The three leading companies in the metals technology industry — Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche SpA, Primetals Technologies Limited, and SMS GmbH — have announced their participation in a sector-specific Collective Action Initiative in which they exchange best practice and knowledge in anti-corruption compliance and related developments within their industry.
Danieli, SMS, and Primetals are all headquartered in Europe and all manufacture the plants, machines and related technical solutions for the industries that produce steel as well as non-ferrous metals (such as copper, lead, aluminum and zinc). The three companies have all recognized the importance of a dynamic and well-implemented compliance management system and are keen to develop their respective approaches in future, striving for best practices wherever possible.
All the meetings for these three companies have been convened and organized by the International Center for Collective Action (ICCA) at the Basel Institute on Governance. In this endeavour the ICCA has accompanied the initiative since its inception in 2013, and has been working with the group to improve and develop their anti-corruption programs, to facilitate and moderate their discussions.
The companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) setting out the companies’ anti-corruption commitments and proposed actions to promote their anti-corruption principles. This MoU is complementary to, and reflective of, key elements of their respective anti-corruption compliance programs. It outlines the companies’ commitment to acting with integrity in business practices; recognizes the essential elements in the development and implementation of anti-corruption compliance programmes and internal control systems; fair competition; and addresses key risk areas.
Anti-corruption Collective Action is increasingly being recognized as a means to bring together companies and other stakeholders to address various forms of corruption risk because it offers a sustained process whereby businesses and other stakeholders jointly tackle problems of corruption.
Anti-corruption Collective Action initiatives may involve declarations and joint activities, standard-setting initiatives, transparency pacts or integrity pacts. Initiatives can vary in their geographical scope, stakeholder composition and operating mechanisms. Collective Action builds on the fundamental principle of “business-driven integrity,” bringing together businesses around a set of principles to prevent bribery and corruption and improve the business environment in which they operate.
The Basel Institute on Governance hosts the B20 Collective Action Hub which provides further examples of Collective Action initiatives, tools and research.
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Gemma Aiolfi is the Head of Corporate Governance, Compliance and Collective Action at the Basel Institute on Governance. She can be contacted here.
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