Sustainable Compliance

Total Sustainability. Assured.
 Compliance is key to long-lasting business relationships between companies and for the overall health of an organisation. Remaining compliant with local, regulatory, and industry requirements can be challenging for large and small organisations alike. In this episode of Total Sustainability in Progress, Ed Crowe, Intertek’s Director of Risk, Compliance & Assurance, discusses the need for compliance in today’s market.

 Intertek’s new Corporate Sustainability Compliance certification standard assures that your organisation is doing business the right way. This certification verifies that your organisation has established principles of Ethics and Integrity. These principles must also be maintained through the involvement of training and monitoring, enforced and owned by senior leadership. Listen to this episode of Total Sustainability in Progress to learn more about sustainable compliance.

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Links: Corporate Sustainability Risk Management Certification | Operational Sustainability

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:12

Hello, welcome to sustainability in progress. Uh, enter podcast for organizations looking to create a more sustainable future. Our episode today will cover sustainability and compliance. Joining us is ed Crowe, who is enter Tech's director of risk compliance and assurance. And how are you doing today? Probably all the time. Great. So, uh, let's kick it off with a little bit about you. So what is your experience in the industry and what do you do with Enertech? Well,

Speaker 2: 0:41

I've been with Intertek for about six years now. Um, and I've been in the, in the group legal risk and compliance team for that time or a bit, I've had some different roles. So when I joined into tech, um, I initially looked after our products, business lines in a mirror. Um, and a couple of years ago I changed that role to be more group focused. Um, so I'm now based in Cavendish square in London headquarters. Um, and I'm the group director of risk compliance and assurance. So in simple terms of what that means, uh, the risk side of my role is simply, uh, engaging with the business and advising on risks to make sure that we're not doing anything too adverse in the services that we're delivering. And that the work that we do is done in a controlled manner. Um, obviously our, our clients and customers expect good quality defect-free services. And with me supporting the business to manage their operational risks, that's, that's how we achieve that. Um, on the compliance side of my role, um, obviously that's focused on delivering the groups code of ethics, a document that everybody works within stack is not only familiar with on joining the company, but also is trained against every year. Um, so I run the process that manages that training piece, um, which is a big annual exercise each year. Um, and obviously in relation to that, there's a lot of communication that goes with it too. And, uh, inevitably I also had, uh, uh, the investigation and, uh, mitigation of breaches of the code as a monitor curse. Um, so that will really mean conducting investigations, looking into why breaches have happened and then also proposing corrective actions and remedies to hopefully prevent them from happening again. Um, in terms of the structure that I operate in, um, in stack has a group head of legal risk and compliance, who is my boss. Um, he oversees our global compliance program and any region, we have a compliance officer who manages the processes I've described for their areas. So I'm working with them on a daily basis, um, either to support them with their work or in turn, they're supporting me with things I'm doing, it's quite fluid in that respect. Um, and in a nutshell, that's really what I'm doing in my role.

Speaker 1: 2:51

Great. So what does an organization's compliance have to do with sustainability?

Speaker 2: 2:59

Okay, well, I mean sort of simply speaking, um, if a company has, uh, has and maintains a robust compliance program, it allows them to demonstrate that they can be trusted fundamentally and also relied upon to take compliance issue seriously. Um, and in terms of sustainability, the key to that is really maintaining long relationships with clients and all the relevant stakeholders. So, so, so giving a company a sustainable future effectively, um, when I referred to stakeholders that could mean all sorts of, uh, uh, people and bodies, such as customers as mentioned, there's the obvious one, but also regulatory authority supply chain partners. And of course the general public as well, particularly when you're accounting for a company's public image and reputation. Um, and I guess to put that in a bit of context in terms of what we might be looking at here going forward is that there's obviously a lot of attention at the moment around climate activism. For example, um, younger generations are clearly heavily involved in that and becoming much more engaged with issues around sustainability. Um, and I think it's important that companies can evolve their compliance programs to be responsive to these images, these emerging trends, and also different ways, modern ways of communicating, because these all have potential areas, uh, for reputational exposure, um, and good quality compliance programs can mitigate the risks in that arena, but also supports the company in achieving its objectives as well with regards to those, those pieces too.

