Vice president at US infrastructure consultants RS&H sets out the scale of opportunity for addressing corruption in an economy or an industry.
Speaking at the international launch of new research into the impact of corruption, Richard Stump, vice president at US infrastructure consultancy firm RS&H, said that the results of the research showed a “clear link between reducing corruption and a resulting rise in economic activity”. The same was true for reducing corruption in industry and raising added-value, which is valuable evidence for action, Stump said.
Stump, who also chairs the FIDIC integrity management committee, explained that key platforms for action on corruption were policy, industry training and tools, like FIDIC’s integrity management system, FIMS. He also said that the industry would continue to advocate globally that integrity is central to how the infrastructure sector acts.
Getting this right was significant, Stump explained: “The economic impact of improving on corruption is significant. If the world improves its total Corruption Perception Index score by just one point out of a hundred, the outcome would be a $33bn improvement in the economy.”
Aiming higher for the years ahead
Stump stressed that “there is a need to monitor progress and we need our allies in the fight against corruption to take an active role in that. At the same time, FIDIC itself is committing to update the tools available to ensure they are relevant to help smoke out corruption around the world as it evolves.”
“Importantly, we want anti-corruption day to move away from simply awareness raising, and move it to a day of analysis and assessment of progress, with a focus on what works and what needs doing next,” he said.
To support that, Stump (pictured above) said that FIDIC would be looking at the possibility of holding a global anti-corruption summit to bring leaders together to identify the steps the world needs.
Taking action for yourself
While global action continues to be needed, Stump also highlighted that individual and company action was crucial too. He told the global audience: “As a business leader, you have an opportunity to act. If you do not know where a line is drawn when writing up your corporate ethical code, you talk to people who do know. Because you need that in place.
“At the same time, you have a personal integrity involved. You can set the standards and expectations for those you lead and you can manage upwards too, pushing strong standards across a business.”
Richard Stump was speaking at the launch of FIDIC’s State of the World report on Corruption, its effects and the need to take action. You can read the full report here.
