Vetoquinol - Universal Registration Document - 2021

2 Vetoquinol Universal Registration Document 2020 Financial report 59 STATEMENT OF NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Social footprint 2.7.4 Ethics and fair practices In 2019, the Group created a partnership, legal and risk department whose remit covers risk management, internal control procedures and Group compliance with applicable guidelines, including ethics, anti-corruption and the GDPR. 2.7.4.1 Code of ethics Trust, dare and collaborate in order to achieve more together: these are the values that Vetoquinol upholds and promotes all over the world. These values can only be put into practice if clearly defined rules of conduct are shared across the Group. These universal rules appli- cable to all employees are set out in the Vetoquinol Code of Ethics. The code sets out the commitments, practices and beha- vior chosen and adopted by Vetoquinol in its dealings with employees and third parties alike. Every employee must at all times abide by the rules contained in the Code of Ethics: • by showing loyalty to the company, colleagues and partners; by acting with integrity at all times; • by respecting the law; • by maintaining objectivity in all situations; • by embodying the values of Vetoquinol; • by preserving Vetoquinol’s reputation for integrity. Vetoquinol undertakes to fully comply with all laws and regulations applicable to its business activity in every country in which it operates. Vetoquinol strives to uphold the highest possible ethical standards in its business relations with all of its partners. 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. 2.7.4.2 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. In 2020, Vetoquinol adopted a policy on gifts and invi- tations to enable each employee to adopt appropriate behavior in this area. An ethics hotline was set up in June 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 Canada. In addition to the training offered to a number of its employees, Vetoquinol has developed an e-learning module in all of the Group’s languages that will be accessible to all in 2021.