News & Blog

Active risk management and holistic approaches to preventing and mitigating threats and hazards have been identified as increasingly important to companies. This has come about not only as a response to regulatory developments, but also to satisfy stakeholder demands regarding the creation and preservation of value. Sean Lyons describes the various tensions between creating and maintaining value, and the demands of long-, medium- and short-te

The Basel Institute on Governance and its International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) hosted an international conference on anti-corruption Collective Action with almost 200 participants from the private sector, government, international organisations and civil society. The conference took place on October 20-21, 2016 in Basel and was part of the B20 efforts to promote Collective Action in anti-corruption.  This year’s edition was organized under the theme Collective Action: Evidence, Expe

The Basel Institute on Governance and its International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) hosted for the second time an international conference on anti-corruption Collective Action, entitled Collective Action: Evidence, Experience and Impact on October 20-21 2016 in Basel. The conference was part of the G20/B20 anti-corruption agenda aimed at identifying mechanisms that may effectively prevent bribery of public officials and support companies’ efforts to resist bribery and extortion. The eve

The Basel Institute on Governance and its International Centre for Collective Action recently concluded its second international Anti-Corruption Collective Action Conference. The event, which took place on October 20-21 2016 in Basel, brought together nearly 200 participants from business, government, civil society, international organisations, academia and beyond, with participants hailing from every continent. This second Co

The Basel Institute on Governance and its International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) will host for the second time an international conference on anti-corruption Collective Action entitled Evidence, Experience and Impact on October 20-21 2016 in Basel. The conference is part of the G20/B20 anti-corruption agenda aimed at identifying mechanisms that may effectively prevent bribery of public officials and support companies’ efforts to resist bribery and extortion. 2016 has again seen numer

The Global Fund is an international financing institution that seeks to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. The Geneva-based organisation has selected the Basel Institute on Governance to serve as Integrity Monitor for the procurement of long-lasting insecticide nets (LLINs) financed by the Global Fund. The role of the Integrity Monitor is to facilitate transparency and accountability in the LLIN bidding and registration process, as well as to identify and promote

The Collective Action Initiative for the Metals Technology Industry (MTI) brings together the three leading companies in the metals technology industry Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche SpA, Primetals Technologies Limited and SMS GmbH. The International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) at the Basel Institute has accompanied the MTI since its inception in 2013, and has been working with the group to improve and develop their anti-corruption programs. The ICCA acts as the chair and facilitator

The Basel Institute’s head of compliance, corporate governance and collective action talks to Ruth Green of the International Bar Association about anti-corruption programmes, the Panama Papers leaks, and what companies can do to better manage and mitigate risks. This article is posted with the permission of the International Bar Association and can be found in its entirety here. Ruth Green: What doe

As the Basel Institute on Governance’s second anti-corruption Collective Action conference draws near, let’s take a moment to look back at one of the key messages that emerged from the 2014 edition, on the question of enforcement mechanisms and business participation Collective Action. Defining what constitutes an ‘enforcement mechanism’

Global Compact Network India (GCNI) established the Centre of Excellence for Governance, Ethics and Transparency (CEGET) in March 2015, with the overall goal of developing a premier knowledge repository that ‘conducts innovative action research and training, provides a platform for dialogue and communication and facilitates systematic policy initiatives for strengthening transparency and ethics in business.’ CEGET has spearheaded two key initiatives - ‘Governance for Smart Cities’ and ‘Business

A modified version of this article appears in the Leaders’ Anti-Corruption Manifesto, a collaborative publication developed with written contributions from business and civil society, for the Anti-Corruption Summit in London, 12 May 2016. There is no silver bullet against corruption: As the UN Convention Against Corruption notes, “ a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach is required to prevent and combat corruption effectively.” But what cou

The private sector’s role in combating and preventing corruption continues to be essential and is widely recognized by government, civil society and companies themselves, with the spread of corporate anti-corruption compliance programs in recent years presenting a clear response to the acknowledged responsibility of the private sector. Whilst this is a positive development it is not enough to tackle corruption in particularly challenging markets and sectors. In this regard, Collective Action see

The High Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM) has received increased attention in recent months, making it worthwhile to take stock of developments surrounding the tool as well as supporting items for their implementation. Developed by the Basel Institute on Governance in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and T

Earlier today the Government of Panama jointly with the Basel Institute on Governance announced the establishment of the country’s first High Level Reporting Mechanism (HLRM). The launch event was led by the Vice President of Panama, Ms Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado and by Ms Angelica Maytin Justiniani, Director General of the National Authority of Transparency and Access to Information (ANTAI) and attended by some 100 people, including members of the Panama government and business community

Much has been said and written about the business case for countering corruption. That is to say, about the long-term benefits of a clean business environment, not only for the economic development of countries but also for individual companies who profit from transparent and reliable business practices. While this is undoubtedly true, it’s also true that withstanding corruption can be a challenge for companies. The challenge of advancing SME integrity in high-risk areas

This summer will mark two years since the ICCA Conference, Collective Action: Going Further Together to Counter Corruption. Despite increasing attention being given to Collective Action, the appearance of promising new [initiatives](https://www.baselgovernance.org/b20-collective-action-hub/initiat

