The Aerospace & Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) launched the European Ethics and Anti-Corruption Task Force at the Farnborough Air Show 2006 and A|D|S (then SBAC) joined the group as a founder member. The Task Force prepared Common Industry Standards (CIS) for anti-corruption to be applied across Europe which, after detailed consultations including independent advice from the International Chamber of Commerce, was approved by the ASD Council in April 2007. The CIS was then opened for adoption by the national trade associations of Europe and the SBAC September 2007 Council agreed to adopt the Standards at the ASD Convention on 4 October 2007 in Barcelona.

Virtually all the aerospace and defence associations of Europe adopted the CIS including the BNEA and the then DMA in the UK. The Task Force has now turned its attention to helping the national associations to implement the CIS. In the UK, the then SBAC and DMA held a major conference in June 2008 to promote uptake of the CIS, which was addressed by the Rt Hon John Hutton, who was then the lead Cabinet Minister for anti-corruption. At the conference SBAC and DMA published the Business Ethics Toolkit to help smaller companies implement anti-corruption standards, a copy of which is available on this website.

For further information please contact Derek Marshall (derek.marshall@adsgroup.org.uk)

A|D|S is a member of the UK National Defence Business Ethics Forum and supports its work, holding regular meetings to exchange best practice and to hear the views of recognised experts on business ethics. The Forum has also contributed views into the ASD Task Force and has identified two key priorities in the implementation of the ASD Common Industry Standards (CIS) on which it will focus. The first is that these should be regularly reviewed to keep pace with good practice in the industry and the second is the need to provide help to smaller companies to implement the CIS. A|D|S is focusing particularly on support to SMEs.

A|D|S members can join the Business Ethics Forum by completing the participation statement attached, send to: elizabeth.webb@adsgroup.org.uk

Industry in Europe and the US accept that business ethics is a key topic. On 15 July 2008 at the Farnborough Air Show business leaders from both sides of the Atlantic, including Allan Cook, CEO of Cobham, agreed that they should work jointly on this subject. They decided to launch a new initiative called the International Forum on Business Ethical Conduct (IFBEC) to exchange best practice and identify convergence on common ethical standards. One of IFBEC’s first objectives was to make concrete progress towards global industry standards by the time of the Paris Air Show in June 2009, building on the foundations laid by ASD’s Common Industry Standards (CIS) and the United States' Defense Industrial Initiative (see attachment for further details). This subsequently led to the development of the Global Principles which, on 2 October 2009, were endorsed by the Chairmen of ASD and AIA. The Global Principles, which have since been endorsed internatioanlly by a number of aerospace and defence companies, aims to promote zero teolerance on corruption. A copy of the Global Principles is available on this website.

On 8 April 2010 the UK Bribery Bill became an official Act of Parliament, significantly reforming the UK’s anti-corruption laws and creating a solid foundation for the ongoing effort to combat bribery and corruption in the public and private sectors. The Bribery Act will come into force in April 2011 after which time companies must be able to demonstrate that they have in place a robust anti-corruption framework to prevent beibery.

Why is the Bribery Act 2010 significant?
The legislation sets out new categories of offences and as such, grounds for investigation and prosecution are much broader than previous laws have dictated. Companies which have not actively implemented a standard code of ethics within their corporate framework are particularly vulnerable. The implications for the aerospace and defence industry are wide-ranging given the scope and size of single projects.

What help is available?
A|D|S is committed to supporting industry in the fight against corruption and demonstrating that the aerospace, defence and security industries work lawfully in these world leading sectors. The A|D|S Business Ethics Toolkit, a guidance booklet, designed for aerospace and defence SME’s, helps companies to implement the ASD Common Industry Standards (CIS), which provides a solid foundation for a robust ethical framework. The booklet is available on this website.

Under the new law, business malpractice is considered a criminal offence. However, the Bribery Act states that it is a defence for an organisation to prove that it has in place ‘adequate procedures’ to prevent bribery. In early 2011 the Ministry of Justice will publish guidance on ‘adequate procedures’ under Section 9 of the Bribery Act, which is expected to outline the minimum requirements to prevent bribery within an organisation.

Useful links:

• The Serious Fraud Office ‘corruption indicators’
• The Institute of Business Ethics
• Transparency International
• Ministry of Justice