Each year on December 9, the United Nations promotes ethical business practices and fair competition by marking International Anti-Corruption Day. At Carnival Corporation & plc, we comply with all applicable anti-corruption laws and maintain clear guidelines on business practices for our global workforce.
A holiday season reminder
Offering or receiving items of value can be a customary part of developing working relationships with our business partners. However, integrity in business is important. To avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest or bias, be mindful of our policies on gifts when dealing with vendors and other business partners. You may offer gifts to or accept gifts from anyone doing or seeking to do business with our company as long as they are:
- Infrequent occurrences between the giver and recipient;
- Not solicited;
- Valued at no more than $200 USD (or the local equivalent) in any given year; and
- Not in the form of cash or a cash equivalent (e.g. checks or gift cards that can be used as cash such as Visa, MasterCard, or American Express)
Other gift-related options
In general, if a gift doesn’t meet the guidelines above, it must be returned to the sender. If you feel uncomfortable declining a gift, you have other options for resolving the situation:
- The gift may be handed over to the Global Ethics & Compliance department which can assist you in donating it to charity;
- You may keep the gift as long as you make a donation to a charity supported by our company in an amount equal to the market value of the gift minus $200 USD and provide proof of the donation to the Global Ethics & Compliance department; or
- If the gift is a perishable item such as a food basket, the basket’s contents may be shared among members of your department, so no one receives items valued in excess of $200 USD.
In all of the above circumstances, gifts in excess of $200 USD must be reported annually on the Business Ethics Disclosure Form.
Note: Your department might have additional rules in place, some of which may be more restrictive than those set out above. If in doubt, please check with your manager.
For more information
Visit the Global Ethics & Compliance intranet site and refer to the Anti-Corruption Policy and Guidelines as well as the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for additional guidance on giving or receiving gifts.
If you have further questions, contact the Global Ethics & Compliance team