10. Political Engagement
Best Practice Guidelines
Define the scope: Define political engagement and all the forms of political activities that fall within this definition. Identify those activities that are relevant to your company.
Integrate your approach: Ensure there is an integrated approach to managing all forms of political engagement even where different functions are responsible for different activities. These may include corporate responsibility, sustainability, public affairs, communications, compliance, legal and internal audit, as well as functions interested in a particular public policy area, such as a regulatory issues.
Ensure board oversight: Ensure the board is accountable for the company’s political engagement, providing direction and oversight and assigning overall responsibility for implementation to the chief executive or a senior manager.
Make a public commitment: The company’s leadership commits to responsible political engagement. The commitment is supported by guiding principles and policies.
Design controls: Design and implement controls to ensure that transactions related to political activities are bona fide, effective and free from improper practice.
Report publicly: Shareholders and other stakeholders with material interests in the company’s operations need to know that the company is managing its political engagement responsibly and effectively. Report regularly on the company’s guiding principles,
