Our Commitments

Our Commitments

Revised in 2022 and approved by the Supervisory Board, Forward Global’s newly updated Ethics Charter ensures the Group’s business activities are a model of exemplary conduct. This document underscores Forward Global’s unwavering commitment to enforcing compliance with a framework that extends beyond legal obligations. The primary objective of this updated Charter is to ensure ongoing adherence to laws and regulations by the Group’s operations. It also bolsters Forward Global’s ethical due diligence, particularly concerning the respect for human rights, employee support, and corporate responsibility.

The ethical principles and values outlined in this Charter serve as the guiding principles for our business conduct. Forward Global advocates a responsible approach and maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy within this framework.

This Charter is applicable to all employees and managers of Forward Global, its parent companies, and its subsidiaries.

Read the Ethics Charter

Against a backdrop of strong growth and the need to enhance control over our operations, ensure legal compliance, and safeguard Forward Global’s reputation, an Ethical Committee was established on November 7, 2018. Its purpose was to formalize and provide structure to practices that had previously been informal within the Group.

Starting from spring 2022, we embarked on a comprehensive overhaul of the Ethical Committee to transform it into a pivotal and strategic entity within our Group. This involved a collaborative process of reflection, resulting in the formation of a fully independent Ethical Committee in October 2022, equipped with substantial investigative and action capabilities.

The Committee’s activities are governed by internal rules that delineate its composition, decision-making processes, and overall operations. Specifically, the Ethical Committee meticulously evaluates each new business opportunity before any contracts are signed, utilizing a precise risk analysis matrix that undergoes annual review. In cases of uncertainty, external parties are welcome to bring situations to the attention of the Ethical Committee for their input, either before contract execution or during its fulfillment.

Forward Global’s Ethics Committee is currently chaired by former Honorary Attorney General Jean-François Thony, former Director of the École Nationale de la Magistrature (ENM), and former head of anti-money laundering and anti-corruption programs at the IMF and the UN. Two other members complete the current team:

  • Gilles Duteil, Director of the Groupe de Recherches sur la Délinquance Financière et le Crime Organisé (DELFICO), former member of the French Ministry of the Economy’s National Sanctions Commission, and full member of the Principality of Monaco’s Commission d’Examen des Rapports de Contrôle du SICCFIN. 
  • Francine Ruellan, a former lawyer who transitioned to a role within La Française des Jeux, first as head of economic security and before taking charge of ethics and compliance.
Read the Ethical Committee

Forward Global has adopted an anti-corruption code of conduct that outlines both the legally prohibited behaviors and the practices forbidden by the Group. This code identifies high-risk situations, prescribes the appropriate conduct, and specifies the repercussions for code violations. It is currently in effect and applies to all employees, regardless of their position, within the Group and its subsidiaries.

Forward Global is dedicated to conducting its activities with the utmost ethical standards and strict adherence to all relevant legal regulations. This commitment reflects our unwavering stance on promoting an integrity-driven culture based on zero tolerance for corruption in all its forms.

Read the Anti-Corruption Code Of Conduct

Trust, respect, and integrity are foundational to our values. Aligned with prevailing regulations and the ethical principles governing Forward Global, we’ve instituted a Collaborators’ Code of Conduct. This document delineates the rights, obligations, and responsibilities for every team member, emphasizing the standards we uphold and expect all collaborators to embrace.

Read the Code of Ethical Conduct

The men and women of Forward Global are our biggest asset

We aim to provide our consultants with the resources to remain thoroughly involved in their tasks every day. We aspire for all our staff members to take pride in being a part of Forward Global, and to be able to bring their whole self to work.

In an ever-changing international environment, diversity and inclusion are key to remaining attractive, building loyalty, innovating and improving our collective performance. This is why we are committed to building teams that reflect our company in all its diversity, a diversity we consider to be a crucial asset. 

Our employees’ working environment must above all foster respect for each other, personal fulfillment, the development of each person’s skills and unique personality, individual well-being, and equitable treatment. These are the conditions that enable us to build trust, stimulate creativity, constantly exceed our goals, and, more broadly, serve our collective interests, both on company level and at the level of the world we want to live in.

Equality and non-discrimination are fundamental principles for us. Consequently, we are committed at all levels to creating a working environment where everyone is respected, valued and appreciated for who they are. The group’s approach is to attract, retain, and develop the best talent to support our global strategy. This commitment to inclusion and diversity enables the company to grow sustainably and profitably, while creating a favorable environment for all employees.

Promoting diversity

Forward Global’s strategy for recruitment and career development is designed to enhance gender diversity, encompass a variety of national backgrounds, include individuals from different age groups, recognize diverse career trajectories, and ensure the inclusion of individuals with disabilities.

At Forward Global, we are a committed global collective composed of over twenty nationalities. We work together and share the same goals and values. We all have different backgrounds, profiles, cultures and experiences. We are committed to working with people from all walks of life, to acting ethically by putting people at the heart of everything we do, and to developing expertise on an international scale. Diversity, collaboration, community and mutual support are at the heart of Forward Global’s corporate culture. 

