Business ethics and compliance

Ethics: good for society and good for business

We believe that high ethical standards are good both for society and for business and are committed to high ethical standards in our business culture and in all our business activities. This commitment is integrated into our Code of Conduct, Supplier Code of Conduct, strategy, and business processes.

We have a zero-tolerance for corruption. We do not offer, give, accept, request or receive bribes or other improper advantages. We also work to ensure fair competition, avoid unethical business partners, protect personal data and prevent all forms of fraud.

We expect all of those who work with and for us to live up to our high ethical standards, and encourage the reporting of concerns from both internal and external parties.

In 2019, we met our goal of zero serious compliance incidents. We are proud to have achieved it, but we do not consider this a completed task. We are constantly striving to ensure a strong ethical culture, and to act on improvement opportunities.

Why it matters

Conducting our business ethically earns us our social and legal license to operate and is an important foundation for our business. It allows us to provide excellent products with integrity and professionalism; to facilitate more partnerships; to win more contracts and attract investments; and to build goodwill with the communities we impact. Ensuring clean business practices is therefore critical for making Statkraft’s energy solutions attractive over the long term. 

Our approach and initiatives

We have built an extensive programme of activities on business ethics and compliance. The programme is risk-based, focusing on high-risk processes such as business development, mergers and acquisitions, and supply chain processes.

Our operations span a wide range of markets, some of which rank high on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. This exposes us to ethical risks and we take particular care to adjust our compliance programme to handle risks in different markets. 

Reporting of concerns (whistleblowing)

We believe that openness and good communication throughout the organisation promotes a better work culture.

Reporting of concerns (whistleblowing) is to report possible illegal, or suspected illegal, actions and violations of Statkraft’s Code of Conduct. Examples of violations include, but are not limited to fraud and corruption, harassment and discrimination, and violations of environmental and human rights laws.

We acknowledge the risk of violations of our Code of Conduct and depend on the willingness of employees and external parties to raise concerns in order to uphold high ethical standards. Employees have the right and responsibility to report concerns. External parties, including employees of associated companies, are also encouraged to report concerns.

The whistleblower decides what information is to be provided. There is no requirement that the whistleblower is able to prove the event, act or omission. However, to allow us to perform adequate follow-up actions, the report should include as much detail as possible and, if available, supporting evidence.

Reports of concerns can be made through our independent Whistleblower Channel, managed by the Head of Corporate Audit. The Whistleblower Channel offers the whistleblower the possibility of reporting anonymously.

Report concerns here

It is of utmost importance for us to ensure predictability and confidence for all those who raise a concern.

Statkraft's core principles for handling reports of concerns are:

• Fair and objective process
• Protection of the whistleblower against retaliation
• Protection of the legal rights of the individual who is the subject of the report
• Confidentiality
• Protection of sources
• Protection of personal data