Annex 1
WRITTEN RESPONSE FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT
OF ETHICS AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, THALES GROUP
What Lessons have been learnt from company's previous
failures or accusations, particularly for Thales in South Africa
and the Far East? What real impact have they had on the company
to clean up its act?
Thales has in the past faced a few allegations
and a limited number of criminal investigations. The Group has
been cleared from any charge in the vast majority of the cases,
particularly in South Africa and in the Far East.
Nevertheless, taking into account the reputational
damage that accompanied the allegations and in order to strictly
abide by the new regulatory framework that followed the signature
of the 1997 OECD Convention, Thales has, as early as the
end of the 1990s, issued a complete set of directives and process
and set up a dedicated organization to ensure compliance with
the new laws.
On top of Thales senior executive management
commitment to zero tolerance, the Group has created tools to raise
awareness of all employees on these issues and has rolled-out
specific training programmes targeted at employees directly or
indirectly involved in sales and marketing. In parallel, a continuous
improvement process based on internal and external benchmarking
and audits has been deployed.
Moreover, as a global leader in its field of
activity and promoter of a healthy level-playing field, Thales
has been an active player in many of the most prominent internationally
recognized anti-corruption initiatives, to mention the United
Nations Global Compact (UNGC) 10th principle working group, the
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) commission on anti-corruption,
or the AeroSpace & Defence Industries Association of Europe
(ASD)'s Common Industry Standards (CIS) signed by all the aerospace
and defence professional associations in Europe.
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