Business integrity

The changing landscape of anti-corruption regulation and enforcement has triggered important discussions around the role of ethics and compliance in business strategies and in the economy as a whole. It has also given impetus to the narrative that anti-corruption compliance programmes are inevitably costly, potentially ineffective and bureaucratic.

This ignores many of the positive advances in compliance that have been made in recent years, as well as the growing body of evidence supporting the business case for compliance.

This Quick Guide covers five broad areas in which mature and well-constructed ethics and compliance systems can benefit businesses even in the face of an uncertain regulatory and enforcement framework. It is based on a roundtable convened by the Basel Institute on Governance and bilateral discussions with key figures in the business and anti-corruption community.

About this Quick Guide

The 5th International Collective Action Conference represented another significant milestone in the development of responsible and ethical business practices through anti-corruption Collective Action.

The conference, hosted by the Basel Institute with the support of the Siemens Integrity Initiative, took place on 24 and 25 June 2024 in Basel, Switzerland. This short conference report presents main insights, quotes as well as infographics and graphic recordings from the two-day event, which welcomed around 200 people from around the world and across all sectors.

A key theme of this year’s conference was the importance of building local, regional and international communities of practice. These communities bring together different constellations of people and organisations interested in the Collective Action approach to improve skills, develop joint solutions and advance knowledge about how to make initiatives effective in different contexts.

Five panel discussions, three interactive breakout sessions and multiple networking opportunities, including an exhibition, offered many occasions for sharing experiences and best practices in anti-corruption Collective Action and breaking down silos.

About this report and acknowledgements

Extreme weather events, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and epidemics cause the loss of countless lives and bring disruption to many countries. Governments and humanitarian aid agencies are expected to be at the forefront of preparing for and responding to such disasters.

However, occasionally the scale and impact of some natural disasters are so large that additional resources beyond what governments can provide become necessary. In such cases, efforts may be perceived as insufficient and slow. Resources and efforts need to be augmented in order to provide relief and support to those who need it most.

Could the private sector take a more leading role in pre- and post-disaster efforts? How could a structured, long-term engagement reduce the inevitable integrity risks in high-stress disaster situations involving numerous government, business and international actors?

This policy paper outlines three general recommendations for the G20 provided by the B20 Integrity and Compliance Taskforce under the B21 Italy 2021 process.

This policy paper outlines three general recommendations for the G20 provided by the B20 Integrity and Compliance Taskforce under the B20 Saudi Arabia 2020 process.