Getting to the root of the problem – Successful launch of the Alliance for Integrity

For the fifteenth anniversary of the Global Compact (GC) there was something special to celebrate. At the Global Compact +15 Europe conference the Alliance for Integrity was officially launched. After a successful pilot year in India, the initiative will start in three countries at once: India, Ghana and Brazil. The Alliance for Integrity complements the GC especially in implementing principle 10 of the GC principles: to work against corruption in all its forms.

During the panel discussion “The Alliance for Integrity – Collective Action for Principle 10” this was expressed, as well as the claim of the Alliance for Integrity: “Collective Action on the Ground”. This highlights that the Alliance for Integrity is not just a theoretical Think Tank, but an association of businesses, civil society and international and political organisations, which learn from each other and improve the situation actively, jointly and on the ground. Part of this is for instance, to strengthen the dialogue between economy, civil society and public authorities. „It is crucial that the Alliance for Integrity exists, as the initiative acts within the countries and on-site“, stated Holder Lösch, Federation of German Industries (BDI).

Maria Adomeit of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted the “Collective Action” approach of the Alliance for Integrity: “Collective Action is essential to build up real and effective partnerships in order to address the problem of corruption”.

Tanja Gönner (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH) added: „Politics and economy need to work together on this issue. The collective action approach of the Alliance for Integrity is a crucial step towards this direction.”

Next to Maria Adomeit, Tanja Gönner und Holger Lösch, Prof. Dr. Edda Müller (Transparency International Germany) and Dr. Philip Matthey (MAN SE) also participated in the panel discussion. All these organizations already supported the Alliance for Integrity since its pilot phase in 2014 and would like to continue this commitment in the future.

During the conference participants could attend several break-out sessions which were organised by the Alliance for Integrity with the support of and in cooperation with other organizations from the fields of government, civil society and the private sector. Topics of the break-out sessions were:

• Business Partner Compliance – The Importance of Effective Third Party Due Diligence
• Preventing Corruption in Supply Chain Management (Click here to watch video)
• Walk the Talk: Business Profit vs. Compliance Culture

With the break-out sessions participants of the conference were given the opportunity of further information and dialog on the issue of compliance and corruption prevention beyond the panel discussion.
On the Compliance Channel you can watch the video of the official launch in full length.