DNV has designed a governance model which explicitly addresses business ethics. DNV also provides guidance to the employees in their daily operations on CR issues.

DNV’s governance model explicitly addresses business ethics and will guide in daily operations on CR issues.

• The CR requirements to employees and the business - including consequences of non-compliance - are expressed in the DNV top level documents “Code of personal conduct” and “Code of business conduct”.
• DNV has signed the UN Global Compact and is committed to the internationally recognised declarations on human rights, labour standards and environmental protection. DNV promotes the core principles of the UN Global Compact and supports its focus on continual improvement. The UN Global Compact that DNV has signed includes Labour Principle 3: “Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining”.
• Fraud and anti-corruption profiling shall be conducted every 3 years in DNV to determine areas where improvements must be made. In addition, CR issues like ethics and anti-corruption will be a regular training topic.
• Semi-annual business reviews shall be held with all divisions to discuss various results and issues, among these are CR concerns (e.g. ethics, corruption, etc.).
• DNV manages CR risk by carefully identifying potential threats, developing mitigating actions and incorporating these into the corporate risk management tool, Easy Risk.
• Ethics and anti-corruption are crucial topics included in training initiatives all throughout each employee’s working life. “Crossing the line” is a tool which has been developed to provide guidance in this area.

DNV’s Code of Business Conduct stresses the importance of never compromising on our integrity. Awareness raising on this is an important part of DNV’s training programs for employees.

Corrupt practices pose a serious risk to the sustainability of business and society. Corruption is incompatible with DNV’s values, and involvement in any form of corruption or bribery by anyone in DNV is unacceptable and prohibited. DNV has developed anti-corruption instructions in line with international recommendations and the guidelines of Transparency International.

DNV's reputation is at stake if we do not pay close attention to business ethics at all levels in the organisation. It is necessary to create a broad awareness on these issues, and make all employees aware of the legal and ethical boundaries and how to deal with different dilemmas.

As corporate instructions cannot cover all workplace situations DNV has also made sure that various tools and mechanisms are in place to further guide employees.

DNV has appointed an Ombudsman so that employees have a trusted route to voice ethical concerns or get help when faced with difficult ethical choices. To support the anti-corruption instructions, guidelines with practical examples of what is considered acceptable or not when forming business relationships with clients and suppliers have been made. Implementation tools include training initiatives and workshop programmes on dealing with dilemmas.

Countries where human rights are violated
DNV is currently present in countries where human rights are violated and the personal safety and security of individuals are threatened. Realising that it is essential that DNV shows responsible involvement, special instructions have been made for establishing offices or business in these areas.