The Institute of Business Ethics (‘IBE’) have recently published their analysis and assessment of the codes of ethics of the UK’s leading companies. Following the interest created by their 2021 report, FTSE 100 Codes of Ethics: room for improvement, the research has been repeated and extended to the full FTSE 350.
Key findings of the research are:
- 189 FTSE 350 companies (54%) have a publicly available code of some sort.
- Of the FTSE 350 companies with a code, 57% reach what the IBE regards as a “good” standard.
- Codes that had been updated in the last three years were more likely to be scored “good” than older or undated codes.
- 58% of the 189 FTSE 350 publicly available codes have an explicit commitment to non-retaliation.
The IBE has two clear calls for action:
- To encourage every business to have a code of ethics and to make it publicly available, to enable scrutiny and engage all stakeholders, including investors. It is a vital tool for an ethical business, and it needs to be kept up to date – it is recommended that you review your code at least once every three years.
- To strongly recommend the inclusion in the code unequivocal assurances of non-retaliation against those who raise an ethical concern. Every business must commit to supporting and protecting those brave enough to raise concerns.
To obtain a copy of the Report, by registering with the IBE, click on the link above: