Interview with Felipe Cabral, Chief Compliance Officer at Atvos

“With the Compliance System, the Ethics Line gets stronger”

Chief Compliance Officer at Atvos since January 2017, Felipe Cabral talked about the scenario in which the Ethics Line exists and the challenges of managing compliance at the company

How do you see the Ethics Line channel in Atvos’ business scenario and workplace?
At Atvos, the management of the Ethics Line has been outsourced since 2013. The difference now is that the channel is part of the Compliance System and governed by the Compliance Policy and a specific directive, which was followed by a campaign to promote the channel and its actual functions. So, we added value to the business and to the workplace to ensure a safer and more ethical environment.

What are channel’s main results in this new scenario?
The report effectiveness rate, in other words, that rate at which reports are deemed valid, is 39%. In previous years, this rate stood at under 15%. This is a very representative rate which shows that the Ethics Line is perceived by the public as a compliance management tool, instead of a regular complaints channel.

How is this topic handled internally at Atvos?
The increase in the quality of reports is mainly due to the activation of two work fronts: communication and training, as well as Leaders’ participation in the dissemination campaign. We strongly believe in prevention through education, which is the rationale behind compliance management. It means that people need to learn and understand the rules. So, our campaigns and training sessions adopt the principle of being accessible to the many different publics, regardless of educational level or position at the company.

What is the role of the Compliance department?
To support, engage and inform. Our goal is to help Leaders engage Team Members in adopting a posture of ethical conduct. We manage the Ethics Line channel and other related topics to support leaders and governance. Compliance is part of Team Members’ day-to-day activities and is each one’s responsibility.

What are Atvos’ next challenges in compliance management?
One of the most important challenges we face is going beyond Atvos to promote engagement by the sugar and ethanol chain and access to information. One of the paths is to promote educational actions to raise awareness on the industry’s major challenges, such as combating slave labor, individual fraud and environmental sustainability.