Business conduct impacts, risks, and opportunities
Epiroc has sales in around 150 countries, where we adhere to laws and regulations, and uphold high ethical standards. The different geographical locations of our sites, suppliers, and customers provide different risk exposures as market complexities and varying environmental, social, and governance laws affect our exposure to sanctions, corruption, human rights, and environmental risks.
Epiroc plays a vital role in society at large, and as such we may be affected by various government actions. However, Epiroc’s general policy is to not be actively and directly engaged in lobbying actions related to governments. Instead, we are a member of selected industry trade associations, such as SveMin in Sweden, and we are also member of certain government-led partnerships, notably in the EU, that aim to promote safety and energy efficiency within our industry. We continuously monitor regulatory developments relevant to our industry and operations.
Material impacts, risks and opportunities
Corporate culture and protection of whistleblowers
| Non-adherence to our Code of Conduct internally may cause unequal treatment and harassment | ||
| Potential negative impact | ||
| Upstream | Own operations | Downstream |
| Short-term | Medium-term | Long-term |
| Unhealthy culture could hinder talent attraction, productivity, and innovation | ||
| Risk | ||
| Own operations | ||
| Short-term | Medium-term | Long-term |
| Failure to protect whistleblowers can lead to retaliation | ||
| Potential negative impact | ||
| Upstream | Own operations | Downstream |
| Short-term | Medium-term | Long-term |
A large part of our success is based on sustainability, compliance, a strong corporate culture, and a constant desire to continuously improve. Our growth strategy, which includes acquisitions, necessitates careful management of our own corporate culture across all operations as well as the corporate culture of the companies that we acquire.
Upholding our Code of Conduct and protecting whistleblower anonymity and confidentiality is crucial for maintaining a transparent and ethical business environment. A potential risk is failing to effectively engage employees, including especially those from newly acquired entities, in embracing our corporate culture, ethics, and adhering to our policies. This challenge could lead to integration difficulties, unequal treatment, and harassment within our operations and in relationships with suppliers and customers. Failure to protect whistleblowers from retaliatory actions could foster a culture of fear and silence among employees. This may result in prolonged unethical practices affecting workplace safety and compliance, legal liabilities, fines, and reputational damage, while hindering the identification and prevention of wrongdoing.
These risks impacts all levels of our value chain, particularly internal operations, and employee interactions, and may extend to our relationships with business partners who need to trust our commitment to ethical conduct and transparency. If not addressed, these issues could result in financial impacts such as operational inefficiencies, reduced employee morale and productivity, difficulties in talent attraction and retention, potential legal non-compliance, and reputational damage to the Epiroc brand.
To mitigate these risks, we implement comprehensive onboarding, integration programs and mandatory compliance training that emphasize our ethical standards and corporate culture. Acquired companies are given access to the Epiroc Way, which is the management system for Epiroc, outlining all documents and processes for how Epiroc conducts business. Acquired companies are normally also ISO certified within two years. To ensure whistleblower anonymity and confidentiality and to comply with applicable legislation, we have implemented our whistleblower system Speak Up. Our whistleblower policy and system are evaluated regularly to ensure protection of whistleblowers.
Corruption and bribery
| Corruption or bribery can lead to legal consequences and hinder social development | ||
| Potential negative impact | ||
| Upstream | Own operations | Downstream |
| Short-term | Medium-term | Long-term |
| Corrupt behavior may cause financial loss/fines and damage reputation | ||
| Risk | ||
| Upstream | Own operations | Downstream |
| Short-term | Medium-term | Long-term |
Corruption, bribery and any unethical business practices hinder economic and social development, erode trust in institutions and damage business environments. As a global company, we face corruption and bribery risks across our value chain, particularly in regions with weaker institutions. Certain roles such as managers, sales and sourcing employees, as well as interaction with third parties, imply increased exposure to these risks. To mitigate these exposures, we implement specific mitigating activities, including targeted training and risk assessments.
Any instance of corruption could lead to legal and financial consequences, damage our reputation, and hinder social progress. Recognizing these risks, we maintain a strict anti-bribery and anti-corruption stance to protect our integrity, performance, and the communities we serve. Our commitment to ethical practices is crucial for sustainable development, compliance, and responsible business conduct in all our operations worldwide.
We have zero tolerance for corruption and bribery. This is stated in our Code of Conduct (CoC) and Business Partner CoC. All our business partners are required to confirm compliance with the Business Partner CoC.