Rota do Oeste takes the Compliance Program to partner companies

1st Compliance Webinar encourages contractors to implement ethics policy

Rota do Oeste Concessionaire believes in acting ethically with integrity and transparency in everything concerning the BR-163 concession in Mato Grosso, and knows that, with the unified action of the business chain, one can go further. Aiming to take the Compliance Program beyond the Concessionaire’s borders, last Thursday (11) the 1st Compliance Webinar was held with the company’s suppliers and partners.

Rota do Oeste’s Compliance Program, following guidance from shareholder OTP, has been developed since the beginning of highway works, and intensified as of 2017. Since then, the policy has been improved to reflect the perceived needs of Compliance, Shareholder Management. “You detect points of weakness and make the necessary adaptations,” clarifies CRO Compliance Manager Laura Arruda.

Currently, 875 outsourced employees are working on the BR-163 concession, in different sectors. The number exceeds the number of Direct Members, which totals 815. This was one of the reasons that led the Concessionaire to hold the virtual meeting with partner companies. “One of the main pillars of our Compliance Program is to ‘look at third parties. As they represent the majority of our internal public, it is important that they are aligned with our policies,” explains Arruda. In addition, the event aimed to encourage suppliers and partners to implement/strengthen their control environments and Compliance Programs.

The virtual meeting was a great exchange of ideas to strengthen ties, add value to the CRO business chain, and clarify relevant aspects about what behavior is expected from partner companies. With the presence of more than 80 participants, the presentation of the Compliance Program, from the company’s overview to the main pillars of the company’s ethics policy, was made by Laura Arruda and Josimá Guimarães, OTP’s Compliance Director. Guimarães says he has attended other meetings with suppliers, but the 1st Compliance Webinar is the first of its kind. “The larger purpose is to overcome CRO barriers and support vendors to implement or strengthen compliance actions in their environments. By improving their business, we improve ours as well,” he says.

The representatives talked about how implementing compliance is a way to help get processes done in the best way, not just bureaucratizing. The event was closed by Rota do Oeste’s CEO, Júlio Perdigão, who believes that, over time, compliance has become part of Rota do Oeste’s culture, becoming something natural and beneficial, encouraging suppliers to increase compliance policies in their companies.