The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has released “Anti-corruption Third Party Due Diligence”, a new guide to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) assess and manage corruption risks associated with engaging third party suppliers.

Paris, 17 July 2015.- SMEs are often on the receiving end of burdensome due diligence procedures of large multinational companies. These requirements can be overwhelming and often companies feel they do not have sufficient resources to meet them. This new ICC anti-corruption tool addresses these concerns and inspires businesses to engage in due diligence by creating achievable and manageable due diligence goals.

“Corruption hinders economic growth and erodes trust in both businesses and governmental institutions,” said Viviane Schiavi, Senior Policy Manager of the ICC Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption, and Co-chair of the B20 Anti-corruption Task Force Training Work Stream.

“It remains a major barrier that impacts businesses negatively by increasing the costs of doing business -especially for SMEs – and undermining the quality of both products and services. SMEs are drivers of economic growth in many economies yet often they need relevant training to do their part for responsible supply chains and sustainable growth.”

This indispensable ICC guide addresses SMEs’ need for capacity building on integrating global supply chains in an ethical and responsible way. It provides practical advice on how SMEs can cost-effectively conduct due diligence on third parties they engage to perform services on their behalf.”

This new anti-corruption tool is a direct response to the Turkish G20 and B20 efforts to implement concrete actions for private sector integrity, especially to empower SMEs in their fight against corrupt activities. It also supports one of the key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to be adopted during the UN’s General Assembly in September, which will work towards substantially reducing corruption and bribery in all its forms.

ICC has been a pioneer in the business fight against corruption, and is at the forefront of the development of ethics, anti-corruption and corporate responsibility advocacy codes and guidelines. The new guide will complement ICC’s robust suite of anti-corruption tools, which includes the Ethics and Compliance Training Handbook .

Download the new guide “Anti-corruption Third Party Due Diligence”