Compliance with the competition law
One of the key axes in the company’s operation is also the strict compliance with the rules of law of free competition, a fact which adheres to our clear commitment to the principles of transparency and respect to regulations. This is why in December 2012 the Company’s Management adopted the Compliance Code with the competition law, which lays down the framework to ensure the compliance of all employees with the current free competition legislation. Furthermore, according to the inpidual provisions of said Code, an employee was assigned the duty of supervising the corporate compliance with the competition law and a confidential contact line was set up for issues related to the competition law. This line allows all employees to report any relevant matter to the above competent person under full confidentiality.
Adherence to the applicable legislation
Labour relations between the company and the employees are governed by meritocracy and transparency. The basic principles and rules regulating the employees’ obligations are set by the Internal Work Regulation. The employees, inter alia, should observe the terms of professional conduct and all the laws, including the laws on corruption, be honest towards accounting authorities and audits and not hide any data from internal and external auditors (article 3 IR).
Transaction rules with the customers
Any personnel member having transactions with third parties (customers, contractors, suppliers etc) should categorically decline to take gifts, fees, promises or any other benefits; otherwise, accepting gifts, fees and other benefits from the third parties having transactions with the company is defined as disciplinary offence (articles 26 & 29 IR).
Training program for the adherence to the corporal governance principles
A training program for the adherence to the corporal governance principles and corruption fighting is held by the company for three years (2013-2015). The program shall be attended by all the company’s executives.
Obligations of DEPA’s counterparties
The contracts entered into by DEPA with third parties for the provision of any services (studies, network construction, contracts for provision of services etc) include a special article with their obligation to adhere to the applicable legislation (European/ Greek). Furthermore, the basic natural gas suppliers of DEPA have publicized Codes of Corporate Ethics/Codes of Conduct.
The Internal Audit Directorate of DEPA operates as an independent, objective, ensuring and consulting entity, designed to add value and improve the company’s activities. Furthermore, it contributes to achieving DEPA’s objective targets adopting a systematic, professional approach in assessing and improving the effectiveness of risk management procedures, internal audit systems and corporate governance.
The objective of the Internal Audit Directorate is to provide specialized and high level services to the management by assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization’s control mechanisms and by providing proposals for improvement related to the applicable control mechanisms. The following have been laid down by the Internal Audit Directorate in order to ensure the transparency, quality and effectiveness of its activities:
- Internal Audit Set of Rules
- Code of Conduct
- Internal Audit Procedure Manual
At the same time, the Internal Audit Directorate reports to an Audit Committee comprising members of the Company’s Board of Directors.