Speaker 1: 4:29

So what aspects of compliance do companies need to look out for in order to be more sustainable?

Speaker 3: 4:36

Well, I think most

Speaker 2: 4:38

Modern companies will be very familiar with basic sort of compliance principles and paradigms. So it would be perfectly common to see things in place such as written policies, the equivalents of a code of ethics or compliance policy, and then tools around that regarding training reporting in general communication. Um, but I think sort of based on the previous points that I was making our clients are very aware and realizing that they probably need to do more in this sector in this space. And there's obviously a constant drive to display best practice. Um, so in that respect compliance programs, I think they need to be responsive to changing and emerging issues. Uh, they need to be reinforced on clearly through the relevant disclosures. And I think also keys that they're subject to regular internal and external review independent commentary on the effectiveness of a compliance program is obviously very important for a company to be able to understand what it's doing and that it's doing as well, doing it well, but also to be able to demonstrate stakeholders that the processes they have in place are robust and have a good quality. Um, I think companies that are in a position to champion compliance management, um, and that recognized from the top of the company, the business must be done in the right way. And that's also clear about their aims and goals and much more likely to generate stakeholder trust and confidence. I think the opposite to that. So companies that hide issues or manage them poorly, or have a, have a lack of structure around compliance goals or a lack of a care coach process, uh, are much more likely to experience issues and manage the quarter. Um, so adverse incidents can have a detrimental impact on stakeholder confidence. Um, the, the impact of that is that it will greatly affect the short, medium and longterm sustainability of a company. Um, I think realistically speaking stakeholders understand that despite robustness and, uh, the best practice of compliance programs and policies, that's probably never a way of fully eliminating individual breaches. So ethical breaches, for example, but I think stakeholders are less likely to accept performance from a company that experiences those kinds of difficulties whilst at the same time, not having robust systems in place. So again, that speaks very much to the quality of a compliance program being integral to their reputational sustainability and the corporate sustainability of a company and of our customers.

Speaker 1: 7:16

So what types of companies are more susceptible to compliance issues? I think

Speaker 2: 7:21

Broadly speaking, all companies are exposed to some type of integrity rates. Um, then they're obviously high risk areas that, that makes sense in certain sectors. Um, more challenging. Um, I think robust processes are needed across the board, really, whether that's managing ethical compliance, I bribery risks, for example, obviously there's a lot of focus these days on workplace conditions and disputes around that and sort of relating to legislation such as the modern slavery act, um, in terms of a particular area of high-risk I guess, companies that operate supply chains, um, can be particularly susceptible. So this cause obviously supply chain supply chain partners effectively represent the parent company whilst operating at arms length from central scrutiny and control. So obviously there's a lot more care needed to ensure that compliance processes, uh, kind of cascaded down through our supply chain that they are applicable there. And then obviously there are effective, um, in terms of some of the, kind of more publicized examples of where compliance failures have affected certain sectors or not. I'm sure people will be familiar with the emissions scandals in the automotive industry, um, issues around food, labeling and hygiene, and then labor disputes, workplace conditions, that kind of thing, particularly in textile manufacturing in certain parts of the world. So I hope it's kind of obvious that the good quality compliance programs are a vital tool in avoiding managing and mitigating these types of reputational exposures. And again, to sort of reiterate the point to contribute towards the long-term sustainability of a business.

Speaker 1: 9:02

So how can Enertech help organizations to share compliance and sustainable practices?

