4 Pillars to Help Companies Avoid Corruption

To mark International Anti-Corruption Day on Dec. 9, the World Economic Forum launched an Agenda for Business Integrity framework. Comprised of four pillars, the framework is designed to help companies build resilience against corruption.

Corruption thrives in times of crisis and "the uncertainty created by COVID-19 pandemic demands a business culture of integrity to restore confidence at trust," said WEF, whose Global Future Council on Transparency and Anti-Corruption created the framework.

The four pillars of leadership action by companies in the anti-corruption agenda are:

• Pillar 1: A conceptual foundation that requires a commitment to ethics and integrity beyond compliance.
• Pillar 2: Strengthening corporate culture and incentives to drive continuous improvement and leadership.
• Pillar 3: Leveraging innovative technologies to improve data collection, analysis, decision-making, reporting and overall accountability.
• Pillar 4: Supporting collective action to increase scale and impact.

WEF calls the framework a practical guide for businesses, and notes that it aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

"The world’s business leaders must commit to a more holistic, systemic and global approach to building a culture of ethics and integrity. If they fail, corruption will continue to plague our societies and economic systems, and our democratic institutions will be severely weakened," said Delia Ferreira Rubio, co-chair of the WEF Global Future Council on Transparency and Anti-Corruption.