Integrity is essential to fair competition and functioning markets. ICC works with business and global institutions to combat corruption and promote responsible business conduct.
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Global trade depends on integrity between companies and across borders.
When corruption enters commercial relationships, it undermines the rule of law, distorts resource allocation and destroys public trust.
The results are higher business costs, increased barriers to entry and weaker competition – which disadvantages responsible companies and discourages investment.
Fighting corruption is therefore core to corporate strategy – with many companies increasingly integrating it into the heart of their governance and risk management.
ICC has long been at the forefront of global efforts to promote integrity and responsible business conduct. We work closely with international organisations and in global forums – including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations, and in G20 and B20 processes – to ensure business perspectives inform global anti-corruption frameworks and that expectations placed on companies are clear, practical and effective.
ICC’s anti-corruption rules and standards translate international conventions into practical tools businesses can use. Aligned with key instruments such as the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the UN Convention against Corruption, they support companies in building strong internal controls, meeting legal obligations and operating with confidence across markets.
ICC Global Business Integrity Commission
Viviane Schiavi, Policy Lead – Business Integrity
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ICC Anti-corruption and responsible business rules and guidelines serve both as tools for business and as a roadmap for governments. They are designed as a method of self-regulation by business, against the background of applicable national law and key international legal instruments. ICC’s tools promote high standards of integrity in business transactions and help ensure a level playing field between companies. The ICC Anti-Corruption Rules, ICC Anti-corruption Clause and other ICC integrity tools cover not just anti-corruption but also support the advancement of environmental social and governance (ESG) objectives. They build a business’ capacity to do the right thing in terms of integrity and responsible business conduct, whether it is legally required or not. ICC helps embed integrity into the everyday practice of global commerce.
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In an increasingly fragmented and uncertain global economy, integrity becomes a defining condition for stability, trust and long-term growth. Regulatory divergence, geopolitical risk and heightened expectations around sustainability and human rights expose companies to growing operational and reputational risk. Strong integrity systems help businesses protect corporate value and brand equity, sustain resilient and responsible supply chains, drive investor confidence, and facilitate market access and business opportunities. Far from being a constraint, integrity strengthens resilience, attracts purpose-driven talent and enables long-term growth in volatile conditions.
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The report issues a call to action for companies of all sizes to put integrity at the heart of their operations, affirming that organisations that uphold ethical conduct are more resilient in times of uncertainty. Developed jointly by ICC, the United Nations Global Compact and Transparency International, the report highlights the imperative for business to lead with integrity in an increasingly complex global environment.
Integrity at borders is fundamental to sustainable trade and economic growth. A new joint International Chamber of Commerce-World Customs Organization paper highlights how trade facilitation – by digitalising processes, reducing complexities and increasing transparency – can be a powerful tool for fighting corruption.
ICC has issued guidance to support businesses faced with challenging situations that cause stay-or-leave dilemmas, requiring crisis management and due diligence to identify, prevent and mitigate the impacts of company decisions on human rights, society and the conflict.
ICC has launched its new 2023 Rules on Combating Corruption setting a new benchmark for corporate practice in managing integrity risks throughout global value chains.
The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) calls for efforts to be sustained in the Gulf of Guinea despite a welcome decrease in reported piracy and armed robbery incidents in these highly risky waters.
ICC has unveiled the newest contribution to its tools to help business stamp out corruption: the 2022 edition of the ICC Whistleblowing Guidelines.
The ICC 2022 Whistleblowing Guidelines make clear that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution and that the Whistleblowing Management System must be made part of the cultural environment and the governance of the Enterprise.
We’re concluding our year with a round-up of key achievements on behalf of 45 million businesses in over 100 countries. From helping businesses weather the COVID-19 crisis to preparing a resilient rebuild, we’ve had a busy year making business work for everyone, every day, everywhere.
The transition from a linear, extractive, produce-use-discard model to a more circular approach promoting resource efficiency and the decoupling of economic outputs from material inputs implies a significant change in business models. In today’s highly integrated world economy, international trade is likely to play a critical role in facilitating this transition, by exploiting existing comparative advantages and allowing economies of scale. However, several governments have used a variety of trade restrictive measures in their pursuit of enhanced circularity as illustrated by recent import bans on plastic waste, and this report suggests three possible approaches to be explored under the WTO structured discussion on trade and environmental sustainability (TESSD).
ICC has published updated guidance for responsible environmental marketing communications to help marketers and advertisers make truthful and useful environmental claims.