Experts from the Basel Institute’s International Centre for Collective Action (ICCA) were in Kigali, Rwanda on 25-27 January to support the country’s Office of the Ombudsman in developing Collective Action strategies for public-private sector cooperation to tackle corruption. To kick-start this process, a workshop on the topic was held on 26 January in Kigali, preceded by preparatory meetings with the Office of the Ombudsman and the Private Sector Federation, the latter being an umbrella organi

The ICCA was represented in panel discussions during two Game Changer sessions at the September 2015 edition of the International Anti- Corruption Conference (IACC) in Malaysia. The first session addressed efforts from the private sector to promote transparency and integrity, with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. The High Level Reporting Mechanism experiences in Colombia were highlighted in this regard. The second session, entitled “Collective action: mission impossible or a way to

The Basel Institute on Governance and Blomeyer & Sanz have been commissioned by Transparency International (TI) to conduct a Learning Review of Integrity Pacts (IP), a tool used in many countries for preventing corruption in public contracting. The Learning Review builds upon the findings of an earlier study conducted by Blomeyer & Sanz in Spring 2015 on IP experiences in Europe. It aims to provide an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the IP approach, lessons learned from experience

A version of this blog post initially appeared in the Summer 2015 edition of Ethical Boardroom Magazine. Many companies recognise the importance of high-level management commitment in the development and implementation of an effective compliance programme, as evidenced by the repeated emphasis on establishing the ‘tone from the top’. Without clear demonstration of CEO and board-level dedication to promoting a culture of integrity within the firm, the statement

This piece was originally published in TRACE Trends, a version of  which was originally published by Alexandra Wrage in The Compliance & Ethics Blog. It seems the headlines this year have been dominated by one corruption scandal after another, and the resulting enforcement actions. The [Global Enforcement Report](http://w

In Québec, construction is a major industry, with investments in 2014 of nearly $48 billion (CAN$), or 13% of the province’s GDP.  Québec construction association (Association de la construction du Québec or ACQ) represents more than 60% of the province’s builders. But Canada’s second largest province has been through a major crisis of confidence after investigative journalists uncovered  corruption and collusion in public construction contracts.  This led authorities to launch a public Inquiry

In an interview with Tayfun Zaman, Secretary General at TEID , Ethics and Reputation Society, and Founder and Director of Turkish Integrity Center of Excellence, Mr Zaman talks about his own professional experience of launching and participating in a Collective Action initiative for custom brokers in Turkey. This article first appeared this summer in the Basel Institute Institute on Governance Annual Report 2014. Can you please tell u

The death toll following the huge explosions and chemical fires at the storage centre in Tianjin port in China last week has now exceeded 100, including dozens of fire fighters, and hundreds more seriously injured. Toxic chemicals and gasses have necessitated an evacuation of the area and the clean up will be a long process. In the aftermath of the disaster it has emerged that the authorities in China do not know what was stored in the warehouses that were run by the Rui Hui International Logi

“The advantage to mankind of being able to trust one another penetrates into every crevice and cranny of human life: the economical is perhaps the smallest part of it, yet even this is incalculable.” John Stuart Mill (1848) [ref] In our first post we proposed a universal business ethics principle:_“A basic duty of every organization is to earn stakeholder trust

The Basel Institute on Governance, together with its partners, the United Nations Global Compact and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developement (OECD), has been awarded a three-year funding of nearly USD 4 million under the second funding round of the Siemens Integrity Initiative. The funding will support the continuous development of the B20 Collective Action Hub as well as the High Level Reporting Mechanism in G20 countries in a project entitled "Scaling up anti-corruption Col

In mid June the ICCA of the Basel Institute hosted the third session of the Africa Roundtable. Companies from a variety of industries discussed the options that Bilateral Investment Treaties present for the private sector and the pros and cons of using arbitration to address the unfair treatment of business in certain countries. The next meeting will be scheduled in the third quarter of 2015.

The Basel Institute supported the 5th International Ethics Summit ‘Understanding Today, Inspiring Tomorrow’, hosted by the Turkish organisation TEID in Istanbul on 17 June 2015. The conference was dedicated to discussing how concepts such as responsible citizenship, sustainable production, innovation, ethics and reputation can be integrated into a successful company alongside making profits for shareholders. Some 250 interested participants from the

The ICCA was invited to take part in an OSCE seminar on “fostering co-operation in corruption prevention between government and the private sector” in Chisinau, Moldova from 28-30 April. The event brought together over 50 senior and mid-level anti-corruption professionals from Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, experts from international organizations, Europe and the United States, to address co-operation in corruption prevention between government and the private sector. During this 3-da

Cecilia Müller Torbrand is Senior Legal Counsel, Group  Compliance Officer of the Maersk Group, the container shipping industry leader and one of the founding companies of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN). She spoke to the ICCA recently about the MACN and its work towards a shipping industry free of bribery and corruption. Mrs Müller Torbrand serves as the Chair for the network. In part for her work with MACN, Mrs Müller Torbrand has been named Compliance Officer of the Year at the