As Chair of the Steering Committee of the Alliance for Integrity and Head of Compliance of Metro AG, Anke Struckmeier-Eickenberg has rich experience and deep insights to share with the Collective Action community.

At the 5th International Collective Action Conference in Basel, she responded to a question about how can engaging in anti-corruption Collective Action initiatives help companies to navigate complex regulation and stakeholder expectations:

Benefits for companies and society

For a company, corruption, compliance and integrity are very important topics, because corruption is an obstacle to doing business and to sustainable development.

By engaging in Collective Action, private companies can sit together with the public sector, with academia and civil society, and find solutions for how to tackle the complex problems of corruption.

Preventing corruption not only has a positive impact on the economy and enables businesses to do sustainable business.

Integrity also has a very positive impact for companies. It helps with productivity and innovation. It helps to attract and engage employees, and it also has a good impact on the company’s reputation.

How can companies engage in Collective Action?

Private companies can engage in a Collective Action initiative like the Alliance for Integrity in different ways:

• Larger companies can allow a company representative – such as myself for Metro AG – to use some resources to support the Alliance for Integrity.
• They can also engage in the train-the-trainer programme and become trainers in one of the regional hubs.
• They can participate in working groups under the roof of the Alliance for Integrity. Through these they can engage with peers, with public officials and with civil society to raise awareness about corruption and integrity along the value chain.

SMEs can also become part of the Alliance for Integrity and take the opportunities it offers to improve their integrity programme. This is important for them to allow for growth and open up new business opportunities.”

Learn more

• See more Q&As with leading voices in promoting anti-corruption Collective Action, together with photos and videos, on the web page of our 2024 International Collective Action Conference.
• Learn more about Collective Action and how to engage on the B20 Collective Action Hub.