The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, 2004

“Factors such as business ethics and corporate awareness of the environmental and societal interests of the communities in which a company operates can also have an impact on its reputation and its long-term success.”

Principle IV-The Role of Stakeholders in Corporate Governance, part E, states “Stakeholders, including individual employees and their representative bodies, should be able to freely communicate their concerns about illegal or unethical practices to the board and their rights should not be compromised for doing this.” [Ethics Hotline]

Principle VI-The Responsibilities of the Board, part C, states “The board should apply high ethical standards. It should take into account the interests of the stakeholders.” To fulfill this, “many companies have found it useful to develop company codes of conduct.” [Ethics Code]