Castello Branco and other authorities participate in an event that shows advances in the area of ​​Governance and Compliance at Petrobras

Petrobras held, yesterday (30/11), the opening of the event “Dialogues for Integrity”. At the meeting, the company highlighted the advances it has been making in the fight against fraud and corruption and reaffirmed the importance of ethics, integrity and transparency in conducting its business. Petrobras' billionaire divestment could stagnate oil production by 2025

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It is the 7th consecutive year that Petrobras promotes the initiative, always close to the United Nations (UN) International Anti-Corruption Day, celebrated on December 9.

“Since I assumed the presidency of Petrobras, I declared zero tolerance for corruption. It is one of the worst evils that can hit societies. It discourages economic growth, innovation and the pursuit of productivity gains and increases social inequality, as it transfers income from society to a small group of criminals. It affects the poorest, those who need it most, as it subtracts health, education and public safety resources. Petrobras has learned a lot from what it has suffered in recent years. Today, integrity is an absolutely non-negotiable value in the company, it is the only way we can conduct our business. The evolution of the company's Integrity system has provided risk mitigation, greater security in the decision-making process, reconquest of image and greater competitiveness in its business. Petrobras will continue to contribute to creating an increasingly ethical, upright and transparent society,” said Castello Branco.

In addition to the president of Petrobras, the ceremony was attended by the minister of the Federal Supreme Court and current president of the Superior Electoral Court, Luís Roberto Barroso, and other authorities. During the event, Barroso highlighted that corruption in Brazil has historical roots, however, according to the minister, it is already possible to perceive changes in Brazilian society.

“The fight against corruption and in the name of integrity is not a fight that is won by knockout. It is a long fight, which is won by points. It is work for more than one generation. The good news is that it has already started. At some point, Brazilian society stopped accepting the unacceptable. That train has already left the station. It's on course, not with the desired speed, but in the right direction. I already see the changes. The new generations have more demanding ethical standards. Private initiative has already changed, as this meeting demonstrates, which has been repeated for several years. Almost all large state or private companies have a compliance department. There are already large worldwide offices specialized in the subject. I congratulate Petrobras for the importance it has been giving to the integrity and recovery of the company's image and efficiency”, analyzed the minister.

During the event, advances and key figures in the Governance and Compliance area in 2020 were presented. More than BRL 510 million were recovered by the company as a result of collaboration agreements, leniency and repatriations in 2020 alone, totaling more than 4,5 billion since 2015. Petrobras performed Integrity Due Diligence (DDI) on 4,1 companies. The DDI evaluates the fraud and corruption combat mechanisms of the companies with which Petrobras does business. Due to the strengthening of good governance practices and integrity in its processes, Petrobras is again eligible to receive investments from the largest pension fund in Norway (KLP) in 2020, and also returned to the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), an initiative of the World Economic Forum (WEF) for anti-corruption and transparency issues.

More than 49 employees were trained in matters related to integrity in 2020 alone. Courses were held with senior management and employees in general, on topics such as the Code of Ethical Conduct, competition compliance, among other subjects. In addition to the internal public, Petrobras provided training for its counterparts, such as suppliers and partners. The difficulties arising from the Covid-19 pandemic brought an additional challenge to training throughout that year, with a good part of the courses held at a distance.

“Petrobras does not want to sweep the dirt under the rug, but extract the lessons learned. We learn from the lessons of the past to improve our future. After implementing a compliance system, with the best tools a company should have, we are seeking to leverage the dissemination of a culture of integrity at Petrobras. Valuing correct conduct, valuing employees with attitudes of integrity, including in terms of meritocracy, and valuing prevention so that illicit acts do not occur within the company,” said Marcelo Zenkner, director of Governance and Compliance at Petrobras.

The release of the new Petrobras Code of Ethical Conduct and Guide to Ethical Conduct for Suppliers was also mentioned by Zenkner. The documents clearly and objectively set out what Petrobras expects in terms of ethical conduct from its employees and suppliers. The Guide for Suppliers also reinforces the promotion of dignified and safe working conditions and the fight against child and slave labor, in addition to promoting diversity, gender and racial equality and the inclusion of people with disabilities, in line with the purposes of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). Another novelty mentioned was the creation of an exclusive category of highlights in integrity practices in the Petrobras Best Suppliers Award, which already recognizes contracted companies in aspects such as deadlines, quality and management.

Sanctions based on the Business Anti-Corruption Law

In recent years, Petrobras has also applied R$ 7 million in fines against suppliers due to Disciplinary Administrative Proceedings (PARs) based on the Corporate Anti-Corruption Law (12.846/2013). These sanctions are applied by the Petrobras Integrity Committee, an independent collegiate made up of compliance specialists, including external lawyers. This month, Petrobras even held a series of webinars on Administrative Systems Sanctioning Private Entities in conjunction with the World Bank (BM), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Comptroller General of the Union (CGU). It was the first event of this nature ever offered by the BM and the IDB in Latin America and aimed at training representatives of direct and indirect public administration.