Armando Sestili
Anti-Corruption Manager
On 9 December, International Anti-Corruption Day, Leonardo Global Solutions celebrates a milestone in its commitment to corporate integrity: obtaining ISO 37001 certification for its Anti-Corruption Management System. This achievement is not only a formal recognition, but also a sign of the company's deep dedication to a culture of ethics and transparency. The fight against corruption is a collective commitment that affects every aspect of corporate management, from risk prevention to continuous training and the active involvement of all employees. A clear message emerges: ethics is a value to be acted upon in any context and a strategic force that guides every corporate decision.
A few months ago, LGS adopted a Corruption Prevention Management System compliant with ISO 37001. Can you tell us what obtaining anti-corruption certification has meant for the company, and describe the main steps in the process?
Obtaining ISO 37001 certification not only represents a formal milestone for LGS, it is also a real leap forward in terms of the company's culture of integrity. This has been a journey requiring awareness, method and close cross-functional involvement, from senior management down to various operational levels.
From an organisational perspective, we have worked on three main areas. First, we analysed the environment and the risks of corruption, systematically mapping sensitive processes and integrating risk assessment with the measures already in place in Model 231, the Code of Ethics and the Internal Control System. This enabled us to identify priority areas for action and propose proportionate measures that can be effectively implemented.
The second focus was on building the Anti-Corruption Management System (ACMS), defining a clear structure of roles and responsibilities, a system of procedures, information flows and controls consistent with ISO 37001. It was crucial to liaise with the Legal, Purchasing, Human Resources and Audit departments, avoiding duplication and supporting integration with the tools already in use within the Leonardo Group. Finally, staff involvement and awareness were promoted through intensive communication, the development of targeted training activities and an internal communication plan aimed at ensuring that the system was perceived not as a bureaucratic requirement but as a positive driver of reputation, competitiveness and reliability in the eyes of the market and institutional stakeholders.
All in all, ISO 37001 certification has strengthened LGS's position as an organisation that succeeds in reconciling performance and integrity. It is an ongoing commitment that does not end with the certification audit, but means a cycle of continuous improvement based on monitoring, training, and constant dialogue with senior management and all employees.
What indicators are used to continuously monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of our policies and practices in this area?
Monitoring the effectiveness of the Anti-Corruption Management System (ACMS) is based on a comprehensive set of qualitative and quantitative indicators designed to measure not just formal compliance, but above all the system's ability to influence organisational behaviour and a culture of integrity.
In particular, LGS adopts an integrated performance approach involving three kinds of indicator:
- Compliance and oversight indicators, concerning the full implementation of the measures provided for by the ACMS;
- Performance and organisational behaviour indicators, to measure the system's ability to generate awareness and effective prevention;
- Impact and continuous improvement indicators, which reflect the maturity of the system and its capacity for self-renewal.
These indicators are periodically measured, analysed and discussed during reviews by senior management and form the basis for continuous improvement of the system.
The objective is not only to measure the effectiveness of the system, but also to ensure that a culture of integrity becomes an integral part of the company's day-to-day management, in line with the values and expectations of the Leonardo Group.
The slogan for the United Nations campaign for International Anti-Corruption Day 2024-2025 is 'Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow's Integrity'. What message would LGS like to convey on this day, both within the company and externally, and how do you think events like this can raise public awareness and positively influence corporate and social culture?
The message that LGS wishes to send out on International Anti-Corruption Day is one of conscious participation and shared responsibility. Integrity is not an abstract concept or something confined to the upper echelons of a company: it is a collective asset that must be cultivated every day by example, transparency and consistent behaviour.
The theme proposed by the United Nations – ‘Uniting With Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow's Integrity’ – is particularly significant because it emphasises the future and the role of the younger generation as a driver of cultural change. With this in mind, LGS wants to promote a vibrant, participatory and intergenerational culture of integrity, in which younger colleagues are encouraged to bring their ideas, energy and critical thinking to the company's processes.
Internally, the day provides an opportunity to renew the company's commitment to transparency through dialogue and stories directly involving management and employees. It is also an opportunity to highlight the results achieved with ISO 37001 certification, showing how corruption prevention is not a constraint but a driver of competitiveness, trust and reputation.
Externally, the goal is to contribute to a positive narrative of the industrial world, communicating that an ethical company is a stronger, more innovative, more credible company. Days like today help raise public awareness and strengthen the links between business and society, because they make it clear that the fight against corruption is a shared responsibility: on the part of those who govern, those who work and those, such as young people, who represent the new frontier of public and private ethics.
Ultimately, for LGS, the UN Day is not just a symbolic occasion, but a moment of collective reflection to reassert that integrity is a strategic value, an investment in the future and a true lever for building trust, both inside and outside the company.
Looking ahead, what are LGS's plans for continuing to strengthen its anti-corruption practices, and how do you think technology can help support this process?
Looking ahead, LGS intends to keep consolidating its Anti-Corruption Management System via a strategy based on innovation, integration and participation. The aim is to make our anti-corruption measures increasingly proactive, so they can not only prevent risks, but also anticipate them, interpret them, and transform them into opportunities for organisational improvement.
Specifically, our medium-term objectives focus on four lines of action:
- Strengthening the culture of integrity, through continuous training programmes and active involvement of staff, with a focus on ethical dilemmas, decision-making and individual responsibility. The aim is to establish a shared language of corporate ethics.
- Further integrating the ACMS with other governance systems, in particular with those relating to quality, safety, the environment and compliance. We want to make corruption prevention an integral part of the corporate planning and control cycle, not an ancillary element.
- Harnessing the potential of technology and digitalisation. Technology can be a powerful ally in transparency: from automating authorisation flows to digitally tracking decisions, from analysing data in order to identify anomalies in processes to using secure platforms for managing reports and due diligence on business partners.
- Strengthening our monitoring and continuous improvement including by means of predictive analysis tools and evolutionary indicators capable of highlighting emerging trends and areas of risk.
In this context, technology does not replace ethics, but rather enhances it, making every process more robust, verifiable and transparent. LGS therefore views innovation as a tool for translating integrity into method, ensuring that anti-corruption principles do not remain mere words, but become a living part of the company's daily management and competitive positioning.
Is there a message you would like to share?
The message I wish to share is simple yet essential: integrity is not a constraint, it is a strength. It is the condition that makes people credible, organisations strong and relationships with stakeholders sustainable. Even the smallest day-to-day choices help to build or erode trust. This is why preventing corruption is not a technical issue, but a collective commitment that affects how we view work, responsibility and the future. I am confident that at LGS we will strive to demonstrate how transparency and innovation can coexist, how ethics generate value in a framework where every employee – regardless of their role – has an important part to play in building an honest, safe and respectful work environment. Because, ultimately, it is people who make the real difference: those who choose, every day, in any context, to act with integrity.