What is the Sapin 2 Act?
The law known as "Sapin 2" refers to the Act of December 9, 2016, on transparency, the fight against corruption, and the modernization of the economy . In particular, she creates the French Anti-Corruption Agency and establishes protections for whistleblowers. Under penalty of sanctions, it requires companies employing at least 500 employees, or belonging to a group whose parent company has its headquarters in France and generates revenue exceeding 100 million euros, to take measures designed to prevent and detect acts of corruption or influence peddling, whether committed in France or abroad.
What are the requirements of the Sapin 2 Act?
These measures include: a code of conduct, an internal reporting system, risk mapping, assessments of customers and suppliers, accounting control procedures, training for at-risk staff, a disciplinary policy to sanction employees for violations of the code of conduct, and a system for monitoring and evaluating the measures implemented.
Code of Conduct
The code of conduct outlines questionable practices that should be avoided
The internal alert system
The internal reporting system flags suspicious behavior and protects those who report it (whistleblowers). This protection framework was established following the transposition into French law in 2022 of the 2019 European Directive on the protection of whistleblowers
Evaluation of Customers and Suppliers
Evaluating customers and suppliers helps weed out those with questionable practices
Accounting controls
Accounting audits are designed to identify any instances of corruption or influence peddling
The training plan
The training program helps raise awareness among employees who are most at risk of corruption
Disciplinary actions
Disciplinary sanctions are imposed for violations of the code of conduct. The law has tightened the rules regarding sanctions: the French Anti-Corruption Agency may impose a fine of up to one million euros on the company and up to 200,000 euros on its representative. The amount of the penalty is proportionate to the severity of the violations and the financial situation of the individual or entity being penalized. To set an example, the agency may order that the penalty be published, disseminated, or posted (a practice known as “name and shame”).
The evaluation
Ongoing evaluation ensures that the compliance program is being implemented.
How should companies implement the Sapin 2 Act?
To establish internal processes, companies—particularly their procurement departments—can rely on the voluntary ISO 37001 standard. This standard establishes a framework for implementing an internal anti-corruption management system based on the principle of continuous improvement, with the option of certification. This system can be integrated into a quality policy (ISO 9001), a responsible procurement strategy (ISO 20400), or a comprehensive CSR approach (ISO 26000).
What is compliance?
The Sapin 2 Act introduces the concept of “compliance,” which can be understood as a commitment to acting ethically and responsibly. The issue of anti-corruption thus aligns with the theme of CSR, just as the Duty of Care Act of 2017. This law is known as “Sapin 2” in reference to the first law introduced by Minister Michel Sapin, known as “Sapin 1,” in 1993. That first law aimed to clarify the financial reporting of political parties and established a more competitive procedure for awarding public service contracts. The introduction of the Sapin 2 law in 2016 came at a time when France was being singled out within the OECD for certain weaknesses in its anti-corruption efforts. Another key objective was for France to regain a leading role in global regulation, complementing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (U.S., 1977) and the Bribery Act (United Kingdom, 2010).
