Month: June 2014

Award recognizes companies that are able to prove that they have designed, implemented, and enforced a robust, best-in-class anti-corruption program that is capable of reasonably detecting and preventing bribery and corruption

Ethisphere, an independent center for research, best practices and thought leadership in corporate ethics and anti-corruption and designator of the World’s Most Ethical Companies®, announced today that Legg Mason has earned the coveted Anti-Corruption Program Verification™ .

“Legg Mason continues to exhibit a strong commitment to building and evolving its Anti-Corruption Program in line with best practice standards,” said NYSE Governance Services Compliance Counsel, Beth Van Derslice. “The organization continues to foster meaningful cross-functional discussions and an exemplary showing of engagement from senior leadership. Even amidst the evolving regulatory landscape, Legg Mason continues to create layers oversight and efficiency within its program.”

“We would like to congratulate Legg Mason for earning Anti-Corruption Program Verification,” said Michael Byrne, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Ethisphere. “The business case for demonstrating a world-class anti-corruption program involves more than just the cost of effective systems. In an increasingly networked world, word of prosecutions and sanctions for wrongdoing spread faster than ever–which can have crippling impacts on the long-term reputational and brand value of an organization.”

Ethisphere’s Anti-Corruption Program Verification offers objective, independent verification of a company’s anti-corruption program and initiatives, including a comprehensive review of policies, procedures, training, communication, controls and enforcement. Anti-Corruption Program Verification can only be earned by companies that are able to prove they have designed, implemented, and enforced a robust, best-in-class anti-corruption program that is capable of reasonably detecting and preventing bribery and corruption.

More information about Ethisphere’s Anti-Corruption Program Verification is available at https://ethisphere.com/certifications/anti-corruption-program-verification/ 

About Legg Mason
Legg Mason is a global asset management firm with $686 billion in assets under management as of May 31, 2014. The Company provides active asset management in many major investment centers throughout the world. Legg Mason is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About Ethisphere
The Ethisphere® Institute is an independent center of research, best practices and thought leadership that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and compliance and enables organizations to improve governance, mitigate risk, and enhance relationships with employees, business partners, investors and the broad regulatory community. Ethisphere evaluates and benchmarks compliance and governance programs, honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies’™ recognition program, and publishes Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include: Ethics Inside® Certification, Compliance Leader Verification™ and Anti-Corruption Program Verification.

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Ethisphere Media Contact
Clea Nabozny
Director of Marketing & Media Relations
[email protected]
480.397.2658

The second annual event will take place in São Paulo on July 16-17 and will provide local perspectives on global issues including implications of Brazil’s Clean Company Act.

New York, NY – June 18, 2014 – The Ethisphere® Institute, an independent center for research, best practices and thought leadership in corporate ethics and anti-corruption, and designator of the World’s Most Ethical Companies®, announced today the latest speakers confirmed for the 2014 Latin America Ethics Summit: Global Issues, Local Perspectives, taking place July 16-17 in São Paulo, Brazil.

Recently confirmed speakers include:

•     Ana Carolina Freire de Salles, Compliance and Legal Director, Brasil, AES Corporation
•     Alexadre de Cunha Serpa, Director – Business Compliance Office for Drogaria Onofre, Brazil, CVS Caremark
•     Jaime Perez, Vice President and General Manager, Brazil, Ecolab
•     Reyna Torrecillas, Chief Compliance Officer, Latin America, General Electric
•     Vera Rossana Martini Wanner, Legal and Compliance Manager, Gerdau
•     Fernando Barros, Regional Counsel – Latin America, Hitachi Data Systems
•     Sonsoles Rubio Reinoso, Chief Compliance Officer, Iberdrola
•     Turney Stevens, Dean, College of Business, Professor of Management, Lipscomb University
•     Fernando Mantovani, General Counsel, Multigrain

 See the full list of speakers here.
Discussion topics will cover: Managing Third Party Relationships, Using Ethics as a Competitive Advantage, Cultural Considerations for Compliance Programs, Protecting Information and IP, Building a Culture of Integrity and more. See the full agenda here.

“We often hear from multinational companies about the cross cultural challenges they face when extending their ethics and compliance programs to Latin America, whether that is through direct business in the region or through third parties and joint ventures,” said Ethisphere’s Editor in Chief, Stefan Linssen. “The Latin America Ethics Summit brings together some of the leading ethics and compliance practitioners within the region and provides a forum for companies to share and learn best practices in Latin American ethics and compliance.”

