The Business Principles for Countering Bribery provide a framework for companies to develop comprehensive anti-bribery programmes.

Whilst many large companies have no-bribes policies all too few implement these policies effectively. We encourage companies to consider using the Business Principles as a starting point for developing their own anti-bribery programmes or to benchmark existing ones.

The development of the Business Principles for Countering Bribery, introduced in December 2002, was spearheaded by Transparency International in co-operation with Social Accountability International. The Business Principles are the product of a collaborative effort of a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee drawn from companies, academia, trade unions and non-governmental bodies.

Purpose of the Business Principles for Countering Bribery

Regulatory instruments such as the UN Convention against Corruption and the OECD Convention, or voluntary initiatives such as the Global Compact with its 10th Anti-Corruption Principle place significant new obligations on business but do not provide a guide to the specific requirements needed for companies on how they can implement an anti-bribery programme.

Indeed even where companies are committed to anti-bribery policies, experience shows that these policies are often not fully understood by all employees or implemented throughout the enterprise. The Business Principles and their supporting tools aim to provide a reference point and guide to detailed implementation for companies developing a new anti-bribery programme or benchmarking an existing programme.

Read more about the Businesss Principles