As a part of the further development of Aspo Group’s compliance work, a new whistleblowing system was introduced.
The system is managed by an external company which ensures the full anonymity for a person who wishes to report behaviour against our compliance requirements. The link to the whistleblowing system is available on the websites of all three group companies.
Whistleblowing provides an opportunity to report suspicions of misconduct. Individuals have an important role in raising concerns if there is suspicion of serious misconduct, that should be prevented or corrected. There is no need for proof of suspicions, but all messages and reports must be made in good faith.
Individuals can raise their concerns anonymously by using our reporting channel, managed by a third-party company. The service is separate from our IT environment. The system does not track IP addresses or other data that could identify a person sending a message. Messages are encrypted and can only be decrypted by designated individuals. The system provider cannot decrypt and read messages.
Development of compliance program continued
When sailing around the world, crew members may face actions and behaviour that fulfil the criteria of bribery or corruption. ESL Shipping and its parent company Aspo has a strict zero policy when it comes to corruption and bribery and to enforce this policy, all employees onboard the vessels and ashore are required to complete our parent company, Aspo’s Code of Conduct -training. It provides knowledge on how to recognize suspicious situations and which actions may be considered as bribery or corruption.
Compliance often means the observance of requirements, laws, rules and regulations. At ESL Shipping group, compliance also means ensuring that we act in accordance with requirements that are derived from laws and regulations, our compliance manual, our internal guidelines, Aspo’s Code of Conduct and the UN Global Compact principles.
The development of the compliance program started in 2019. During 2020 we developed business processes, internal guidelines, as well as documentation, reporting and control catalogues. The ultimate goal was to raise the bar in compliance-related matters which now will be audited on a regular basis.
