Good corporate governance is fundamental to our success as a business and we take it extremely seriously. Our CEO, Sir Crispin Davis, has said we have made good progress in this area, noting: “we can take pride in acting in a legal and ethical manner at all times”.
Objectives
We maintain standards of corporate governance and disclosure applicable to companies quoted in the UK, the Netherlands and the US, including the UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance and the Dutch Corporate Governance Code. You can find out more about our approach in this area here.
Achievements
One of our key objectives in recent years has been to increase training and awareness of our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct among our employees. This is being done through a special online training programme and by the end of 2008 the majority of our employees will have completed this training.
We have also deepened our involvement with some important global initiatives on human rights, labour standards, corruption and the environment. We are signatories to the UN Global Compact and are proactive in trying to spread awareness of its principles across Europe.
Ethical business
In 2007 we met our target of providing special training to 21,000 of our 30,000 employees on our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct. The training explains key elements of the code, offers practical illustrations of how the code operates and shows employees where to go for further information and guidance. The feedback from employees from this training was very positive. As one said: “It was just a really good overview of ethics relevant to my position in the company.”
UN Global Compact
The UN Global Compact brings together businesses, agencies, labour groups and civil society organisations to support ten principles encompassing human rights, working standards, environment and anti-corruption. Since becoming a signatory, we have worked to advance these principles in our company. We are a member of the steering Group of the UNGC UK Network, chair its communications working group and in 2007 helped organise events to spread awareness of the Compact in Europe and beyond.
Tax contribution
We believe paying tax is an important way to make a contribution to the communities in which we work. The income tax contribution for our combined businesses in 2007 amounted to £243 million and we collected several hundred million pounds in other taxes. The fiscal authorities consider us to be a responsible corporate taxpayer.