Speaker 3: 9:08

Well, I think when I

Speaker 2: 9:10

Outlined, so we started this conversation and started this podcast, um, is hopefully clear and that is takes these compliance goals and compliance teams very seriously. Um, compliance is core to what we do as a company. Um, it's key to our position in the market as a trusted and reliable service provider. Um, and, and we maintain and operate our own detailed compliance program. Um, it's subjects regular, an external review is obviously integral to our identity. Um, I think when you combine that with, uh, I think it's 130 years worth of experience, we we've gotten the insurance sector and the global presence that allows us to engage with the majority of the world's countries, um, and combined with the fact that we're deeply involved in our client's operations already. I think with our full brilliantly positioned to be able to advise and assure our clients on true end to end corporate sustainability compliance, um, in terms of the new offering that we're providing as part of our sustainability certification, um, we will obviously be here to help our clients verify that principles around ethics and integrity, surely accountability of those principles and, and the ownership level of those principles have by senior management. Um, we can obviously review the associated programs that sit with these policies and the associated tools. Um, and I think also in a world of increasing regulation and scrutiny can often be seen that there's a bit of a maze with regards to reporting and disclosure requirements. And obviously we can help our clients manage that process too. Um, I'm not sure whether you want me to go into detail sort of slips down simply on what the compliance module is made up of with regards to the new certification offering. But, but in short, it starts at five components. Um, the first of which is management systems, which is where we would go to a client and evaluate the management systems they have in place with regards to compliance. So we look at their policies, we'd look at their procedures, look at their leadership chain and then things around that such as risk assessments and corrective action processes, um, and really how they continuously improve with regards to that compliance behaviors and policies. Um, obviously compliance is heavily focused on ethics and integrity. So one of the standards in this module that we would focus on would be that we'd be looking at all policies and processes around business ethics codes of conduct anti-bribery corruption, conflicts of interest, and really ensuring that those policies and processes are in place on all totally best practice, but also really dovetailed and integrated with the longterm sustainability of an organization when regulation monitoring, uh, fundamentally we would help show all the tar clients are compliant with the relevant laws, regulations, and voluntary commitments they need to adhere to. Um, on the small business side focus parts of things, contract management is obviously hugely important, not only in terms of making sure that contracts are writing off of the correct protections, but that they're also ethical and sustainable and promoting those business practices as well in line with the organization's compliance policies and goals. And then the point that I've raised a few times, I think already, uh, is, is the value of verification effectively, so independent or third-party assurance of a compliance program. So someone other than the organization itself saying that the compliance programs and principles are correct, and that they're robust. So that's a very brief run through of what the actual service offering is with regards to the compliance module with our new sustainability certification. Um, and I think it's key that sort of you understand that our clients today really are interested in the interrelationship between compliance and sustainability of a business and our new standard brings these together. So hopefully in a, in a very proactive and constructive way, we can support our clients in challenging and evaluating their business practices, certainly including their supply chain as mentioned, um, and that robustly doing this and building the right processes and offering the best level of assurance. Um, we support the long-term health of our clients through the sustainability lens. Um, obviously the world isn't fixed, it's not static and our sustainability. So, I mean, we recognize that the service offering probably isn't just a one-off thing and that we need to commit to supporting our clients through that journey in this area, um, to help them stay really at the forefront of best practice on compliance. Um, and I think really just to finish on a, on a final point in terms of how this integrates with regards to the operations of our clients, um, sustainability compliance kind of areas we've discussed will be most effective when I think they're fully integrated within business operations. So they're not just bolted on as a, as a, as a, as a mandatory option that businesses have to comply with that it's actually embedded with the culture, um, of all of our clients and the ethical business practices are something that a company can be proud about and want to advertise and publicize. Um, and I think doing it in that way means all stakeholders can, can share in this. Um, and it will help focus our customers leadership on their industries by demonstrating the success while they are doing business the right way. It also drives a culture of integrity and compliance. That is that's really a part of everyday business rather than certainly that it's just reviewed on a periodic basis.

Speaker 1: 14:50

Thanks, ed. Uh, thank you for listening to, uh, total sustainability in progress. If you'd like to learn more about sustainability and compliance, please visit our website and follow us on our social media channels links for all of these will be in the description of this podcast. Thanks again.