The Group has publicly committed to ethics, compliance and transparency. The adoption of a comprehensive ethics and compliance approach is critical to protect the Group’s interests and sustain its development as a responsible global player.

Having reviewed the existing compliance practices and policies, it was decided in 2008 to update the Group’s compliance approach through the establishment of a further integrated Compliance Organization.

Since its early days, the Group has adopted demanding standards for its international trade activities. Detailed policies and rules were approved and continuously improved and reinforced in keeping with the highest ethical and compliant industry standards. The Group has also put a special focus on compliance with export control regulations and laws. Accordingly, Eurocopter has established a cascading system of export control procedures and policies which are implemented by export control professionals amongst the Group.

Building on this experience, the Compliance Organization aims to emphasise the Group’s commitment to the highest ethical and compliance standards, while addressing compliance risks.

In order to reach efficiency as early as possible, the compliance organizational approach is based on the right balance between independence and proximity to the business. The Eurocopter Chief Compliance Officer has therefore established a compliance organization made up of compliance experts within Sites and Business Functions. At all levels of the company, a double reporting principle is applied, any compliance resource having both a compliance hierarchy and an operational hierarchy.

Code of Ethics, Business Principles and Policies

The Compliance Organization is developed to keep the leading role of Eurocopter in the formulation of worldwide applicable ethics and compliance standards to foster a level playing field for the Group’s activities. The Eurocopter Ethics and Compliance Programme aims at supporting the management responsibility by further developing awareness of the principles laid down in the Code of Ethics, thus ensuring that individual behaviour is in line with the Group’s commitments and policies, at all levels of the organization.
Within the Chief Compliance Officer's overall mission to monitor that the company’s activities conform to applicable regulations and ethical rules adopted by the Group, the Ethics and Compliance programme ensures that relevant policies and guidelines are in place and up-to-date, starting with the Eurocopter Code of Ethics.

It also ensures that these policies and guidelines are communicated and that employees are trained, with the aim being to raise awareness in order to promote compliance as a corporate culture.

The policies and guidelines relevant to stakeholders include:

The Eurocopter Code of Ethics (pdf, 246Ko)

EADS maintains an Ethics and Compliance OpenLine where employees can raise concerns confidentially and without fear of retaliation. It was implemented after the various proceedings including those with Data Privacy Authorities and Works Councils have been completed.

The OpenLine policy can be found hereafter:

OpenLine Policy (pdf, 55Ko)