Vetoquinol Universal Registration Document 2019

2 Vetoquinol  Universal Registration Document 2019  Financial report   55 STATEMENT OF NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Social footprint Vetoquinol is committed to complying with the Interna- tional Labour Organization declaration on fundamental labor principles and rights at all of its entities. Vetoquinol is committed to preventing all forms of dis- crimination. Vetoquinol is committed to complying with all applicable environmental standards. 2.7.3.2 Anti-corruption code of conduct Vetoquinol has adopted the Middlenext Anti-Corruption Code of Conduct, which refers to the United Nations Convention against Corruption and seeks to combat all forms of bribery and corruption. The code lays down the fundamental principles and rules regarding corruption and influence-peddling with regard to: • relations with public officials, • gifts and invitations, • donations to charities and political organizations, • patronage and sponsorship, • facilitation payments, • monitoring of third parties, • conflicts of interest, • accounting records and internal controls. Every employee is expected to behave in an exemplary fashion at Vetoquinol and to refrain from acting in viola- tion of the behavioral rules laid down in this code. An ethics hotline will be set up in 2020 to enable all employees to report any behavior they witness that vio- lates this code of conduct. An Ethics Committee has also been set up to process and investigate all cases of alleged corruption. The committee comprises the Group Legal and Compliance Expert, the Global Human Resources Director and the Group Export Director, Aus- tralasia & Latin America. Vetoquinol has offered its employees the chance to follow anti-corruption training provided by Middlenext. In 2019, over 500 employees completed these training courses in France and in the subsidiaries. 2.7.3.3 The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Vetoquinol is committed to protecting the privacy of its employees and partners and has taken steps to bring company policy into line with GDPR requirements. 2.7.3.4 Relations with stakeholders Vetoquinol maintains solid communications with all of its stakeholders in various ways, both informal (via confe- rences, in-house committees, etc.) and formal (meetings of professional bodies such as Health for Animals and SIMV), and endeavors to respond promptly to any sug- gestions or concerns raised. This fruitful dialog results in wide and diversified understanding of priorities and issues related to Vetoquinol’s sector of business, thereby advancing the Company’s strategies in terms of respec- ting animals, humans and the environment. 2.7.3.5 Prevention of tax evasion Vetoquinol pays special attention to the companies with which it does business and checks the consistency of the legal and financial information they send to Vetoquinol. 2.7.4 Supplier relations See section on risks, paragraph 2.2.