Values and behaviours
We are committed to conducting
business with integrity and fairness,
with respect for the law and in line with
the values described in our manifesto
'We are HEINEKEN'.
This commitment is outlined in
our Code of Business Conduct and
underlying policies.
Conducting business with integrity
Speak Up
Brand Promoters
O O Qs
Introduction Report of the Executive Board Report of the Supervisory Board
Our values guide how we work and conduct our
business, supporting the principles of the UN Global
Compact and the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines
for Multinational Enterprises.
We are committed to conducting business with
fairness, integrity and respect for the law and our
values. The HEINEKEN Code of Business Conduct (the
'Code') and its underlying policies communicate the
basic principles that every employee must observe
when acting for, or on behalf of, HEINEKEN. It explains
what we are committed to and what is expected of our
employees. The underlying policies give further practical
guidance on specific topics outlined in the Code.
We provide ongoing communication and training
to employees worldwide to raise awareness of the
Code and its underlying policies.
In 2019, we launched a new mandatory Code
of Business Conduct training which exposes
employees to practical business conduct dilemmas.
As of the end of 2019, more than 53,000 employees
had completed the new training online or in
the classroom.
As a multinational company operating in more than
70 countries, we pay special attention to potential
exposure to bribery and corruption. It is our principle
never to engage in bribery, in any place, at any time.
HEINEKEN's anti-bribery framework is designed to
minimise the risk of, and exposure to, bribery-related
incidents in our operations. It supports employees to
manage their daily challenges and meet applicable
legal requirements. Key elements of the framework
include third party screening and visits to selected
operations to assess bribery risks.
Anti-bribery e-learning builds employees'
capabilities to recog nise and deal with potential
bribery dilemmas they may encounter through their
work. The programme consists of three training
modules and is mandatory for groups of employees
across key functions. By the end of 2019, 21,517
employees had completed one or more modules of
the training programme. We keep reasonable and
proportionate oversight of activities related to the
implementation and effectiveness of the training
through internal controls.
We encourage everyone to Speak Up, in confidence
and without fear of retaliation, about any concerns
they may have.
Several Speak Up channels enable people to raise
questions and concerns. They include Trusted
Representatives and an external Speak Up
service (telephone and online) which is run by an
independent third party and available 24/7, 365
days a year.
Speak Up is available to anyone who wishes to
raise a concern about possible misconduct within
our Company, both HEINEKEN employees and
external parties.
In 2019, we received 1,699 reports of suspected
misconduct through Speak Up (2018: 1,293).
The continued increase is due to successful
awareness-raising, launch of Speak Up in newly
acquired operations and the maturity of our Speak
Up programme.
Financial Statements
Sustainability Review
Heineken N.V. Annual Report 2019
Other Information
Code of Business Conduct training
HEINEKEN Russia Sales department team completed
a classroom Code of Business Conduct training in our
Moscow Sales office.
Speak Up reports received concerned allegations of
fraud (27%), discrimination and harassment (25%),
conflicts of interest (11%) and other issues (37%).
31% of reports were substantiated and corrective
and preventative actions were taken where relevant
and possible. Actions included process and control
improvements, reimbursement of financial loss and
disciplinary measures.
For more details on our Code of Business Conduct,
see our website
Brand Promoters are ambassadors for our products,
helping us to demonstrate the value of our products
directly to our consumers across the world. We are
very proud of the work they do, and in return we
want Brand Promoters to feel proud of their work
with us.
Ensuring safe working conditions for brand
promoters is our aim and is an ongoing process
which we updated on in last year's Annual Report,
and continue to do so on our website. Building on
our existing Brand Promoters Policy, detailed
training, and ongoing independent assessments,
throughout 2019 we continued to make
improvements and embedded Brand Promoters'
safety across our business.
In 2019, we delivered training to 23,000 Brand
Promoters, agencies and our own employees
worldwide. Through the year HEINEKEN's Global
Audit team carried out audits in 12 countries,
which showed how global implementation of the
Brand Promoters Policy has progressed since its
introduction in 2018. To externally validate our
progress in implementing the Policy, we carried out
extensive independent, third-party assessments
throughout 2019. These were undertaken by
independent expert assessors at Partner Africa,
Impactt and Arche Advisors across 18 countries in
Africa, Asia and the Americas, including interviews
with a total of 387 Brand Promoters. Overall, the
assessment results found that significant further
progress has been made to improve the working
environment for Brand Promoters.
We recognise that changing the working conditions
of Brand Promoters globally is an ongoing process,
and we have made it a clear objective to take a
leading role in delivering positive change. We are
working together with NGOs, third party agencies,
and Brand Promoters themselves to continue to
make this change happen.
For more details on our Brand Promoters policies, actions and
results, and the third party assessments in the regions,
see our website
