A business tool designed to fight bribery is gaining traction. Published just last year, ISO 37001 is the first international anti-bribery management system standard designed to help organizations combat bribery risk in their own operations and throughout their global value chains.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced plans to adopt ISO 37001, the new international anti-bribery standard, across its operations. Speaking on behalf of the company, Judd Hesselroth, Programs Director in Microsoft’s Office of Legal Compliance, explains how the new standard equips organizations to strengthen their fight against bribery: “We think ISO 37001 is going to be an important tool for improving anti-corruption efforts.”
So what is ISO 37001?
Simply put, it is an anti-bribery standard that will assist organizations in implementing and maintaining an effective anti-bribery and corruption compliance programme and promoting an ethical business culture.
ISO 37001 is welcome news for organizations operating internationally and may one day become mandatory for corporations as they partner with other organizations in international business. For Microsoft, ISO 37001 lays down a much needed “common language” to set global best practices for anti-bribery schemes, says Hesselroth. “It will provide any organization with a global benchmark to evaluate, improve or build its own anti-bribery programme. It will also give confidence to stakeholders (e.g. customers, suppliers, shareholders, etc.) that the organization has met that global benchmark.”
Read complete article How Microsoft is bursting the bribery bubble | ISO.org