Construction Industry Council - Annual Report 2024

ANNUAL REPORT 2024 163 OUR SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY By holding our vendors and suppliers to these rigorous standards, we ensure that our operations remain rooted in integrity and that our partnerships reflect our commitment to ethical standards. Conflict of Interest To safeguard the CIC’s integrity and maintain stakeholders’ trust, we have established a mechanism to manage personal conflicts of interest. This mechanism includes approvals, control measures and segregation of duties. The Code of Conduct outlines policies on the management of conflicts of interest concerning employees’ official duties. The CIC will review and update it regularly to ensure alignment with the best practices and the emerging ethical standards. Additionally, all staff members are required to thoroughly read and declare compliance of the Code of Conduct upon their arrival on board, as well as to declare their compliance annually. Ethical Training for Employees To embed a culture of integrity across the organisation, the CIC arranges annual anti-corruption training for all staff. This training is designed to empower employees with the knowledge and skills to identify unethical activities, prevent corruption and bribery and uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct in their daily roles. ANTI-CORRUPTION TRAINING is mandatory for all employees. Through these measures, the CIC ensures that its employees are fully equipped to act in alignment with its core values and contribute to a culture of transparency, accountability, and trust. Integrity and Conduct We are fully dedicated to honesty, integrity, and fair play in delivering services to the industry and the public. These core values are at the heart of our operations, ensuring that we maintain the trust and confidence of our stakeholders while fostering ethical business practices across all levels of the CIC. Anti-bribery and Corruption We adopt a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption. To mitigate risks and uphold the highest ethical standards, we have implemented strict policies and controls, including the following: Policies and Controls The Code of Conduct which includes various guidelines on prevention of bribery, solicitation and acceptance of advantages, offering of advantages, managing conflict of interest, etc. forms the foundation of our anti-bribery and corruption measures. The Code of Conduct outlines key principles and control requirements to address bribery and corruption risks. Manuals, such as the Procurement Manual, incorporate anti-bribery and corruption elements to ensure risks are identified and mitigated effectively throughout the procurement and business processes. Vendors and Suppliers We hold all vendors and suppliers working with the CIC to high standards of integrity, requiring them to adhere to moral and ethical practices in alignment with the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap. 201) (POBO). This commitment to ethical business practices is reinforced at critical stages of supply chain engagement, including proposal and tender invitation, and agreement signing. If a vendor or supplier is found to have violated the CIC’s specified code of conduct, they will be blacklisted and their existing contract will be terminated. To uphold accountability, we maintain a blacklist to prevent future engagement with unethical partners.