Annual Report 2011

40
Success Factors
Compliance and Corporate Culture
Ethics, values and compliance
As a global organization with operations on six continents, Panalpina is integrated into
the cultures of many different countries. This makes cross-cultural understanding
crucial. Furthermore, Panalpina’s strong corporate culture is based on shared values
and ethical behavior that encompass fairness, respect and responsibility.
A key aspect of Panalpina’s commitment to outstanding
service is its culture of ethical behavior, rigorous compliance
with all applicable laws, and the global experience contributed
by its employees. Panalpina realizes that its ultimate
success depends on its employees’ awareness of the
Company’s long term values, and an understanding of how
their individual work contributes to the Company’s success.
Cultivating strong values and a healthy corporate culture
is a long process that calls for commitment and investment
on the part of all stakeholders.
Global experience supports performance
With approximately 500 of its own representative offices in
over 80 countries and close collaboration with partner
companies in 80 more countries, Panalpina has the global
footprint and experience base to help its customers succeed
and prosper in the international marketplace. To support
this, Panalpina offers its employees an extensive
internal exchange program through which they have the
opportunity to spend an average of three months abroad
within the Company. This popular program remains a priority
for 2012 as it provides employees with multi-cultural
and international experiences that strengthen cross-border
understanding and collaboration.
Panalpina’s Code of Conduct
The Panalpina Code of Conduct encompasses binding rules
on health, safety, and environment; on employee relations
(including protection from discrimination and harassment);
on ethical business conduct (including fair competition and
antitrust and trade regulations); on the strict prohibition on
bribery and corruption (including a ban on political contributions
by the Company); and on responsibility for Company
assets as well as financial integrity. Derived from the United
Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and from
internationally recognized environmental standards and
labor laws, Panalpina’s Code of Conduct continues to reflect
its commitment to integrity and responsibility across all
operations and divisions.
Panalpina Annual Report 2011
The Code of Conduct is available in 30 languages and is
readily accessible by all employees via the intranet and on
the Corporate website, see www.panalpina.com/culture.
Since 2008, it is applied consistently and rigorously throughout
the Company regardless of an employee’s status or
tenure; all Panalpina employees are required to sign the
Code of Conduct, indicating their commitment to adhere
to the standards therein. Staff members are encouraged to
report breaches of the Code of Conduct to their line or HR
managers, or directly to the Corporate Compliance Office.
However, if employees are unwilling or unable to do so,
they can also contact a neutral, external hotline or file a
confidential report via the internet.
Resources and training for compliance
Panalpina’s Corporate Compliance Officer reports directly
to the CEO and to the Legal and Compliance Committee
of the Board of Directors, and is assisted by a team of
eight full-time Corporate Compliance Managers. In 2011,
Panalpina expanded its corporate compliance team by
adding a position dedicated to focusing on trade compliance,
which includes oversight of export regulations and
issues regarding sanctioned and embargoed countries.
Furthermore, in the year under review, the compliance
team visited Panalpina operations in 27 countries for one
to two weeks each in order to ensure that Code of Conduct
and Compliance programs were implemented fully
and correctly. The selection of the countries was based in
part on the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency
International, a global civil society organization focused on
the fight against corruption.
Training has remained a focal point in Panalpina’s overall
Compliance Program. Since 2008 it has been supported
by an interactive e-learning platform which enables employees
to familiarize themselves with the Code of Conduct
and various aspects of compliance. This program was
enhanced in 2011 by the launch of modules that focus on
the topics of anti-trust and anti-corruption. These modules