting from the date notice of the new question(s) is given. SEE Ltd will send an e-mail notification in advance to all client companies to inform them of any and all changes to the SEE Questionnaire. At the end of this 30-day period the new question will be published on this website.

Should a client company fail to provide an agreed response to a new question within the stipulated 30-day period, it will be deemed to be in breach of these Terms. Then its response to the new question may be shown as 'No Answer Yet' or the company may have its entire SEE listing suspended from this website until a satisfactory response to the new question is provided. A client company will be fully de-listed from this website and have its licence terminated if, after a further 30 days, it has still failed to provide an agreed response to the new question(s) to SEE Ltd.

Some new questions will be specific to a particular business sector. A client company active within that particular sector, according to the view of SEE Ltd (acting reasonably), must answer those sector specific questions in addition to the 35 core questions on the SEE Questionnaire in order to maintain its SEE listing. In the event that a sector specific questionnaire is introduced, SEE Ltd will inform all companies affected in good time to provide them adequate time to prepare responses.

A commitment to improvement in SEE practices and policies

A client company is required to make a commitment to continuous overall improvement of its SEE practices, policies and impacts. It must state appropriate goals or targets for improvement over the 12 month licence period, or provide an explanation as to why no such goals or targets have been set. This is part of the client's 'boilerplate' company information but will not be made public on this website. The client company must provide an assessment of its success in meeting any such stated goals or targets prior to the renewal of its annual licence.

A client company must be aware, and accept, that if no goals or targets for improvement are set and there is no reasonable explanation, or if after 12 months its stated goals or targets have not been met (including due to any unforeseen circumstances or circumstances beyond the company's reasonable control), SEE Ltd may deem this to be a breach of these Terms and decide not to renew the company's licence.

Licence renewal/continuation

A SEE listed company commits to maintaining all of its information and responses on this website as current, accurate and complete. It will not be charged for updating any responses to the SEE Questionnaire unless the hours required to do this exceed those allocated in line with its annual licence fee. Any excess hours will be charged at a set hourly rate published by SEE Ltd.

A licensed company that has maintained all of its responses as current, accurate and complete will remain listed on this website on the receipt by SEE Ltd of the annual licence renewal fee. Payment of the licence renewal fee will be due at the end of each 12-month fee period.

The fee may be paid at any time up to midday on the last working day before the expiry of such 12-month period. If a company successfully maintains its listing but fails to pay the renewal fee on time, it will be temporarily suspended from this website, for up to a maximum of 30 days, until the renewal fee is paid. A client company will be charged at the standard published rate for any additional time or other resources used by SEE Ltd in effecting any temporary suspensions. If the licence renewal fee is not received by SEE Ltd within this 30-day period, the client company's right to renew its licence will expire. An explanation about why the company has been de-listed may be published by SEE Ltd on the SEE website.

Withdrawal by a client company

A client company may withdraw from the accreditation process, and/or revoke or renounce its existing licence at any time. No part of any fees paid, however, will be refundable. If a company withdraws, SEE Ltd reserves the right to make public that the company was previously a participant in the SEE scheme. SEE Ltd also reserves the right to publish the client's reasons for withdrawal as expressed by the client company, if deemed accurate and acceptable by SEE Ltd, and to provide any reasonable explanation as deemed appropriate.

Licensing and company structure/entity

In order to preserve the clarity of the principles behind the SEE scheme, the SEE Logo will only ever be licensed to a company that has undergone the full evaluation and licensing processes itself. If a SEE listed company is acquired by (or otherwise becomes a direct or indirect subsidiary of) a company that is not SEE listed, then the licensed company must demonstrate to the satisfaction of SEE Ltd that it has independence with regards to its SEE practices, policies and impacts in order to retain its license to use the SEE Logo.
If a SEE listed company acquires (or otherwise becomes a direct or indirect holding company of) another company that is not SEE listed, then it must demonstrate that its SEE practices and policies apply from the outset, to its new subsidiary company or holding/parent company in order to retain its SEE listing.

In either of the aforementioned scenarios, the SEE listed company has the duty to notify SEE Ltd of the change and to demonstrate compliance with SEE practices and polices within one calendar month (30 days) from the acquisition by or of another company.

Challenges to published SEE Questionnaire responses and company information

Visitors to the SEE website can rate, comment on or challenge any response by a SEE listed company. This information is sent to both the client company and copied to SEE Ltd.

Should any challenge or complaint arise, SEE Ltd will respond in a measured and considered manner using the following steps:

Step 1: SEE Ltd will investigate the details of the complaint or the veracity of the challenge. If the complaint or challenge is considered to be valid then SEE Ltd will undertake further steps.

If, in the opinion of SEE Ltd, the complaint or the challenge is without merit, no further action will be taken.

