TRIPODE: Collective Action for Business Integrity and SME inclusion in Mexico

Led by Global Compact Network Mexico, UNODC Mexico and Transparencia Mexicana, the TRIPODE Collective Action initiative seeks to strengthen business integrity through coordinated Collective Action. The initiative responds to a persistent challenge in anti-corruption efforts: companies, especially SMEs, face fragmented integrity expectations from regulators, large firms, international standards and market actors. These demands are often uncoordinated, difficult to operationalise and can unintentionally exclude smaller businesses from responsible value chains.

TRIPODE addresses this gap by bringing together three complementary actors: a business network with national reach, an international organisation with anti-corruption expertise, and a civil society organisation focused on public integrity and accountability. Its goal is to translate global standards and national integrity expectations into practical, proportionate and usable approaches for companies of different sizes. By aligning business engagement, technical guidance and evidence-based dialogue, TRIPODE seeks to make integrity a shared language across supply chains and a realistic pathway for SME inclusion, rather than an additional barrier to market participation

The initiative is a joint effort between Global Compact Network Mexico, UNODC, and Transparencia Mexicana. UNODC, as a guardian of the UNCAC, has played a pivotal role in ensuring alignment with global anti-corruption frameworks. Transparencia Mexicana enables civil society and United Nations efforts to work in a coordinated manner, allowing the anti-corruption agenda to focus on specific efforts.

Its stakeholders include companies of different sizes, SME suppliers, business associations and compliance professionals. The initiative also collaborates with private sector companies from various industries, including Baja Ferries, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, Aeromexico, and Farmaceúticos Maypo, which actively participate in these anti-corruption efforts. Government authorities are engaged in fostering public-private dialogue on integrity and compliance. Academia and civil society support knowledge dissemination and research on corporate integrity. The Public & Private Sector Peer Learning Group serves as a crucial mechanism for sharing best practices and guiding policy recommendations.

TRIPODE advances its mission through three mutually reinforcing lines of work:

First, awareness-raising and capacity building: Integrity workshops, tailored dialogues, and a Compliance Day focused on value chains, grounded in the principle that anti-corruption policies must apply to every business regardless of size. Outreach has reached over 600 attendees at the annual Local Network flagship event, raising the profile of Anti-Corruption Collective Action.

Second, peer learning spaces: Peer Learning Groups tackle complex issues such as procurement corruption and anti-money laundering, bringing together companies from different levels and states to share knowledge, build capacity, and develop policy recommendations. In total, workshops, Compliance Days, and Peer Learning Groups have benefited more than 100 companies – from SMEs nationwide to large corporations that anchor regional economies.

Third, technical dialogue with public institutions: Meetings with state and federal government representatives to encourage public-private collaboration. Tangible policy impact includes ethics conduct guidelines of the Secretariat of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance, and sustained input into the new Integrity Registry – a policy designed to reward ethical companies and SMEs in public procurement.

Early activities include a practical exercise with SME suppliers alongside Baja Ferries, technical exchanges with COPARMEX, and dialogue sessions on integrity tools. We work closely with multiple stakeholders to share good practices in supply chain integrity, whistleblower protections, and anti-corruption measures