Being a responsible business partner, employer, customer and supplier is an important part of our strategy and forms an essential foundation on which we carry out our business.

In our view, the ethical behavior of corporations should not be just a reaction to regulation or legal compliance, but a means of doing business that gives customers, employees, partners and communities the confidence that they are working with an ethical organisation that is not prepared to compromise on its integrity to achieve its objectives or to make money. That is why we ensure that our business ethics and anti-bribery and corruption programmes are embedded within our organisation and are the responsibility of every manager across the group.

We believe that high standards of ethical conduct provide a market differentiator and those organisations with the highest ethical standards will have the most positive impact on the lives of those around them and, ultimately, will be the most successful.

We have a group-wide business ethics policy that clearly defines what we consider to be acceptable and unacceptable business practices. We demand compliance with this policy from all managers and employees across the group.

In order to ensure that everyone in the group understands their obligations in relation to this policy, we do the following:

• Update and strengthen the almajal business ethics policy periodically, incorporating evolving standards and legislation and evaluating any risk to the group’s integrity
• Distribute the policy to managers and request that all managers review the policy and personally sign up to playing their part in ensuring its implementation and therefore the group’s compliance
• Ensure that all employees are aware of their obligations under the policy, through various communications channels, including induction and other training, notice boards, employee magazines, etc
• Provide specific training to all managers and supervisors on business ethics and preventing bribery and corruption through a bespoke programme available in a variety of formats and languages
• Reinforce the importance of ethical behavior through induction, employment contracts, staff handbooks, training and communications practices.