ECI, RILA to Advance Retail Ethics, Compliance Programs

Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI), the premier membership association empowering organizations to operate with integrity and maintain a robust ethics and compliance (E&C) programs, announced a partnership today with the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) to offer RILA member companies a Framework for Excellence Program Assessment (formerly known as HQP for High Quality Program) and analysis of key retail industry benchmarks and compliance trends. 

“Leading retailers have a wide range of ethics and compliance obligations due to the vast scope of their operations and global supply chains, significant size of their workforce, large physical footprints of physical stores and distribution centers, and variety of products and services offered to customers,” said Kathleen McGuigan, executive vice president and deputy general counsel, RILA. “Partnering with ECI gives RILA members access to first-in-class E&C resources to ensure they are able to meet and exceed their E&C obligations and adapt their programs to respond to changing requirements and expectations.”

To develop, implement and continuously evolve high quality E&C programs, companies need a consistent and unbiased means of assessing and measuring program maturity, quality and effectiveness. Under the terms of the ECI/RILA partnership, participating RILA members will be able to access ECI’s Program Assessment and receive company specific results. Retailers can use these results to gauge compliance risks and identify programs gaps, strengthen their ethical cultures, measure the effectiveness of their efforts and prioritize the most effective E&C activities, and compare to general industry and peer retail E&C metrics. 

“ECI’s Framework for Excellence in E&C is the industry’s definition of an effective program, as developed and continually refined by E&C professionals,” stated Pat Harned, Ph.D., CEO of ECI. “We are grateful for RILA’s partnership in making the Program Assessment tool available to their members, and we look forward to future work together to help organizations address important gaps the survey reveals and reinforce a shared mission to build a stronger ethical foundation across the global retail sector.” 

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About ECI (Ethics & Compliance Initiative)
ECI is the leading organization in defining business integrity to make the world a better, more ethical place. We provide ethics and compliance professionals with the tools they need to become great leaders, build exceptional teams, and create ethical workplaces that set the highest standard. We equip companies and organizations for success by giving them the confidence that they are doing the right thing, and the intelligence to anticipate what is coming around the corner. For more information about ECI and become a member visit www.ethics.org.  
 
About RILA (Retail Industry Leaders Association)   
RILA is the US trade association for leading retailers. We convene decision-makers, advocate for the industry, and promote operational excellence and innovation. Our aim is to elevate a dynamic industry by transforming the environment in which retailers operate.

RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $2.7 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs, and hundreds of thousands of stores, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers domestically and abroad. www.rila.org  
 

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• Legal Affairs & Compliance