ENOC underlines commitment to highest ethical standards with Business Ethics Recognition Ceremony

Following the inception of its “Business Ethics & Compliance Programme” in 2011 to promote the highest standards of ethical conduct across all operations, Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) recently hosted its first Business Ethics Recognition Ceremony. 

ENOC’s commitment towards business ethics is in line with the vision of Dubai, under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to ensure best practices in corporate governance and transparency across all businesses. 

Employees from different ENOC businesses who actively participated in Business Ethics & Compliance activities, including an ethics and compliance survey in 2011, were honoured at the ceremony. The event aimed to further strengthen employee cooperation with the Business Ethics & Compliance Function and Business Ethics Committee. 

Attended by Chief Executive Officer Saeed Abdullah Khoory, the executive committee and Business Ethics Committee members, the ceremony marked a significant milestone for ENOC in its continued commitment to ethical practices. 

“Due to the complexity of the global business environment, the risk of ethical misconduct has never been greater. ENOC has a strong commitment to ethics and integrity and we believe that doing the right thing every day for the benefit of all stakeholders is critical to the organisation’s ongoing success,” said Khoory. 

“With the launch of the Code of Business Conduct in 2010 by ENOC Vice Chairman, H.E. Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer; Chairman of the Audit Committee H.E. Mirza Al Sayegh and members of the ENOC Board and management, we have accomplished significant strides in entrenching a stronger sense of business ethics across the organisation. This was demonstrated in 2011 with the setting up of a dedicated Business Ethics function and appointing the Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer (CECO),” he added. 

At the ceremony, awards were presented in three categories: Certificate of Appreciation for Investigation on Reported Cases, Best Suggestion on Business Ethics & Compliance Employee Survey and Professional Recognition as members of the new Ethics Council. Nine employees were honoured for setting up investigation teams for reported cases and demonstrating professional conduct and dedication in their investigations. 

The survey also highlighted that the Business Ethics & Compliance Function achieved a 74.39% score in terms of staff awareness and satisfaction.

The ENOC Business Ethics & Compliance (BE&C) Programme and Function were launched in June 2011 to manage the risks of business ethics and strengthen compliance across the company. The programme has been adapted by the ENOC Board of Directors Audit Committee and is focused on ethical business conduct, its awareness and assessments. 

“While the Code of Business Conduct signifies ENOC’s long-standing commitment to conduct businesses in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations to the highest integrity and ethical standards, the Business Ethics function provides permanence to the Code as a business process, thereby reinforcing ethical culture and ensuring greater transparency and integrity,” said Aley Raza, Director, Internal Audits/CECO. 

Since the formation of the Business Ethics Committee, ENOC has introduced several measures including the setting up of an Ethics Hotline, 800 ENOC ETHIC (800 3662 38442), which provides employees the means to express their concerns and register any offences observed. All cases reported are discreetly monitored and reported to the committee, evaluated by special investigation teams, and actioned on by management. 

Other ENOC initiatives to drive forward the “Business Ethics & Compliance Programme” include the “Incentives & Reward” plan for recognising employees, and the “ETHICS” enquiry online function. 

Among the milestones ENOC has achieved in upholding the highest standards of business ethics include conducting awareness sessions to communicate the underlying principles of the Code of Business Conduct, establishing an intranet portal with related documents, encouraging interactive ethical awareness, and distribution of the Code booklet to all staff members. 

ENOC’s Business Ethics & Compliance Function works to expand the scope of the Code of Business Conduct across all partners, joint ventures, vendors and other stakeholders of the organisation. Through the ceremony, the company reiterated that ethics is an individual’s personal responsibility and is ingrained in ENOC’s organisational ethos.