Kansas City Southern (“KCS”)[1] is committed to protecting and promoting human rights in our business operations. As our company’s Value of Diversity & Civility commits us, we will honor the rights of all individuals to be treated with respect and dignity. KCS embraces our responsibility to foster an inclusive workplace that respects fundamental human rights and is free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. We are also committed to those company policies and procedures that serve to protect the health, safety, and well-being of our employees, customers, and business partners, as well as the environment and communities in which we operate.
Our Workplace, Our Business
We believe in equal employment opportunity at KCS. We embrace our cross-cultural heritage and promote a work environment that is inclusive of everyone and that align with the human rights principles stated in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
As pertaining to the workplace, these principles include the prohibition of child labor, the prohibition of forced labor in all forms, including modern slavery and human trafficking, freedom of association, and the right to collective bargaining. Workers at KCS are recruited, hired, trained, promoted, and compensated with competitive wages and benefits and without discrimination. Our company strictly forbids unlawful discrimination or harassment on the basis of anyone’s race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ancestry, citizenship, religion, age, pregnancy, marital status, indigenous status, disability, or any other category protected by law. KCS is committed to compliance with all applicable labor and employment laws, including those regulating wages and working hours, and prohibits retaliation against any individual for opposing unlawful activity.
As reflected in our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, KCS has always required that we do business in accordance with the highest ethical and legal standards. We not only require our employees to adhere to such standards, but also expect a similar commitment from our suppliers and business partners.
Employees have a responsibility to maintain high standards of business conduct and to report inappropriate behavior. In furtherance of those internationally recognized human rights that KCS desires to protect and promote, we encourage everyone to report safety issues, security incidents, or instances of misconduct that either involve our employees or occur on our property.
Our Communities, Our Environment
Recognizing the basic human rights of life, liberty, and security of person, KCS is committed to operating our business in a safe, secure, and responsible manner for the benefit of our employees, customers, and communities in the U.S. and Mexico. Toward that objective, we continuously invest in people, training, planning, technology, equipment, and infrastructure to enhance the safety and security of our network and operation. We will comply with legal requirements and adhere to the highest practicable standards for the protection of our people and the environment.
As a corporate citizen, KCS recognizes our responsibility to the environment in which we operate. We work to achieve high standards in fuel efficiency and in “reduce, reuse, and recycle” programs. Additionally, we have aligned ourselves with a number of organizations that have been established to help ensure a cleaner environment and enhance public safety.
From educating the public on safe behavior around railroad tracks to training emergency responders on accident response, KCS strives to be a responsible corporate citizen in the communities that we serve. We will continuously evaluate and re-evaluate our work practices based on consultation with our workers and their representatives, and in light of advances in technology and new breakthroughs in security, safety, health, and environmental science. We will strengthen our business by making the consideration of potential safety, health, environmental, and security issues an integral part of all our business activities.
To that end, the following principles will guide us.
- We will work to eliminate hazards and reduce occupational health and safety risks in our workplace.
- We will educate and empower our employees to work safely, to maintain secure operations, and to embrace our commitment to the environment.
- We will operate and maintain our facilities and equipment so they are safe, secure, and considerate of environmental impact.
- We will be prepared to respond to railroad emergencies and will provide educational opportunities to assist our local communities to improve their emergency preparedness.
- We will make efforts to prevent, minimize, reuse, and recycle waste. When waste is generated, it will be handled and disposed of safely and responsibly.
- We will be responsible stewards of our environment by demonstrating resource efficiency and conservation of natural resources.
- We will use technological advancements and continuously improve operating procedures whenever possible to drive reductions in our emissions intensity ratio.
- We will responsibly remediate environmental conditions that require our attention.
- We will work with our customers and suppliers to minimize environmental impacts and improve efficiencies along the supply chain.
SpeakUp!
KCS requires our employees and encourages others to report good faith workplace concerns, including human rights concerns related to suspected violations of KCS policies or other unethical/unlawful behaviors, whether in the United States or Mexico. Individuals can report such concerns through our SpeakUp! Program by calling 1-800-727-2615. Reports can also be submitted by navigating to www.ethicspoint.com and entering “Kansas City Southern” in the space for the organization’s name or by navigating directly to www.kcsouthern.ethicspoint.com.
The following are examples of the types of human rights issues that should be reported:
- Unlawful employment discrimination
- Unlawful harassment, including harassment, intimidation, or retaliation for reporting a good faith safety concern, or for properly and in good faith reporting a work-related injury or illness
- Threats or incidents of workplace violence
- Safety and environmental concerns, including any activity that may expose KCS workers or the public to danger
- Any unlawful conduct involving our employees or occurring on our property
Adopted 5/26/2021
[1] All references to “Kansas City Southern,” “KCS,” “we,” “us,” and “our” are terms of convenience used to refer collectively to Kansas City Southern and all of its subsidiaries both in the U.S. and Mexico.
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