The new Integrity Commitment and the Ethics Board of the Águas de Portugal Group


Ethics, conduct, good governance and best practices in the public sector were all discussed at the presentation session for the Integrity Commitment of the Águas de Portugal Group, which featured the participation of leaders from different public institutions, the Secretary of State for the Treasury and the Secretary of State of the Environment and the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.
António Correia de Campos, Henrique Gouveia e Melo and Ana Monteiro de Sousa are the members of the new group Ethics Board.
 
On 17 December, AdP – the Águas de Portugal Group presented its integrity commitment based on a model of governance applying the highest ethical standards, transparency, responsibility and excellence in public management practices.

The session took place in Lisbon with contributions focusing on ethics, conduct, governance and best practices in the public sector, specifically the Secretary of State of the Treasury, the Secretary of State for the Environment, the presidents of state investment holder Parpública, the CGD bank and the AdP Group and the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

This session was also attended by the members of the new AdP Group Ethics Board, António Correia de Campos (president), Henrique Gouveia e Melo (vice-president) and Ana Monteiro de Sousa (member), an independent body with the mission of advising and reflecting on ethical excellence at the AdP Group. 

The AdP Group president, José Furtado, highlighted the sheer importance of water as a strategic resource essential to life and to human development. “We are aware of the enormous responsibility placed upon us for the management of the most precious resource of the greatest relevance that runs still deeper in terms of operating a robust organisational model with a strong culture able to support our goal of making a difference in the lives of people.”

The occasion also served for the signing of the Integrity Commitment by the 17 companies that make up the business group with activities focused on water supply and sanitation and representing their commitment to implementing the AdP Group Integrity Policy, especially striving to guarantee the implementation of the integrity model and all of its associated instruments and tools designed to continually ensure the internal empowerment that fosters a culture of integrity.

The Integrity Policy

The integrity model of the AdP Group takes effect through its Integrity Policy that identifies the different bodies and internal instruments that ensure the implementation of commitments across the scopes of ethics, compliance and other interrelated legal obligations, in particular:
  • Codes of Ethics and Conduct 
  • Prevention Plan for the Risks of Corruption and Similar Infringements  
  • Regulations for Whistle-blowers 
  • General Regime Public Tender Manual 
  • Procurement Manual 
This includes updating some of the instruments and procedures in effect and interrelating them with the European directive as regards the protection of persons reporting violations of EU laws (whistle-blowing).

The organisational ethical framework of the AdP Group is also supported by the Principles of Good Governance and aligned with the OECD recommendations on Public Integrity as well as the Principles of the United Nations Global Compact, especially the 10th Principle that advocates combatting corruption in all of its forms, and the targets set as regards Sustainable Development Goal 16 promoting Peace, Justice and Efficient Institutions under the United Nations 2030 Agenda. 

In turn, the governance structure for organisational ethics is attributed to two bodies with simultaneously distinctive and complementary competences: 
  • The Board of Ethics, a consultive body with independent statutes, strives to foster the highest ethical standards across the AdP Group in terms of culture, conduct and behaviours.
  • The Ethics Commission, an executive entity with independent statutes, strive to undertake analysis of whistle-blowing reports, ethical questions and dilemmas reported through the confidential and safe communication channels set up for this purpose, particularly any reports of company irregularities. 

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20 of December of 2021