For decades, ICC has taken the lead in denouncing corruption and in developing measures to combat it. When business transactions are affected by the payment of bribes, they are not transparent and disrupt a sound competitive environment

ICC's main objective is to encourage self-regulation by business in confronting issues of extortion and bribery, and to provide business input into international initiatives to fight corruption

The risk of corruption faced by businesses varies according to a number of parameters, including their size, their international exposure, and the nature, scale and diversity of their activities. More needs to be done for SMEs in particular, which are especially vulnerable and lacking in adequate resources to fully comply with anti-corruption requirements.

Fighting corruption within the private sector, amongst both MNEs and SMEs, is a progressive and incremental process. Combating corruption requires strong top-management commitment and high-quality and systematic organization to ensure that anti-corruption becomes part of the corporate culture at all levels. From a business perspective, what is needed is a thorough and pragmatic implementation of ethics and anti-corruption standards within companies. This requires the building of real integrity awareness in all segments of society and in business in particular.