Compliance with our ethical policies and principles is the specific responsibility of our Group Legal Director, Philip Bramwell, who performs this task on behalf of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. He is supported by a team of legal experts, human resources and our Internal Audit Group.
The heads of each business are responsible for ensuring that employees in their area are familiar with the requirements of our business ethics policies, know what is expected of them and know how to act if they suspect wrongdoing. We have established points of contact to address employees' ethical concerns; these can be contacted directly or through anonymous telephone helplines.
In the UK our Ethics Review Committee is chaired by the Group Audit Director; its members are the Director of Corporate Responsibility, the Director of Employee Relations, the Director of International Compliance and the Director of Security. The Committee reviews issues raised on the ethics helpline to ensure that these matters are investigated and that appropriate action is taken.
In the US our ethics programme is run by an Ethics Steering Committee with representatives from each operating group and our legal and human resources departments. This reports to an Executive Ethics Oversight Committee made up of senior executives and chaired by the Senior Vice President General Counsel of BAE Systems. An Ethics Officer in each North American business unit is responsible for investigating allegations of unethical conduct.
