Steering clear of conflicts of interest

Conducting business with honesty and integrity is a non-negotiable commitment we expect from all our employees and business partners. To this end, we recently launched our “Don’t support it. Report it!” campaign. The campaign encourages all Exxaro employees and stakeholders to help us in the fight against dishonest conduct by anonymously reporting any suspected unethical and/or illegal activities.

Conflicts of interest arise when an opportunity that benefits you as an employee, also affects the company. The expectation is that the employee is true to the company's code of conduct and will act in the best interests of the employer and not for their own personal gain. These opportunities may pose a dilemma, which can be challenging to deal with because they often seem harmless but can cause serious harm to an organisation’s reputation.

Something as simple as an employee hiring a member of their family (nepotism) without disclosing their relationship, accepting gifts to make a decision in a favourable manner (bribery) or adjudicating a tender when you have a vested interest in the outcome (conflict of interest), can potentially cause widespread discontent and cast doubt on the entire organisation’s ethics and integrity.

“It is of the utmost importance that all Exxaro employees and other stakeholders have a clear understanding of what constitutes a conflict of interest,” says Exxaro CEO, Mxolisi Mgojo.

One of the most common conflicts of interest results from having a second source of income or “side hustle” that conflicts with an employee’s primary employment. Exxaro requires employees to declare all instances where they are providing products or services to the general public in exchange for money as part of their annual general declaration form.

After such declaration, the Social and Ethics Committee, the Ethics Committee or the employee’s line manager may approve such employ, provided it meets the criteria as stipulated in the policy.

Conflicts of interest can occur in all spheres of an organisation’s operations, and individuals are sometimes not even aware that their actions represent a conflict of interest. Yet, ignorance of the law does not exempt anyone from the consequences of their actions, so it is important to cultivate a continuous awareness of how your actions may cause a conflict of interest.

“Whenever you take any action, always first ask yourself ‘How will this action affect Exxaro?’ If there is even the slightest risk that any action may harm Exxaro’s reputation, we encourage our employees to disclose the risk to their line manager,” continued Exxaro CEO, Mxolisi Mgojo.

Transparency and open dialogue are powerful weapons against conflicts of interest, and the best way to protect both Exxaro and its employees against their consequences.

It is only by standing together against dishonest conduct that we can secure the future success of Exxaro and ensure that we continue to live and breathe our ethos of Powering Possibility for all our people

Should you become aware of any conflict of interest that impacts Exxaro, immediately report it to Tip-offs Anonymous, an independent, confidential whistle-blowing hotline service that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.

Tip-off information can be provided to us through various contact mediums, and it doesn’t matter whether you are an employee, customer, supplier, manager or shareholder – everyone can now report unethical and criminal behaviour in a safe, confidential and secure way.

Contact Tip-offs Anonymous using the following channels:

FreeCall: 0800 20 35 79

FreeFax: 0800 00 77 88

FreePost: KZN 138, Umhlanga Rocks, 4320

Email: Exxaro@tip-offs.com

Website: www.tip-offs.com