The criteria used to assess the complaint or challenge will include (but will not be limited to) the following:

• the nature of any complaint or challenge against the client company and whether it has been independently corroborated;
• whether the source of a complaint or challenge against a SEE listed company is of proven credibility and reliability and from an individual or organisation in a position to have sufficient knowledge of the issues;
• whether a response to any complaint or allegation has been sought from the client company concerned;
• whether the client company has failed to provide responses that meet the requirements of the answering guidelines that are set out in the SEE Questionnaire; and/or
• whether the client company has failed to provide accurate, honest, current, complete and/or verifiable responses to the SEE Questionnaire.
• If issues should arise in the interpretation of the questions and/or the answering guidelines, the interpretation or meaning will be provided by SEE Ltd on a case by case basis, informed by a body of case history and a substantial body of question-specific examples of business practice.

Step 2: If a valid complaint or challenge is made, SEE Ltd will put up a notice against all the responses by the client company on this website to inform the public that the responses are under review and why this is so. This 'under review' notice will remain until the complaint or challenge has been resolved

Step 3: SEE Ltd will interview the client company to establish if its responses are fully in accordance with these Terms. The criteria examined in the interview will include (but will not be limited to) the following:

• success in providing responses that meet the requirements of the answering guidelines in the SEE Questionnaire;
• success in completing all of the questions within the SEE Questionnaire.
• success in providing accurate, complete, verifiable, and/or honest responses; and/or
• Success in always maintaining information as current and up to date.
• If the client company is able to demonstrate to SEE Ltd's satisfaction that it is not in breach of these Terms then the 'under review' notice will be removed immediately.

Step 4: If, in the opinion of SEE Ltd, a minor breach of these Terms has occurred, the client company will be requested to undertake those actions that are necessary to resolve the complaint or challenge as soon as possible. As an example, a minor breach would include some out of date information in a single response, in which case SEE Ltd would request that the client company updates the response. Once the client company has taken such action and is back in compliance with these Terms, the 'under review' notice will be removed.

Step 5: If, in the opinion of SEE Ltd, a serious breach of these Terms has occurred, SEE Ltd reserves the right to investigate the problem and take such further steps as are necessary to remedy the same. The 'under review' notice will remain in place for the entire period of any investigation.

SEE Ltd might request the client company to undertake actions to resolve the complaint or challenge as soon as possible. Once the client company has taken action and is back in compliance with these Terms, the 'under review' notice will be removed.

SEE Ltd also reserves the right (at its sole discretion) to suspend and/or grey-out a company's entire listing on this website until the issue is resolved to SEE Ltd's satisfaction.
If serious breaches are not adequately resolved and resolved swiftly, a temporary suspension or greying-out will become permanent.

SEE Ltd reserves the right to grey-out a company listing until it is satisfied, at its sole discretion, that the company has removed the SEE Logo from all its marketing materials.
SEE Ltd also reserves the right to publish, on this website, details of the relevant problems and issues, any correspondence concerning the same and the decision reached by it in each circumstance.

Temporary de-listing

A client company may be temporarily removed from this website if it is late in paying its licence renewal fee and/or if it fails to provide a satisfactory response to a new or revised question within the stipulated time period. If a client company deliberately fails to provide accurate, complete or verifiable questionnaire responses, or if any discrepancies or other serious acts of misconduct are discovered by, or brought to the attention of, SEE Ltd, then a client company may be de-listed until the problem has been resolved and all actions completed as are necessary to remedy the same.

SEE Ltd also reserves the right to publish, on the SEE website, details of the relevant problems and issues, any correspondence concerning the same and the decision reached by it in each circumstance.

Terminating SEE listing and accreditation

Terminating a company's SEE listed status, revoking its licence to carry the SEE Logo and de-listing it from this website are the ultimate sanctions against inappropriate action or inaction by a SEE listed company. Termination is a means to protect the reputation of the community of SEE listed companies and the goodwill attached to the SEE scheme, the SEE Logo and SEE Ltd, to and for the mutual benefit of all parties.

SEE Ltd reserves the right (at its sole discretion) to terminate the SEE listed status of any client company or not to renew a licence. In making such a decision, the reasons may include (but may not be limited to) the following:

• 15.1 any failure to provide responses that meet the requirements of the answering guidelines that are set out in the SEE Questionnaire;
• 15.2 any failure to provide accurate, honest, current, complete and/or verifiable responses to the SEE Questionnaire;
• 15.3 any failure to complete all of the questions in the SEE Questionnaire;
• 15.4 any breach(es) of the SEE logo style guide;
• 15.5 the nature of any complaint or allegation against the client company and whether it has been independently corroborated;
• 15.6 whether the source of a complaint or allegation against a SEE listed company is of proven credibility and reliability and from an individual or organisation in a position to have sufficient knowledge of the issues; and/or
• 15.7 whether a response to any complaint or allegation has been sought from the client company concerned.

