Astellas promotes an ethical culture where people are expected to act with integrity and put patients first and the long term, sustainable success of the company as their priorities.
Ethics & Compliance’s Integrity in Action program reinforces the importance of taking responsibility, acting ethically and leading by example. As part of Astellas’ ongoing commitment to this program, our training and communications embed the Astellas Way values and a patient-focused mindset, so employees can understand how being ethical and compliant helps them live the Astellas mission.
Astellas fosters an environment that encourages employees to speak up to report potential or actual violations of the Group Code of Conduct, as well as any unethical behavior or business practices, or receive advice on how to react in the event they discover or suspect misconduct. Reports may be made by employees or third parties and may be made anonymously as permitted by local laws and regulations.
In addition, Astellas strictly prohibits retaliation against anyone who raises a concern or reports a suspected compliance violation in good faith even if the concern or report is not substantiated after investigation. Astellas regularly reinforces the importance of speaking up and the responsibilities that employees have in reporting through Astellas’ global Speak Up campaign which includes online resources, posters, communications, and presentations supported by a visual theme.
Having the ability to centrally manage the reports of suspected non-compliance and the corresponding investigations also enhances Astellas’ ability to analyze compliance trends globally. Compliance hotline statistics are analyzed and reported to the Global and Regional Compliance Committees on a regular basis.
Astellas leaders and managers are critical to the effective promotion and protection of the Astellas core values of integrity, and ethics and compliance within their teams. Ethics & Compliance works closely with the business to engage in various initiatives designed to continually enhance and sustain an ethical and compliant culture at Astellas. This includes an ethical decision-making initiative with leader and manager workshops dedicated to providing insight into key ethical concepts that impact decision-making and the practical tools leaders and managers can use, as well as help their teams use, to support ethical decision-making in their daily business activities.
Turn the Lights On is an engaging way to build lessons learned discussions around matters brought to our attention for investigation. This enduring platform engages local Compliance Committees and leadership through employee-facing scenario-based panel discussions and encourages dialogue at all levels of the organization to increase compliance maturity and leadership using investigation case studies. Creating a safe speak up environment builds trust among our teams and trust in Astellas.
The Business Ethics Practitioner (BEP) program develops employees and leaders by (1) creating a deeper understanding of the impact of corporate culture on behavior and conduct, (2) embedding an enhanced working knowledge of ethics and compliance in the business, and (3) defining and encouraging the creation of a psychologically safe, ethical environment. These BEPs are then able to lead by example and serve as role models to other employees in responsible and ethical ways of working, identify and address potential ethical and compliance risks, drive successful ethical and compliant decisions, and support employees in speaking up about potential issues.
By putting the patient first and making decisions that support delivering innovation with agility and integrity, we create a long term and sustainable future that will continue to add value to patients and reinforces the trust on which our success is founded.