Last week I received an email from one of our employees who has been with the company for 18 years. In it, he challenged our current strategy, asking whether we take risks for environmentally unethical clients and whether we do all we can to protect our planet and reputation.
Considering the industries we work in and the level of potential risk involved, I think that is a fair question and an interesting area.
It is my firm belief that ethical behaviour and corporate social responsibility bring significant benefits to a business. I also believe that Amec Foster Wheeler must lead the way in sustainable business practices and that we have been doing a great job on all ethical and environmental fronts.
One of the first things we launched as part of our new company were our values, followed closely by our behaviours. In addition, we put all necessary procedures and processes in place, including our online Code of Business Conduct training. The mandatory Anti-Bribery and Corruption training is coming out this month as well, which is another signal of the importance and value we place on ethics.
In terms of the environment, I think our commitment and approach is quite clear: our Resilient World sustainability strategy demonstrates our passion for solving current natural resources challenges in partnership with our customers, colleagues and suppliers. In addition, this year we became a partner of 100 Resilient Cities.
All this conveys a clear message as to the kind of organisation we are to all our current and potential stakeholders – customers, employees and investors alike.
However, as was correctly pointed out, we do work on projects in some potentially risky industries which may have environmental consequences if not well managed – and that is when our expertise and the processes and procedures I have mentioned step in. It is our duty to advise our customers on best practice and any potential negative environmental impact of their plans. True delivery of excellence can only be done if we have considered ethics, the environment, health & safety, security and many, many other aspects.
In our Code of Business Conduct, the question is posed “Would I be happy to see my actions reported in the newspapers?” I believe everybody who has ever had any doubts about the importance of ethics now realises, in particular after the VW incident, that lack of ethical behaviour can damage the very essence of a business and all of its employees.
Delivery excellence, however, is not only limited to the external parties with whom we work. We have a number of internal departments which provide the necessary assistance and support to others, ensuring this large engine called Amec Foster Wheeler runs smoothly.
We recently established Global Business Services (GBS), previously known as Shared Services Centres. These will deliver high-quality services, systems and processes to all internal stakeholders and you can find more information about the rationale and next steps here. There will be much more information available in the future, so look out for news on onespace where these efforts will be communicated.
It is important to remember that our success does not only lie in what we do, it is also about how we do it. As an organisation, we must prioritise ethical behaviour - doing the right thing makes good business sense for everyone.
And, to the email I received - as I have said before – I’d rather have a small clean company than a large dirty one.
Samir Brikho