Complimentary Access to the Latin America Ethics Summit

Members of the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) receive one complimentary delegate pass and discounts for additional registrants for all of Ethisphere’s Ethics Summits including the Latin America Ethics Summit.

BELA is an international community of industry professionals committed to influencing business leaders and advancing business ethics as an essential element of company performance. Learn more: https://ethisphere.com/wp-content/uploads/about-bela.pdf.

Second Annual Latin America Ethics Summit

Here from key leaders of government agencies and global companies, attend a range of breakout sessions devised to address your specific interests, network with senior executives and leading practitioners in the industry and gain insight into tailoring ethics programs for Latin America.

Learn More and Register

See the full agenda and get the latest updates on new speakers and sponsors by visiting: http://latinamericaethicssummit.com.

Ethics Summits Around the Globe

Ethisphere will also host the first annual Europe Ethics Summit in London on September 24-25, the second annual Asia Ethics Summit in Singapore in December 3-4 and the seventh annual Global Ethics Summit in New York in May 2015.

About Ethisphere

The Ethisphere® Institute is an independent center of research, best practices and thought leadership that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and compliance and enables organizations to improve governance, mitigate risk, and enhance relationships with employees, business partners, investors and the broad regulatory community. Ethisphere evaluates and benchmarks compliance and governance programs, honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies’™ recognition program, and publishes Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include: Ethics Inside® Certification, Compliance Leader Verification™ and Anti-Corruption Program Verification™. Learn more at https://ethisphere.com.

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Media Contacts
Clea Nabozny
Ethisphere
480-397-2658
[email protected]

Dedicated to implementing standards and systems promoting ethical business practices

Ethisphere, an independent center for research, best practices and thought leadership in corporate ethics and compliance and designator of the World’s Most Ethical Companies®, announced today that CMS Energy has earned the coveted Ethics Inside® Certification.

“CMS Energy has demonstrated a clear commitment to building and maintaining a strong ethical culture,” said NYSE Governance Services Senior Risk Analyst, Steven Deutsch. “The company has done an excellent job communicating the importance of ethical behavior and providing a workplace where ethical leadership is both encouraged and rewarded.”

“This certification represents more than a decade of work to formalize and build on our strong ethical foundation,” CMS Energy Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, David Mengebier said. “Though our company has a long tradition of doing the right thing, we’ve made significant strides in communicating our vision for ethics and compliance and helping employees understand they each have a role in making sure we adhere to the highest standards of behavior.”

Ethisphere, the provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs, awards Ethics Inside® Certification exclusively to companies that demonstrate the existence of a superior employee and leadership culture that promotes ethical business practices.

“We would like to congratulate CMS Energy for earning Ethics Inside® Certification,” said Michael Byrne, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Ethisphere. “They join an exclusive group of companies that have implemented adequate standards, systems and programs to reasonably prevent compliance failures and ethical breakdowns.”

Ethisphere’s licensed credentialing partners look at more than 100 separate criteria during the Ethics Inside® Certification process, including corporate citizenship and responsibility; overall compliance and ethics program; organizational health and culture of ethics; corporate governance; and regulatory history. No company is expected to excel in all criteria areas—yet the aggregate score must meet or exceed a level at which ethical behavior becomes the core expectation, fundamental compliance systems are in place, tone from the top is clear and the company’s actions bear unmistakable signs of good corporate citizenship. More information about Ethics Inside® Certification is available at https://ethisphere.com/certifications/ethics-inside-certified.

About CMS Energy

CMS Energy is a Michigan-based company that has an electric and natural gas utility, Consumers Energy, as its primary business and also owns and operates independent power generation businesses.

About Ethisphere

The Ethisphere® Institute is an independent center of research, best practices and thought leadership that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and compliance and enables organizations to improve governance, mitigate risk, and enhance relationships with employees, business partners, investors and the broad regulatory community. Ethisphere evaluates and benchmarks compliance and governance programs, honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies’™ recognition program, and publishes Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include: Ethics Inside® Certification, Compliance Leader Verification™ and Anti-Corruption Program Verification™.

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CMS Energy Media Contact
Dan Bishop
Director of Media Relations
[email protected]
(517) 788-2395

Ethisphere Media Contact
Clea Nabozny
[email protected]