The Business Case for Integrity Pacts: How Civil Society Monitoring Benefits You
Why do companies need Integrity Pacts?
It’s all too common for companies to encounter corruption during public procurement processes. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Foreign Bribery Report states that 57 per cent of foreign bribery cases which it assessed related to public procurement.In the EU alone, corrupt bidding processes have increased annual contract costs by US$5 billion. The effects can be disastrous, including exposing companies to serious risks, such as:
- missed business opportunities, as businesses are competing in a field that is distorted by bribery;
- reputational damage, through association with corruption
- potentially heavy fines, under laws which have a global impact, such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or the UK Anti-Bribery Act;
- blacklisting and debarment from future bids (depending on jurisdiction).
A solution? Integrity Pacts.
Integrity Pacts bring a wealth of benefits to business including confidence in fair competition, protecting a company’s reputation, excluding corrupt competitors and acting as an important public signal of a company’s commitment to transparency and integrity.