Capability Catalogues
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The Norconsult appeal caseIn a JV in Tanzania it was a hidden agreement that 5 % of the contract from Norconsult would be rewarded to leading employees. Two Norconsult employees were found guilt of grand corruption, and Norconsult was found guilty and fined 4 million NOK. The company fine was mainly due to lack of enterprise mitigation of the corruption risks, including lack of guidelines for handling corruption dilemmas and -issues. There was also an element of lack of cooperation with the authorities.Norconsult has expressed they will appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court.
To read the full memo, click here.
The Annual corruption perception index
The annual corruption perception index from Transparency International was launched 1 December 2011. There are more countries included in this years survey than ever, and "first timers" like both Somalia and North Korea, ends up as the most corrupt countries in the world. This years survey also shows public frustration over corruption and bad governmental management is well founded in many parts of the world.
The index is a perception, due to the fact that corruption generally comprises illegal activities, which mainly come to light only through scandals, investigations or prosecutions. It is thus difficult to assess absolute levels of corruption in countries or territories on the basis of hard empirical data. One reliable method of compiling comparable country data is to capture perceptions of those in a position to offer assessments of public sector corruption in a given country.
This is a link to the survey http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/, and this is the link to a visual presentation http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/interactive/.
This index should be mandatory to study when companies are preparing for business operations in an international environment.
”Companies from China and Russia most likely to bribe abroad”
The anticorruption organization Transparency International (TI) has recently launched its 2011 Bribe Payers Index, which ranks 28 leading international and regional exporting countries by the likelihood of their firms to bribe abroad.
In the Bribe Payers Index, companies from China and Russia are seen as most likely to pay bribes abroad.
The oil and gas sector are in the survey seen as especially probe to bribery. Public works and construction companies scored lowest in the survey. TI President Huguette Labelle warns companies that fails to prevent bribery in their supply chains run the risk of being prosecuted for the actions of employees and business partners.
http://archive.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2011/2011_11_02_bpi2011
Transparency International Report: Climate Change
The anticorruption organization Transparency International has recently launched its annual global corruption report. This year TI explores corruption risks and actual mitigations regarding the carbon trading market and other climate related risks. Many of those countries judged most vulnerable to the most visible effects of climate change are also countries where experts perceive high levels of corruption in public services. The report recommends ways to make mitigation projects more transparent and accountable, including public participation, corporate transparency and monitoring of financing.
http://archive.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2011/2011_04_26_gcr_advisory
Norconsult acquitted in corruption case.
3 employees were sentenced to shorter sentences of imprisonment in a court verdict from 15.th of July 2011 in the municipal court of Oslo. The enterprise Norconsult was acquitted from charges of corruption. The company was to blame due to lack of sufficient preventive measures. The acquittal was mainly due to an overall rough evaluation of the penal criteria for punishment for companies, where the concrete possible consequence for the company with banning from public tenders in an undefined period of time was considered as an unreasonable result. It was also emphasized that the management levels were unaware of the different illegal payments. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
http://www.norconsult.no/?did=9106465
New ISO standard related to CSR – ISO 26000 – Guidance on social responsibility
This International Standard is intended to assist organizations in contributing to sustainable development. IS is intended to go beyond legal compliance and to promote common understanding in the field of social responsibility. It is not a management system standard and not intended for certification purposes. This International Standard is intended to provide organizations with guidance concerning social responsibility and can be used as a part of public policy activities.
http://www.standard.no/no/Fagomrader/Miljo/ISO-26000---samfunnsansvar/Kort-om-ISO-26000/
In English: http://www.standard.no/no/Sok-og-kjop/produktkatalogen/Produktpresentasjon/?ProductID=451461