The Odebrecht Group reafirmed, in a statement published in Brazil, its commitment to ethics, integrity and transparent business practices in all its businesses.
This represents a significant step for the improvement and continuity of its operations worldwide, highlighting for its Clients, partners, members and communities the level of maturation of its Compliance Program, as one of the reflects of this new moment of the Group.
Odebrecht emphasises that it has been implementing all internal and external control mechanisms to prevent and mitigate the risk of any deviations, starting with its strict Compliance Program applicable to all the group’s businesses, in all countries where it is present.
In the engineering business arm, through Odebrecht Engineering and Construction (OEC), a senior executive, the North American attorney Mike Munro, hired to lead and implement the program, is conducting this task. Mr. Munro responds to the new Compliance Committee that serves the OEC’s Board of Directors, which is composed by independent directors.
These improvements occur as a result of the revision of the internal processes conducted by top international consulting, auditing and law firms in order to make the Compliance Program fully compliant with international best practices and standards, reinforcing the processes of risk monitoring, compliance of laws and regulations, as well as the improvement of internal policies of the Organisation.
It should be noted that in a recent survey by the NGO International Transparency, entitled “Transparency in Corporate Reports: Evaluating Emerging Market Multinationals”, the Odebrecht Group rose 47 positions in the ranking of best information disclosure practices. The information dissemination practices of 100 largest multinationals from 15 emerging countries that operate in more than 185 countries around the world have been evaluated.
Recently, the Group’s holding company, Odebrecht S.A., adhered to the United Nations Global Pact, which means that Odebrecht will fully assume and comply with all the 10 principles of the Pact, reinforcing respect for the moral and physical dignity of the human being, environment and the fight against corruption.
Other initiatives has also been implemented, such as participation in the Pro Ethics, a program of the Brazilian Office of the Controller General, which results from a combination of efforts between the public and private sectors to encourage the adoption of integrity measures by companies, making them increasingly committed to prevent and combat corruption and other types of frauds.
Félix Martins, Managing Director of Odebrecht Mozambique, stated that “this new Compliance Program is an important tool capable to identify, monitor and mitigate exposures to non-compliance risks, ensuring compliance with international best governance practices in markets and countries where Odebrecht operates, in accordance with the Group’s internal policies and the laws of those countries, which the company and its members must observe and comply with”.
With these measures, the Odebrecht Group also demonstrates the solid commitment of all its employees with an ethical, integrity and transparent conduct.
“Odebrecht reinforces the importance to the Group of its projects and investments in Mozambique and its full commitment to its Clients and the sustainable growth of the country”, said Félix Martins.
Source: Odebrecht Mozambique
