Trust will drive change
Our core values give us a competitive edge by enabling us to cultivate a healthy, robust and resilient organizational ecosystem. Our firm conviction is that trust will drive change.
Ethics & Compliance
We are committed to building and developing trust-based relationships internally and externally. For more than a hundred years, we have acted on this commitment. We’re not yet perfect, but guided by our six core values - responsibility, transparency, solidarity, service awareness, proximity and exemplarity - we daily aim to exceed expectations and to hold ourselves and each other accountable at all times. |
Our Code of Conduct
Consistent with our Ethics Charter published in 2014, and driven by an ethical commitment to long-term success, we published our first Code of Conduct in 2018. Updated in 2022, it formally sets out our commitments and the behavior we expect from each other in our working environment, in the relationships we have with our partners, and in our interaction with society as a whole.
Read our Code of Conduct
A policy to counter all forms of corruption
We know corruption and dishonesty of any kind are highly detrimental to every part of our ecosystem. The Code of Conduct helps us to combat all forms of corruption. It sets out the key fundamentals that apply to all Group entities and employees in respect of corruption prevention, and covers the acceptance of gifts and invitations, conflicts of interest, the use of commercial intermediaries, sponsorship and political involvement.
A corruption and influence peddling risk map
We’ve also drawn up a corruption and influence peddling risk map to identify situations that pose the highest risk, and must therefore be the priority focus for our prevention, detection and control systems. Our senior management and all those working in positions that expose them to corruption-related risks attend regular training sessions around these issues.
Selecting business partners
We pay close attention to our choice of business partners, and have implemented assessment procedures designed to identify potential risks and/or concerns around issues of integrity.
To go further still, we have obtained ISO 37001 anti-corruption certification for all our entities in France. This certification was granted in July 2019.
An appropriate governance structure
Our executive management teams define the key principles that govern these systems, and provide the supervision required to ensure that they are effectively implemented. Our business ethics and compliance system are overseen by the Group General Secretary, who is also a member of the Management Committee.
The Compliance Department reports directly to the Committee, and has responsibility for formalizing and implementing policies, procedures and other formal frameworks and guidelines. It also contributes to training initiatives designed to further strengthen the shared culture of business ethics and compliance throughout the Group. Its work is informed by a network of representatives working in the main entities and operating countries of the Group.
All operational and central services departments are involved in implementing and ensuring compliance with those procedures as the apply to their specific areas of activity.
The Group Audit Department has responsibility for ensuring system compliance, and provides the executive management teams with regular progress reports and updates.
Whistleblowing channel
As part of its ethical approach, the Saur group has set up a whistleblowing channel for employees, candidates for recruitment and external stakeholders to report any situation that could characterise a violation of the Code of Conduct or a breach of a legal and regulatory obligation.
This mechanism completes the traditional channels of expression and internal communication. The procedures for handling reports are available on the reporting platform.
Principles shared with stakeholders
As a committed partner, Saur has relationships with many stakeholders whose profiles and challenges differ: these include customers, suppliers, partners and others. The Group places particular emphasis on ensuring that all of these share its own high standards of business ethics and integrity. Special clauses to this effect are included in all its contracts with third parties.
Committed to the UN Global Compact
In 2003, Saur became a signatory of the Global Compact international voluntary corporate social responsibility initiative launched in 2000 by the United Nations..
Signing the Global Compact means sharing the conviction that business practices based on a number of universally recognized principles will contribute to the emergence of a more stable, fairer, more open global market and prosperous, dynamic societies. Saur is therefore committed, within its sphere of influence, to upholding and promoting the 10 universal Global Compact principles covering human rights, labor standards, the environment and the need to combat corruption. Every year, Saur publishes its commitments and achievements in relation to these principles on the Global Compact website.
