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Principles and guidance for responsible corporate political engagement. (2015)
Transparency International UK has published a new guidance for companies on the responsible management of corporate political engagement.
Wise Counsel or Dark Arts? Principles and guidance for responsible corporate political engagement provides practical advice on addressing the challenges of managing political engagement. It is also designed to assist lobbyists, trade bodies, regulators, law-makers, investors, prosecuting agencies and professional advisers who may wish to refer to a Transparency International (TI) position when forming their own approach and decisions.
Engagement with the political process is a legitimate, necessary and beneficial business activity. However, repeated political scandals have led to high levels of public mistrust of the relationship between the public and private sectors. This, in addition to significant legal, corruption and bribery risks, makes it a complex area for companies to manage.
The guidance covers a broad spectrum of corporate activity including: political contributions; lobbying; memberships of trade associations; exchanges of people between the public and private sectors; and political activities in the workplace.
Principles and good practice guidance for dealing with small bribes including facilitation payments.
Bribery and corruption are found in all countries. They hurt the poor disproportionately, diverting resources intended for development and humanitarian assistance and increasing the costs of basic public services. They undermine economic growth and are a barrier to poverty alleviation and good governance. Often, bribery and corruption can aggravate conflict and insecurity.
On the initiative of Transparency International UK and Mango, Bond established a Working Group of UK NGOs to develop a set of principles and guidance for countering bribery. This document draws on the Business Principles for Countering Bribery, developed through a Transparency International-led multi-stakeholder initiative and a first draft of guidelines developed by WaterAid.
This document has been reviewed against the Guidance to the UK Bribery Act 2010 published by the UK Ministry of Justice and has been discussed with the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.
All members of the Working Group contributed their ideas, expertise and experience and this document has been agreed by all of the organisations involved. Bond has published this document to provide NGOs with simple clear and practical principles and guidance on putting effective anti-bribery measures in place.
In partnership with Mango, Transparency International UK runs a regular Anti-Bribery workshop for Humanitarian and Development NGOs.
TI-UK’s handbook How to Bribe: a typology of bribe-paying and how to stop it’ draws on Transparency International’s global experience of legal cases and real-life stories to illustrate how bribes are paid in practice. From excessive hospitality to offshore agreements How to Bribe is designed to help individuals and companies anticipate recognise, avoid, and resist bribery.
Bribe-paying remains widespread. In a recent global survey by Transparency International more than a quarter of citizens told us that they had paid a bribe at least once in the past year. In some countries, the figure was as high as three people in every four. This clearly presents a major challenge for companies that operate in, or wish to operate in, those markets. However, before becoming complacent, remember to have a look at section three of this publication. Bribe-paying also happens here today in the UK.
This guide both identifies and categorises some of the different types of bribe, and the ways in which bribes are commonly demanded or paid. Bribes are often indirect and use more than one method, so often the mechanisms involved in routing bribes to their recipients are complex. While acknowledging this complexity, we have also tried to present them as simply as possible. We hope it will prove useful for anyone affected by the UK Bribery Act and similar legislation.
