Code of Ethics
The Code of Ethics approved in 2007 and updated in December 2016, is adopted by all the banks and the companies of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group in Italy and abroad as a self-regulation document for the integration of social and environmental considerations into company processes, practices and decisions beyond those required by Legislative Decree 231/2001. It contains voluntary commitments in the management of relations with all the Group’s internal and external stakeholders, setting out the core values and principles of the Group.
Starting from the shared values, it directs the conduct of each individual towards our stakeholders with whom, in line with the principles of the UN Global Compact promoted which we comply, we undertake to:
- sustain the protection of human rights according to the principles listed in the Universal Declaration of 1948
- recognise the principles established by the fundamental conventions of the ILO (International Labour Organisation) and in particular the right of association and collective bargaining, the prohibition of forced and child labour and non-discrimination in hiring practices
- contribute to the fight against corruption, sustaining the guidelines of the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the anti-corruption principles established by the United Nations in 2003, also through a zero-tolerance policy with respect to episodes of corruption.
Intesa Sanpaolo adopted a specific policy on human rights, approved by the Board of Directors in December 2017.
The key characteristics of our Code of Ethics are: great emphasis on dissemination of the sustainability culture, maximum responsibility assigned to the departments aimed at defining a concrete plan of actions and projects, and rigorous and constructive approach in managing critical cases.
The Code is divided into three sections:
- our values
- principles of conduct in relations with stakeholders
- implementation and governance
To ensure the widest possible diffusion, the Code of Ethics, published in the web pages of Intesa Sanpaolo and on the company Intranet, is drawn up with particular attention to the inclusion of blind and visually impaired persons, following the rules of accessibility certified by LIA Foundation - Italian accessible books.
A copy is given to each director, employee or external collaborator upon appointment, hiring or beginning of the collaboration agreement, respectively.
The process for managing cases of non-compliance with the Code of Ethics is encoded in corporate policy, protects those who make the reports in good faith from any form of retaliation, discrimination or penalisation, ensuring the utmost confidentiality without prejudice to legal obligations. ESG & Sustainability receives and processes the reports, which can be submitted by any stakeholder and, after assessing them, takes action in collaboration with the departments affected by the reports.
Stakeholders may report any cases of non-compliance by writing to codice.etico@intesasanpaolo.com.
Implementation and Governance
Intesa Sanpaolo has adopted an implementation and governance system aimed at promoting the integration of company strategies, policies and procedures with the principles and values stated in the Code of Ethics, through an uttermost sharing and diffusion of its contents.
The model from which the Intesa Sanpaolo Group draws inspiration is based on the self-responsibility of departments that pursue and defend the reputational value of socially responsible behaviour.
Each company department develops its actions and activities being inspired by the principles and values of the Code of Ethics. Every department is therefore directly responsible, within its own sphere of influence, for determining and formalising the goals, as well as the consequent plan of actions and projects.
Within each department and Subsidiary Bank, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Delegates are appointed who, operating within their department and in network, cooperate with Corporate Social Responsibility by identifying the social responsibility objectives within their own structure, managing, monitoring, and periodically reporting on the projects in progress and maintaining relations with the reference stakeholders.
ESG & Sustainability:
- on the one hand, monitors the effectiveness of dissemination and information through tools identified each time starting from internal assessments focused on measuring knowledge and awareness highlighting areas of weakness and possible intervention; on the other hand, in case of sensitive ethical and reputational areas provides and shares company's policies and guidelines
- supports and advises departments within the company
- in agreement with the responsible functions identifies and reports specific indicators to assess the level of achievement of social and environmental goals compared to the commitments undertaken
- cooperates with the Human Resources Department in the development and diffusion of the culture and values contained in the Code of Ethics
- monitors, with the support of the Chief Audit Officer, the compliance with the principles and values contained in this Code of Ethics, reporting annually to the Management Control Committee and to the Supervisory Body in accordance with Legislative Decree 23/2001
- proposes the appropriate changes to make the Code consistent with the current company’s situation
The implementation process of the Code of Ethics – integrated with the management processes underlying the Sustainability Report – envisages an evaluation and a third-party assessment in accordance with the principles and contents of the ISO 26000 standard. The statement on the CSR governance level in the Intesa Sanpaolo Group describes the method applied and the results, with separate assessment of respect for human rights.
Compliance with the principles and values of the Code of Ethics was monitored with the support of the current Chief Audit Officer, so that it could be reported annually to the Management Control Committee and the Surveillance Body pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001. Audits were conducted on 11 risk areas that also considered social and environmental responsibility aspects and implications including:
- Audit activities within the framework of the ESG Programme;
- Transactions with Related Parties and associated entities
- Personnel remuneration and incentive systems (in various Group companies)
- Monitoring independent acquisitions (Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center) and the Group’s outsourced activities in general
- Checks on the correct management/use of variable-fee contracts in the Banca dei Territori Division;
- Checks on accounts payable (accounting and payment of invoices)
- Checks on the value of the Group’s real estate assets
- Health surveillance checks
- Customer complaints management activities (on various Group companies) and in general measures aimed at assessing the quality of the services provided to customers (e.g., customer satisfaction issues relating to Banca dei Territori customers)
- Management of innovation-driven initiatives
Last updated 25 May 2023 at 09:01:21
