Business Hub

The Business Hub offers information and tools to businesses seeking to strengthen integrity in their operations by assessing their corruption risks, developing compliance programmes, and participating in Collective Action activities. These tools have been developed by UNODC, together with stakeholders, throughout different projects and are available for free and in a range of languages. We encourage you to use these to take part in the global effort to strengthen business integrity!

THE BUSINESS CASE FOR ETHICS AND INTEGRITY

Unethical behaviour and corrupt acts constitute a business risk and can lead to significant costs at the organizational level, including legal sanctions, fines, termination of business relationships, debarment, damage to a company's brand and reputation, and lower levels of employee satisfaction and retention.

Ethical business practices can bring about tangible advantages, such as enhanced access to market opportunities and incentives, higher reputation and customer loyalty, and attracting and retaining talented employees. Clean business and fair competition provide an environment conducive to innovation, which is good for both the business and its customers and therefore benefits society as a whole.

BUSINESS INTEGRITY STARTS HERE

HOW CAN BUSINESSES ENHANCE THEIR INTEGRITY?

To prevent and counter unethical behaviour, businesses need to take measures on three levels:

GLOBAL WEBINAR SERIES ON BUSINESS INTEGRITY

UNODC, in collaboration with the UN Global Compact, organizes a Global Webinar Series on Business Integrity, providing a space for interaction, dialogue, and knowledge-sharing. The webinar series brings together experts and practitioners from different regions to share good practices and discuss current challenges in the area of business integrity. The webinar series addresses a range of topics inspired by the United Nations Global Compact Management Model and provides first-hand experiences on how to strengthen integrity in your company.

While there are different management models for internal measures that ensure business integrity and ethics, they all share similar characteristics. This includes aspects such as the personal commitment of business leaders and managers, the clear communication of values and commitments made, and that the internal measures are based on a risk assessment to spend limited resources as effectively as possible.

Moreover, internal control system as well as channels for safe reporting, such as whistle-blowing, should be established. Information on this can be found in the UNODC Practical Guide: Anti-Corruption Ethics and Compliance Programme for Business which can be used as a reference for internal measures to prevent and counter corruption in companies.

The following steps are in line with the United Nations Global Compact Management Model that companies can also take as a reference point.

Click here to access webinars on various business integrity topics and thematic webinars that explore complementary topics.

STEP 1: Commit – Tone from the top

Commit to developing an effective anti-corruption ethics and compliance programme and a policy on zero-tolerance of corruption. For this purpose, companies should provide a written code of conduct and business leaders should lead by example, providing the "tone from the top".

STEP 2: Assess corruption risks

with a clearly established process that outlines the purpose of the risk assessment as well as the scope and the roles and responsibilities of everyone in the company. The risk assessment should be conducted periodically to detect and counter new and existing risks. Companies can make use of different resources as a reference point for the risk assessment process such as the Guide for Anti-Corruption Risk Assessment developed by the UN Global Compact, or the online-based Risk Assessment Tool for Small and Medium Enterprises developed by UNODC. Risks need to be identified and prioritized, so that they can be appropriately managed.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the UN Global Compact organised the virtual event Deep Dive Session: Assessing the Risk of Corruption to Your Business on 20 April 2023. This is the second session of the Global Webinar Series on Business Integrity. Read the full story here.

You can access the English webinar recording below. To listen to the French, Portuguese, or Spanish version, create an account here and switch languages by clicking the globe icon in the media player.

STEP 3: Define policies and procedures

to address risks identified and prioritized in the previous step. A good practice is to develop an action plan based on the risk assessment, including timelines, roles and responsibilities, and measurable targets that allow for periodic follow-up. The most urgent risks should be addressed first. Policies and procedures should also include clear sanctions for violations and wrongdoing.

The third instalment of the Global Webinar Series on Business Integrity took place on 22 June 2023. During the session, we discussed how companies can take action to prevent corruption in their operations after identifying the associated risks. The virtual event featured live translation to French, Portuguese and Spanish, bringing together private sector representatives from across the world. Read the full story here.

STEP 4: Implement the policies and procedures

Once policies are in place, they need to be implemented. For this purpose, responsibilities within the company should be defined and regular communication and training for all employees on the policies conducted. An internal control system should be established with reporting channels (whistle-blowing) to prevent and detect wrongdoing.

The fourth installment of the Global Webinar Series on Business Integrity took place on 9 November 2023. Read the full story here.

STEP 5: Measure progress by conducting a regular review of the policies

A compliance programme is a process of learning and requires continuous improvement. As part of the monitoring, corruption risks should be re-evaluated and policies adjusted as needed.

The fifth edition of the Global Webinar Series on Business Integrity took place on 4 April 2024. During the webinar session, we discussed the intricacies of assessing anti-corruption compliance frameworks, offering insights into effective measurement strategies, key performance indicators and best practices.Read the full story here.

STEP 6: Communicate efforts to strengthen business integrity

It is recommended that companies publicly report on efforts and engage in Collective Action by joining working groups and engaging with others. Step 6 of the UN Global Compact Management Model encourages companies to produce a Communication on Progress (CoP), which serves as a tangible reflection of how the organization integrates ethics and compliance into its operations, aligning its goals with the broad objectives of corporate sustainability and social responsibility.

In this sixth edition of the Global Webinar Series on Business Integrity that took place on 10 October 2024, we engaged in a dialogue, sharing insights and strategies for ensuring effective communication and reporting in a business. Indeed, implementing an effective anti-corruption ethics and compliance programme is not a linear process, but on that rather requires continuous improvement. We explored how a company communicates its progress and forward-looking strategies for implementing its commitment by developing a Communication on Progress and engaging with stakeholders to identify ways to improve performance continuously. The virtual event featured live translation to French, Portuguese and Spanish, bringing together private sector representatives from across the world. Read more.