Forward Global is firmly committed to improving equality between men and women in the workplace. This includes:

  • Recruiting women at all levels of the organization
  • Supporting female talent in their careers and helping them reach positions of management 
  • Increasing female representation in the Group’s various decision making bodies, with a view to achieving parity in their composition in the near future. 

Finally, Forward Global is committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination and to supporting and defending LGBTQ+ people to enable everyone to bring their authentic selves to the workplace. 

Fighting everyday sexism and interpersonal violence in the workplace

Forward Global is strongly committed to closely monitoring and addressing instances of everyday sexism in the workplace. We follow a zero-tolerance approach for such behavior, ensuring appropriate action is taken for any type of misconduct. Furthermore, we are equally dedicated to proactively identifying and addressing incidents of harassment and violence within the workplace.

The company is committed to providing its employees with targeted training to remind them of their responsibilities and best practices in this area, as well as distributing educational tools to help them address instances of misconduct. Forward Global also intends to set up a personalized system to support victims, whistleblowers and decision makers in reporting and dealing with sexist behavior or episodes of interpersonal violence.

Ensuring equal opportunities for people with disabilities, a core company priority

Forward Global is strongly committed to the integration of people with disabilities. We aim to contribute as much as we can to the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities.

We actively seek to voluntarily develop partnerships with the protected workers sector, supporting people with disabilities. 

Promoting a healthy work-life balance

Forward Global is committed, in all of its offices, to achieving the best possible balance between professional and personal or family life, particularly by promoting the best-adapted forms of work organization, flexible working hours, the right to disconnect, and a number of measures to support employees who are parents or carers.

In line with its mission, Forward Global has defined a series of social and environmental objectives that it aims to pursue within the context of its business activities, objectives which are embedded into its sustainable growth model.

In terms of governance, Forward Global is committed to defining, continuously reviewing and openly sharing the guidelines of its civic and responsible commitments. This includes matters of ethics, transparency, the fight against corruption, as well as social, societal, and environmental commitments. In order to ensure the compliance of its practices with these top-level objectives, Forward Global has put in place an ethics process, overseen by an independent committee with substantial authority. The committee is monitoring the utilization of the company’s human and technical resources before or when they are deployed for the benefit of a third party, regardless of the nature of that interest.

With regard to the treatment of its employees, Forward Global is committed to remunerating its employees fairly and to offer them a high-quality professional environment that safeguards their health and well-being, particularly by encouraging a strong work-life balance. Their commitment is valued, and their satisfaction is evaluated at least once per year through personal interviews or direct consultations on the major issues affecting the life of the company.

With the aim of nurturing its employees’ intellectual curiosity and meeting their needs to continuously develop skills and knowledge, the Group has implemented a career development and lifelong learning process, which is reviewed and developed as regularly as possible. Additionally, share ownership is open to all employees. Finally, the group’s recruitment and procurement policy is inclusive, particularly fostering the recruitment or provision of services by individuals with disabilities, those undergoing professional retraining, or long-term unemployed.

Regarding the environment, Forward Global commits to regularly evaluating its impact on climate change, air and water quality, as well as to implement a responsible purchasing policy that includes strong and sustainable environmental measures. Additionally, as much as possible, the company undertakes to favor short supply chains, encourage local economic development, and support micro-entrepreneurs and start-ups.

Forward Global is also committed to transparency towards its clients, institutions and public authorities, as well as to maintaining a constructive dialogue with all of its stakeholders.

Finally, Forward Global is committed to respecting the highest existing standards in terms of personal data protection, business confidentiality, and cybersecurity.

In January 2023, a whistleblowing system was put in place within the Forward Global Group, allowing employees, external collaborators and short-term workers to disclose or report, in a good faith manner, information related to a crime, offense, threat or the existence of conduct or situations contrary to the provisions of the Group’s Code of Ethical Conduct.

Crafted in alignment with the requirements of the French Sapin 2 law, this internal mechanism does not seek to supplant the existing regulations within the Group. Instead, it serves as a supplementary component within the internal framework of employer-employee relations, ensuring adherence to the requirements of the Labour Code.

In order to guarantee the highest standards of impartiality and independence, the company has chosen Ethicorp as its designated point of contact, both for employees and third parties. Alerts can be raised confidentially or anonymously. 

This platform for the receiving and processing of alerts is entirely managed and administered by external lawyers, an independently regulated profession bound by strict ethical and disciplinary obligations, particularly in terms of confidentiality and professional secrecy.

To access the ETHICORP platform, users must follow the following steps:

1) Log on to www.ethicorp.org

2) Click on “issue an alert”

3) Click on “New whistleblower” 

4) Fill in the form: – Corporate Code: @FORWARD17H – Name/first name/email/password/password verification

5) Click on “Create your account”

6) To finalize your registration, a validation email is sent to the email address that you provided; click on the link in the body of this email to validate the creation of the account. You can then log in to your account. 

Recommendations :

  • You can use your personal email or create one for this purpose
  • Your login details must remain private; do not share them with third parties
  • Do not allow web browsers to save your login details
  • Make sure that your email address is configured on your devices (private computer, smartphone, tablet etc.)
  • Check your inbox (including the spam folder)
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