Announcement was made during a social dinner with associates in São Paulo
Based on a survey carried out by ABES with its associates to assess the degree of maturity in relation to the integrity and compliance, the entity decided to create the initiative AN ETHICAL COMPANY, which aims to encourage its associates to formally adopt the highest ethical standards in dealing with their affairs, internal or external; improve the standard of behavior in dealing with customers, suppliers, competitors, employees and government agents, and create formal rules to implement them.
"We are preparing ABES associates for a new era," said ABES President Francisco Camargo, when announcing the initiative during the celebration dinner, held on December 3, at Restaurante Vista, in São Paulo. The initiative is an offshoot of the Integrity Program implanted in ABES throughout 2018.
“An Ethical Company it is an initiative, represented by a Program, which aims to strengthen the corporate culture of member companies, emphasizing the relevance of ethical and moral standards and the implementation of Integrity Programs, with policies and practices that inhibit corruption and unfair competition. We hope to count on your support, ”said lawyer Carolina Marzano, compliance officer at ABES and specialist in Intellectual Property and Anti-Corruption Programs.
In a first phase, the associates, in addition to having the support of the Compliance Officer and Legal of the entity to resolve doubts when developing their own programs, they will have at their disposal the free service, a Reporting Channel, as provided for in Decree no. 8,420 / 2015.
In a second phase, the development of Data Protection and Privacy Policies is foreseen, to allow companies to adapt to the new General Data Protection Law.
Reporting channel
One of the services that the program offers is a Reporting Channel which allows the whistleblower, to register anonymously, complaints about events that do not comply with the ethical and moral standards established by the norms of his companies or by the laws of the country, of interest to the associated companies that enroll in the program.
ABES, as the program manager, does not have access to the content of the complaints, which are encrypted and sent directly to the interested companies, who are responsible for carrying out the investigation.
In order to guarantee the whistleblower's anonymity, ABES does not use any technique that makes it possible to identify the whistleblower's IP address, equipment.
“Decree nº. 8,420 / 2015 specifies that the existence of an Irregularity Reporting Channel, open and widely disseminated to employees and third parties, is one of the parameters for evaluating integrity programs, so we decided to launch this new service for ABES members, which is proud to be one of the first entities to adapt to the Anti-Corruption rules in Brazil and to have developed its own integrity program ”, explained Camargo.
The channel covers a wide range of subjects ranging from issues related to acts of corruption, fraud and accounting improprieties to moral and sexual harassment, among others. All complaints received are forwarded to the reported companies, which are solely responsible for the investigation and confidentiality of the information.
The Whistleblowing Channel is a service for ABES Associates who sign up for the program AN ETHICAL COMPANY.
The whistleblowing channel website is www.UmaEmpresaEtica.com.br.
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