If SEE Ltd decides to terminate, or not to renew, the licence of any client company, the company may no longer claim to be a SEE listed company, the company's licence to use the SEE Logo will automatically terminate and lapse, its listing on the SEE website will be removed immediately and it will lose access to the SEE Questionnaire Manager. SEE Ltd also reserves the right to publish, on the SEE website, details of any decision reached in such circumstances and any correspondence between SEE Ltd and the relevant company.

Re-application and re-accreditation after termination

SEE Ltd suggests that a period of at least 24 months should elapse before a company that has been de-listed re-applies for a SEE listing again. This is to provide sufficient time for a company to work through the problems it was experiencing when it was de-listed.

A company that fails to achieve accreditation in the first instance may re-apply at any time, though SEE Ltd suggests that a period of at least 6 months should elapse. This is to provide sufficient time for a company to address any issues or suggestions arising out of its failure to complete evaluation.

Complaints against SEE Ltd

SEE Ltd expects to receive feedback from its clients on many issues, both negative and positive. It is committed to dealing with enquiries and complaints quickly, courteously and with respect.

The philosophy of SEE Ltd is to address complaints and, when necessary, work in co-operation with a complainant to achieve a mutually agreeable resolution wherever possible. Complaints are regarded as an opportunity to learn and improve. A comment will be deemed a complaint if it is a criticism which expects a reply and requests or demands changes.

It is in SEE Ltd's interest to resolve any problems as soon as they occur. A complaint will be acknowledged within 2 working days. SEE Ltd will then aim to resolve the complaint within 10 working days. If this is not possible, SEE Ltd will keep the complainant informed of progress.

In the unlikely event that a complaint cannot be resolved by mutual discussion, a mutually agreed third party will be asked to mediate. SEE Ltd reserves the right (at its sole discretion) to publish on the SEE website details of the complaint and any decision reached in relation to the complaint.

Correcting mistakes

It is totally against the ethos of the SEE scheme to distort known facts, present invented or dubious material as fact or knowingly do anything to mislead client companies or the public through this website. SEE Ltd is accountable to both SEE listed companies and to the public.

Building and maintaining trust in the SEE scheme is a crucial part of our contract with each client company. SEE Ltd will act in good faith, and deal fairly and openly with mistakes when they are made. It encourages a willingness to learn from them. SEE Ltd will acknowledge serious factual errors and correct mistakes quickly and clearly. Inaccuracy risks the integrity of the whole SEE scheme and the SEE Logo and the reputation of SEE Ltd and its clients. An effective way of correcting a mistake is to admit what was wrong as well as putting it right. SEE Ltd reserves the right (at its sole discretion) to publish details of any and all mistakes and the corrective action taken to remedy them.

General issues

• 19.1 Severability/waiver - if any part or provision of these Terms is held to be unenforceable or invalid by any judicial decree, court order or equivalent decision, the remainder of these Terms shall nevertheless continue to be valid and enforceable. No waiver by SEE Ltd of any breach by you (or any other party) of any of these Terms shall constitute a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same (or any other) provision.
• 19.2 Entire agreement - these Terms (together with any other express legal notices and/or specific terms set out by SEE Ltd) constitute the entire agreement between client companies in connection with the services offered and provided by SEE Ltd and supersede any previous agreement or understanding in relation to the same. All other terms or conditions of use, implied by statute or otherwise, are excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
• 19.3 Third party rights/assignment - a person who is not a party to these Terms has no right, under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise, to enforce any provision of these Terms. SEE Ltd may transfer, assign or sub-contract all or any of its rights arising under these Terms to any other party at any time without further notice. No client company may assign, transfer or sub-contract any rights arising under these Terms to any other party without the prior written consent of SEE Ltd.
• 19.4 Applicable law - although SEE Ltd sells its services to clients in other countries and jurisdictions around the world, SEE What You Are Buying Into Ltd is a limited company registered in England and Wales and every registration, search, transaction, process, service, posting or other activity conducted shall be deemed to have been conducted in England. English law shall therefore govern each contractual relationship that SEE Ltd is party to which arises as a result of the sale and provision of its services. Each client company hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts in relation to any disputes or claims arising from such relationships. SEE Ltd cannot guarantee that its services are appropriate or available for sale in locations outside of the United Kingdom.
• 19.5 Each client company acknowledges that SEE Ltd cannot guarantee that it will operate this website completely error-free or without interruption and that, as such, its 'boilerplate' information and SEE Questionnaire responses will be publicly available at all times. In any event, SEE Ltd makes no warranty that the website will be accessible or available at all times, although it will use its reasonable endeavours to ensure that any disruptions or interruptions are minimised as far as is possible. Access to this website may be suspended temporarily, and without notice, in the case of system failure, routine or emergency maintenance and/or repair or for other reasons which are beyond SEE Ltd's reasonable control.