“I am a new joinee, and I want to understand the Code of Conduct.”

“I have a situation where I don’t have clarity on what’s okay/not okay from a company guideline standpoint.”

“I am experiencing something or am aware of something, which doesn’t feel right to me.”

Do you know who to reach out to? The answer is our ’Ethics Counsellors’.

Launched in August 2019, our ‘Ethics Counsellors Program’, strives to spread awareness of our Code of Conduct (CoC) and other governance policies to employees across the organisation, so that they are well-versed with the ethical standards of Mahindra and do not violate these standards.

The Ethics Counsellors (ECs) are the first point of contact for the employees when they are faced with any issues or need clarifications about the Code. The Ethics Counsellor members help and guide employees to solve queries and concerns regarding the CoC or other ethical dilemmas. Furthermore, they convey the concerns to the management and ethics team on a periodic basis for communicating ethics issues faced by employees (ensuring anonymity) so that senior management can help find long term business solutions to such issues.

From 70 Ethics Counsellors in 2019, we have 150+ ECs covering all M&M Ltd. employees across all locations in India. We have an additional 190+ Ethics Counsellors across other Mahindra Group Companies. Our ECs invest their time and energy despite their busy schedules, to ensure that the Mahindra Group continues to be an ethical organisation we all are proud to be a part of.

Who can become an Ethics Counsellor?

• Any employee who is passionate about ethics and governance and is General Manager and above (preferably)
• Has a good understanding of CoC, governance policies and business situations
• Someone who can live the Mahindra values of Professionalism, Good Corporate Citizenship, Customer First, Quality Focus and Dignity of the Individual.
• Is an active listener, empathetic, confident, and has the courage of conviction
• Someone who maintains confidentiality

How can you reach out to our Ethics Counsellors?

Log on to the Ethics portal where you can find location-wise, business-wise list of ECs, with their contact details, link given below:

https://mahindraonline.sharepoint.com/sites/mconnect/CodeOfConduct/Pages/Corporate%20Governance.aspx

Alternatively, reach out to the Corporate Ethics and Governance team for assistance.

Initiatives taken in the last one year by our Ethics Counsellors (pan India)

• Conducted 180 knowledge sharing sessions on Gifts and Entertainment policy covering 85 per cent of officers
• Conducted 276 knowledge sharing sessions on Anti-bribery and Anti-corruption, covering 85 per cent officers and 31 per cent of workmen
• Sharing best practices amongst ethics counsellors through the Ethics Counsellors Program
• Creating awareness on the new Ethics helpline and the complaint handling process

How does the Corporate Ethics and Governance function run this program?

• Collaborate with HR to identify suitable ethics counsellors
• Train the Ethics Counsellors on their roles and responsibilities
• Conduct monthly Ethics counsellors’ meetings/ Best Practice Sessions
• Schedule leadership series for ECs where they interact with the senior leaders and understand their perspectives on Ethics
• Schedule learning sessions for ECs to equip them with the knowledge and the confidence to spread awareness around the policies. Some learning sessions over the
  last year have been on policies related to Gifts and Entertainment, Anti-Bribery Anti-Corruption, Insider Trading, Code of Conduct, etc.

If you wish to join this initiative and qualify the above criteria, do reach out to your respective HR Business Partner at your location for more details.