This paper studied the public corporate disclosures on ethics published by
European companies, more exactly, the corporate codes of ethics and conduct. The
purpose of this study was to identify the ethical policies, practices, and attitudes
promoted by the companies towards ethics. We identified a number of 94 ethical
policies regarding companies’ stakeholders. We then classified all the identified
items considering the group of the stakeholders with primary interests in
company’s activities. The ethical items were grouped by capital owners
(shareholders and investors) (5 items), management (8 items), employees (36
items), customers (6 items), suppliers and subcontractors (9 items), governments
(12 items), communities (6 items) and the environment (12 items). A detail of the
frequency of items’ occurrences is also presented. This demarche allowed us to
conceptualize a model of code of ethics which is intended to be a first step for
companies’ guidance in designing their own corporate code. Every ethical policy is
detailed with practical examples extracted from the companies’ code of ethics.
These examples should guide companies in creating their own code and should not
affect the originality of every code designed. Companies may evaluate these
general ethical policies, and decide whether the items are compatible with the
company’s profile. If this is the case, the company should consult the practical
examples and adopt the respective items in a specific manner in accordance with
company’s profile. The presented list is not intended to be perceived as an
exhaustive one; companies may add or reject some items in accordance with the
specific elements of the company.