25 Around the world, tip-offs have played such a notable role in uncovering improper behavior at work that they have been encouraged by many major international corporations. Prysmian Group’s Helpline complies with the latest in best practice and ethical compliance matters, all the while further raising awareness of the group’s policies towards battling corruption. “We offer the chance for employees, suppliers and third parties in general, anyone who is a stakeholder of the Prysmian Group, to report suspected violations of group policies or agreements through the use of this tool, via several means: either online, by telephone, or by talking to colleagues from compliance” said Giorgio Totis, Prysmian Group Compliance VP & DPO. Prysmian Group’s dedicated and secure channels are managed by an external independent company, which has a binding mandate to protect the identity of anyone who uses the Helpline. The external company also acts as an intermediary for any required follow-up information, related questions and answers, as well as details about how the case is resolved. Alongside these channels, it has been created the Integrity First Helpline Committee, composed by Internal Audit, Compliance, HR and Legal, to accurately assess any reports, perform specific investigations into cases where required, and adopt suitable and coherent measures. Giorgio indicated that the certification was not an endpoint for the company, but a chance to constantly measure the “state of art” of its whistleblowing program, reevaluate and improve its policies. “This is further proof of the genuineness and the functioning of the systems of compliance, which serve as an alarm bell to prevent much more serious problems that could occur in the future,” he said. The latest data indicated that the complaints to the Helpline commonly relate to issues such as possible discrimination or favoritism in the workplace, conflicts of interest, alleged corruption and accounting irregularities. In 2022, 76 reports were received, and 62 of these were closed by the end of the year, as disclosed in detail in Prysmian’s 2022 Sustainability Report available on its website. Corrective actions included process and policy improvements, verbal or written warnings, training sessions and, where warranted, dismissals. “First of all, this is about a speak-up culture. A speak-up culture allows everyone to report things that they think are not in line with our company’s values” pointed out Ernesto Marzano, Head of Industrial Relations, Employment Governance and Security. “It is also important for us to know what is not working. Through these reports, we can improve the company’s culture. This also involves condemning, punishing and modifying behaviors that are wrong and giving the sense to our colleagues, our employees, that we are an ethical, integrated and sustainable company that does not need to take shortcuts to be positioned as we are.” As a public company with a broad shareholder base and no controlling shareholder, transparency in actions and disclosure has always been a cornerstone of Prysmian Group’s strategy. International investors and financial organizations are attentive to transparency issues surrounding sustainability, governance and risk compliance. Prysmian Group plans to further expand its operations, where the energy transition is driving new investments. Therefore, its global compliance needs to be aligned with the standards in these markets. Not and endpoint, but a step forward The certification is to be seen as a chance to constantly measure the “state of art” of its whistleblowing program, reevaluate and improve its policies. INSIGHT | People First
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