D1. Business Integrity and No Improper Advantage

Code 8.0

The highest standards of integrity shall be upheld in all business interactions. Participants shall have a zero-tolerance policy to prohibit any and all forms of bribery, corruption, extortion, and embezzlement. Bribes or other means of obtaining undue or improper advantage shall not be promised, offered, authorized, given, or accepted. This prohibition covers promising, offering, authorizing, giving, or accepting anything of value, either directly or indirectly through a third party, in order to obtain or retain business, direct business to any person, or otherwise gain an improper advantage. Monitoring, record keeping, and enforcement procedures shall be implemented to ensure compliance with anti-corruption laws.

Elements to Demonstrate Compliance to RBA Code

1. Policy

Ensure the facility ethics/or and business integrity policy includes the following elements:

• a. The facility has established a formal set of "standards of business conduct" signed by senior management. Among those standards are policies and procedures with zero tolerance for staff, workers or suppliers engaging in bribery, corruption, conflict of interest, anti-competitive behavior, embezzlement, falsifying documents, mishandling IP and other sensitive and private data including personnel files, allegations, and investigations.
• b. Staff, workers, and suppliers have the right to refuse doing anything in non-conformance to the 'highest standard of integrity" policy and do not experience any retribution for such refusal.
• c. Gifts: Gifts to or from suppliers and customers is not excessive in cost and frequency.
• d. Prohibition of Bribes: Bribes or other methods of obtaining undue or improper advantage are not being promised, offered, authorized, given, or accepted.
• e. Encouragement of workers/employees and suppliers to declare potential and actual conflicts of interest.

NOTE: Ensure compliance with anti-corruption and local laws

• f. Staff, workers, or suppliers have the right to refuse doing anything in non-conformance to the 'highest standard of integrity" policy and do not experience any retribution for such refusal.

2. Procedures & Practices

Procedures & Practices are in place such that:

• a. You uphold the highest standards of integrity in all business interactions with zero tolerance to any and all forms of bribery, corruption, extortion, embezzlement, etc. as noted in the policy.
• b. You provide workers and managers with information and training on the company's business conduct standards.
• c. Staff and contractors are provided with information to make them aware of their ethical and legal requirements.
• d. Staff and workers report, investigate and take action on suspected cases of ethical breach including corruption, extortion, embezzlement, etc.
• e. Workers, supervisors, and managers are prohibited if not also prevented from soliciting or accepting kickbacks, bribes, commissions, or other unlawful payments for the purpose of receiving favorable treatment contracts or sales from others through education, role-modelling.
• f. The facility has a written "gift giving" policy that ensures gifts to or from suppliers and/or customers are not excessive in value or frequency.

3. Controls & Monitoring

Controls & Monitoring should include:

• a. Adequate and effective monitoring, investigation, and sanctions program
  • i. Regularly monitor its business to ensure:
    1. Workers or agents do not make or accept improper offers, bribes, or undue/improper advantage.
    2. Records are accurate and not falsified (financial, production, quality, etc.).
    3. Fair business including advertising and competition.
    4. Protection of identity and non-retaliation
    5. Protection of personal information
• b. Appropriate investigation process when there is an alleged violation including misrepresentation by workers, managers, and their agents.
  • i. The process must ensure staff, workers, and supplier workers' privacy is protected and they do not face any retaliation for cooperating with the investigation.
  • ii. Process should be timely and appropriate parties informed of outcomes and corrective action plans.

NOTE: Do not allow investigations or corrective action plans to become dormant.

• c. Appropriate sanctions when a violation is confirmed/proven and preventive action plan.
• d. Adequate and effective procedure is in place to protect workers/employees from retribution for refusing to do anything in Non-conformance with the "highest standard of integrity" policy and communicate/volunteer their decision.
• e. Assessment, monitoring, assessment, and investigation findings are reviewed by senior management.
• f. The facility regularly monitors its business practices to ensure its workers or agents do not make or accept improper offers of payments or gifts.

4. Serious conditions to ensure do not occur include

• There are any confirmed cases of bribery, improper advantage, corruption, extortion, or embezzlement and corrective action plans are not in place and being managed.

1.2.0 (2024-01-01)

Added

• Detailed conformance guidance reintroduced via 'Elements to Demonstrate Compliance': The 8.0.1 criterion content reintroduced and expanded detailed conformance guidance under Policy, Procedures & Practices, and Controls & Monitoring (including the multi-point monitoring list, investigation process, sanctions, and senior-management review). These are additive audit criteria/guidance. The fail-determinant is unchanged: a confirmed case of bribery, improper advantage, corruption, extortion, or embezzlement without a corrective action plan in place and being managed. No facility passing 8.0.0 could fail 8.0.1 solely from the added detail, so this is a minor (additive) change.

1.1.0 (2022-06-01)

Changed

• Remote verification changed from not acceptable to acceptable: Remote verification, which was not acceptable for the former D1 Business Integrity criterion, became acceptable for the merged No Improper Advantage criterion — a loosening.

Removed

• Former D1 (Business Integrity) and D2 (No Improper Advantage) merged; conformance requirements reduced to four record-review items: The 7.0.0 D1 (Business Integrity) and D2 (No Improper Advantage) criteria were merged and renumbered into a single No Improper Advantage criterion. The conformance requirements were reduced to four record-review items (public information, grievance records, conflict- of-interest declarations for direct and indirect workers, and personnel/leave/disciplinary/grievance records confirming no negative consequence). The former monitoring-program, investigation/sanctions requirements, the gifts cost/frequency item, and the explicit anti- corruption-law conformance item were dropped from the audit requirements. The fail-determinant (a confirmed case of bribery, improper advantage, corruption, extortion, or embezzlement without a corrective action plan) is equivalent across the merge. Removing ways to fail is a loosening, so this is minor; no facility that passed 7.0.0 D1+D2 could fail 7.1.2 D1 from these changes.

• Explicit Major/Minor rating bands replaced by generic finding-severity definition: The 7.0.0 explicit bands ('No detailed and understandable policy and procedures implemented' / 'Partial policy or procedures or implementation') were replaced by a generic 'See finding severity definition'. The Priority fail-trigger is unchanged, so no prior pass becomes a fail.

1.0.0 (2021-01-01)

Changed

• Initial historical baseline — Business Integrity (D1) + No Improper Advantage (D2) (RBA Code of Conduct 7.0): Earliest imported version, published as two separate criteria: D1 Business Integrity and D2 No Improper Advantage. Required adequate and effective policy and procedures upholding the highest standards of integrity with zero tolerance to bribery, corruption, extortion, and embezzlement; a monitoring program; an investigation and sanctions process with a preventive action plan; a gifts cost/frequency standard; conflict-of-interest declarations; and conformance with anti-corruption laws. Explicit Major/Minor rating bands were used and remote verification was not acceptable for the Business Integrity provision. The Priority trigger was a confirmed Ethics breach without investigation or corrective action plan (D1) and a confirmed case of bribery/improper advantage without a corrective action plan (D2).