Roundup Ready - Monsanto

BRINGING OUR VALUES INTO
BUSINESS PRACTICES
People working in international business face
dilemmas every day. Not only must they be
aware of the business laws and regulations
in both their home and host countries, they
must also consider whether the decisions
they make are true to the ethical principles
of their company.
The Monsanto Code of Business Conduct
makes these situations easier for Monsanto
employees. The code serves two functions.
“It is a set of guidelines about how to comply
with laws and regulations,” says Bob Echols,
Monsanto director of global compliance. “And
it provides a way to bring the values from our
Pledge into our business decisions.”
The first function of the code is to inform
Monsanto employees about the aspects of
national and international laws and regulations
that affect the company.
“It’s about obeying the law,” says Echols.
“The code answers questions such as: What
do we need to know? How do we comply?
And how do we measure our compliance?”
The second function of the code is to demonstrate
how compliance issues intersect with
the values represented in the Monsanto Pledge.
“Every person in every organization needs
a set of values in order to achieve success,”
says Echols. “Our goal is to bring our
values into compliance decisions. In
addition to the legal questions, we should
be asking: Would this decision reflect
Monsanto’s values?”
In 2003, the Business Conduct Team
established a toll-free, outsourced business
conduct guidance line. The team also made
the code of conduct available on the Monsanto
intranet in 17 languages. Later in 2004, a
hands-on initiative will have Monsanto people
MONSANTO RESEARCHER TENDS YOUNG CORN PLANTS
IN GREENHOUSE. STEWARDSHIP TOUCHES ALL ASPECTS
OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT.
discussing ethics scenarios with their managers
and co-workers. These scenarios will
cover “gray areas” where actions might be
legal, but might not be ethical. Managers
and their staff will use the scenarios to discuss
business, legal, and ethical issues to come
up with solutions.
The Business Conduct Team is also preparing
training materials for specific business conduct
issues. These informational tools will focus on
special areas such as the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act, antitrust policies, and other
business issues. Each will contain the portions
of the Monsanto Code of Conduct relating to
the topic, a policy statement, a guidebook,
frequently asked questions, and an audit
plan. The team expects to have the materials
ready by the end of 2004.
{ MONSANTO COMPANY 2004 PLEDGE REPORT: PAGES 32-33 }