Under our Practices pillar we focus on the following four elements:
1. Codes of Conduct
- We will make sure we are an organisation that has a strong, clear code of conduct ensuring compliance with laws, such as those on respecting human rights, environmental protection, labour relations and financial accountability, even in countries with less stringent regulatory frameworks.
- We aspire to be an organisation where everyone knows what is expected of them and helps us make ethical decisions, with clear processes for identifying misconduct. We believe in a culture where everyone knows what is expected of them.
2. Framework for reporting
- We will ensure we make appropriate external statements of our approach to compliance in a given policy area through the Group’s website and Annual Report. We believe transparency drives ethical responsible behaviour.
- We will maintain the high legal and regulatory standards vital to building confidence and trust with all our stakeholders.
- We will publish a set of guidelines and rules to comply with Inchcape goals in relation to good practices and laws. We believe trust reinforces our bond with our stakeholders.
3. Whistleblowing
- We will create a culture of integrity by empowering colleagues to make the right choices.
- We will give colleagues clarity and transparency over all polices and enable a confidential method of reporting. We believe all colleagues should be able to report their concerns in confidence and drive responsible behaviour.
4. Policies
- We will ensure we communicate our policies and controls effectively and consistently and that colleagues are given access to training where required. Our InControl Standards risk management framework will enable long-term growth protecting the fundamentals that underpin the Group’s success.
Our current focus areas
Employee code of conduct
In line with the launch of our Accelerate strategy and Driving What Matters plan, we updated the Employee Code of Conduct, launched, distributed and trained the workforce to a target of 95% of all employees. The Code has been made available in 19 official languages spoken in Inchcape markets to ensure understanding across all employee groups.
Supplier code of conduct
We also developed and rolled out our first Supplier Code of Conduct to ensure consistency of approach within our third-party supplier community.
Whistleblowing – Speak Up!
Additionally, our Speak Up! whistleblowing hotline and other contact channels were refreshed and rolled out to all employees and suppliers, with communications extended to our corporate website to ensure accessibility to any stakeholders that may need to raise concerns.