UN Global Compact releases guidance on how companies can fight corruption

Playbook on Anti-Corruption Collective Action helps companies work with others to fight corruption

Guidance on fighting corruption for companies and other stakeholders from civil society and the public sector was launched at the 2021 UN Global Compact Leaders Summit.

The high-level session entitled “UNITING AGAINST CORRUPTION: Launch of the UN Global Compact Anti-Corruption Collective Action Playbook” featured speakers from BASF S.A., National Agency on Corruption Prevention of Ukraine, Siemens Integrity Initiative and Global Compact Network India. The publication follows the recently concluded “Special Session of the UN General Assembly against corruption” (UNGASS).

Through a six-step approach, the Uniting against Corruption: A Playbook on Anti-Corruption Collective Action enables companies to make a clear diagnosis of their local corruption landscape, identify and engage stakeholders and apply the Collective Action methodology to address identified corruption challenges and to mitigate potential business risks. While private sector efforts have traditionally focused on developing and implementing internal anti-corruption compliance programs as a response to international and national legal and regulatory standards and frameworks, Collective Action can complement existing regulation or fill a void when regulation is inexistent or not enforced.

Commenting on the Playbook launch, CEO & Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, Sanda Ojiambo, said: “Corruption hinders economic growth and social development and can weaken much-needed trust in public institutions and businesses, wasting supplies and resources. Collective Action is important to advance integrity and achieve a level playing field for all market actors. This Playbook is an important tool for ensuring we can bring an end to a systemic issue that is too complex for any one company to tackle alone.”

The Playbook is part of the UN Global Compact’s work on the Tenth Principle which states that “Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.” The Playbook is part of the UN Global Compact Project “Scaling up Anti-Corruption Collective Action within Global Compact Local Networks,” which is funded under the Third Funding Round of the Siemens Integrity Initiative.