The food and agriculture industry in Brazil is one of the country’s most important economic sectors, generating over 21 percent of GDP. Companies play a central role in generating revenue and jobs at the local level in particular, making them privileged interlocutors with local authorities with significant potential for transforming local realities. The Brazilian food and agriculture industry also plays a significant role in achieving food security internationally.

There's no time like the present for anti-corruption Collective Action in Malawi, as the country gears up to review and update its National Anti-Corruption Strategy.

Malawi, also known as the warm heart of Africa, is famous for its open and welcoming people and of course for one of the most spectacular lakes in the world, but it is also a county that has been shaken-up by massive corruption scandals in the past decade that have left their mark.

Anti-corruption Collective Action Initiatives (CAIs) are structured efforts that bring together private sector actors with other stakeholders with the aim of preventing corruption and improving the business environment in a particular context.

The landscape of CAIs is extremely diverse. Differences cut across the type and number of stakeholders involved. Initiatives can be sector-specific or cross-sectoral. They can be applied at the community, country, regional or global level.

Collective Action is becoming increasingly popular as a tool to help solve some of the more difficult and systemic aspects of bribery. It also plays an important role for peer companies keen to ensure a level playing field when acquiring new business.

Lawyers can help their clients to identify, join or initiate new forms of Collective Action because the opportunities and scope are so broad and flexible. There is the potential therefore to find something suitable for all companies wherever they operate in the world. 

An important factor for success in anti-corruption Collective Action is that it should be a business-driven endeavour. That being said, the role of civil society must be recognised for its important contributions towards successful multi-stakeholder approaches against corruption.

This article from the Spring 2016 edition of Ethical Boardroom magazine looks at how building a strong coalition with civil society puts business on the front foot.

The book explores the origins of Collective Action in worldwide anti-corruption efforts. It gives examples of initiatives that have worked and it acknowledges the challenges to Collective Action openly.

It goes on to identify possible outcomes and discusses methodologies for future initiatives; it considers particular techniques for achieving Collective Action, like monitoring.

Finally, it indicates the next steps for policy-makers.

The art trade market is global, highly fragmented and complex, involving a great variety of operators. In light of this complexity, the current level of regulation and existing compliance efforts by individual operators has proven to be insufficient. With some competitors engaged in unethical or illegal behaviour, operating profitably while acting with integrity and ethics is increasingly difficult.