An Anti-Bribery Management Systems Forum was successfully held on 9th December 2020 during the 17th International Anti-Corruption Day, attracted 50 attendees with more than 7,000 views online from members of the public and private sector in China and the UK.The event was arranged in conjunction with BSI and the Shenzhen Institute of Standards and Technology (SIST), with the support from Standardization Administration of China (SAC) and the British Embassy in Beijing under the UK-China Business Environment Programme – Standards Strand (BEP-S). To further promote the implementation of ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems in China, experts from the UK and China shared knowledge and best practices in implementing Anti-Bribery Management Systems.
Mr David Lambert, UK-China BEP-S Programme Manager from the British Embassy in Beijing and Mr Zhang Hongfei, Deputy Director of the Standardization Administration Standard Technology Management Department in SAC, kicked off the event with opening addresses, followed by a welcome speech from Mr Xu Junwei, Director of the Shenzhen Administration for Market Regulation Standards Division.
In commencing the event, Mr Mike Henigan, BSI Sustainability Lead Program Manager and ISO/TC 309 Governance of Organizations Committee Manager, outlined the key benefits of ISO standards and emphasized the importance of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and introduced how ISO/TC 309 is contributing directly to five of the SDGs. From SIST, Ms Wen Lifeng, Director of Standards, presented ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System with its development process and implementation. Mr Henry Chen, the Senior Partner of Dentons Shanghai Office and former AP Compliance Director of Ford Motor Company, referred to how the legal framework act against corruption with reference to the way of its operation in China and other countries. Mr Howard Shaw, founder of Integrity At Work, a Governance, Risk and Compliance Specialist and Chair of ISO/TC 309 Governance of Organizations referred to the history of international effort to combat corruption as a tool pointing out, amongst other corruption control methodology, the specific benefits of adopting ISO 37001. Mr Shaw emphasized that ISO 37001 was drafted by anti-corruption experts from around the world, brought together years of practical experience and the understanding of various methods for combating corruption. Ms Gladys Zhang, the Anti-bribery compliance expert of Alibaba Group Legal Department referred to the Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Compliance Practice with the view of both Company and Individual, presented corporate compliance practices and its evaluation process. Mr John Burbidge King, CEO of Interchange Solutions Limited and Associate Consultant of the BSI, used the two case studies with regards to ISO 37001 management systems and explain how to make the implementation of ISO 37001 more robust and sustainable. Finally, Mr Xu Xuedong, Head of Anti-Bribery Compliance Department in ZTE Corporation provided an overview of the anti-bribery and anti-corruption program in ZTE from its development to the evaluation process.
The UK-China Business Environment Programme – Standards Strands is funded by the UK Government's Prosperity Fund. It aims to improve the harmonization of standards and standards-setting in China. As part of this project, BSI and SIST are working together in the Organizational Governance sector to improve the adoption and use of international standards in China, as well as the quality of submission of proposals to international standards setting bodies.
