In further recognition of the continuous improvement of governance and integrity undertaken in recent years, OEC - Engenharia e Construção received the Pro-Ethics Seal 2022-2023 on Thursday (30/11), awarded by the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) in partnership with the Ethos Institute. The announcement was made in São Paulo, at a ceremony attended by the agency's minister, Vinicius Marques de Carvalho, at which the Pact for Corporate Integrity and the PNPri (National Program for the Promotion of Private Integrity) were launched.

The initiative of the Federal Government body responsible for defending public assets, transparency and combating corruption consists of encouraging the voluntary adoption of integrity measures by companies, by publicly recognizing those that, regardless of their size and line of business, are committed to implementing measures aimed at preventing, detecting and remedying acts of corruption and fraud.

According to the company's CEO, Mauricio Cruz Lopes, winning the Pro-Ethics Seal is the result of the consistent work to strengthen the company's governance, undertaken in recent years with the support of all its more than 15,000 employees.

"This is yet another important recognition of the advances implemented and practiced on a daily basis, and it goes hand in hand with our commitment to acting under the strictest standards of integrity. Brazil and its companies have come a long way in this respect. We can say that Pró-Ética has become a benchmark in the promotion and dissemination of good practices related to integrity programs. This has been possible not only because of the dedication and seriousness with which the project has been treated since its creation by the CGU, but also because of the adherence of each company to the initiative," added Lopes.

For OEC's Risk and Integrity Director, Rafael Mendes Gomes, the construction company and its holding company, Novonor, made a public commitment in 2016 to acting ethically, with integrity and transparency and, since then, have designed and implemented one of the most complete, mature and effective integrity programs on the market. "OEC's award by CGU with the Pro-Ethics Seal is a very important recognition of the excellence of the program in place at the company, since only a small number of companies that apply for it are recognized by the federal agency," he says.

Infra+ Seal and ISO 37001

The certificate of good corporate practices issued by the Federal Government is in addition to a series of other recognitions received by OEC over the last few years. In 2022, the company received the Infra+ Integrity Seal from the Ministry of Infrastructure, awarded to companies in the infrastructure sector that adopt good practices in corporate governance, as well as developing and encouraging ethical behavior, transparency actions and the prevention of fraud and corruption.

In the same year, the World Bank's Annual Report on the Sanctions System mentioned the construction company as an "example of a company focused on compliance actions", with a comprehensive program aligned with the principles defined in the World Bank's guidelines.

Other recognitions include the ISO 37001 (anti-bribery management) certification obtained by OEC for its global operations, the successful completion of the monitoring of the integrity program by the CGU, the company's association with the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (IBGC), which also evaluated OEC's governance and integrity measures, the company's participation as a signatory to the Business Pact for Integrity and Against Corruption, an initiative of the Ethos Institute, its participation in the Movement for Integrity in the Engineering and Construction Sector (MISEC), among other actions and initiatives.

About Pró-Ética

Pró-Ética unites efforts between the public and private sectors to promote a more honest, ethical and transparent corporate environment in the country. It is an incentive, through public recognition, for companies to voluntarily adopt integrity measures. To take part in Pró-Ética, requirements such as: Senior Management Commitment and Commitment to Ethics; Policies and Procedures; Communication and Training; Reporting and Remediation Channels; Risk Analysis and Monitoring; and Transparency and Social Responsibility are evaluated.

In order to be approved for Pró-Ética, companies need to score 70 points or more and achieve at least 40% of the score in each area of the questionnaire. The Comptroller's Office also analyzes evidence from various items to determine which companies are recognized.

Throughout its history, Pró-Ética has been considered a good practice by various international bodies, such as the OAS, OECD, UNODC and Global Compact; it has been the subject of academic research and dissertations; it has been covered by specialized media and has inspired the creation of similar projects in Brazil (MAP, Minfra and CRECI-DF seals) and abroad - the most recent example being the "Integrity Seal", launched in 2022 in Paraguay. However, the main recognition comes from the Brazilian market itself.