Transparency International’s 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), launched today, reveals that the UK is struggling to recover from last year’s all-time-low score.

The CPI ranks 180 countries - including the UK – according to the perceived levels of corruption among public officials and politicians, as assessed by international experts and institutions. It scores countries on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is perceived to be highly corrupt and 10 indicates low levels of corruption.

Read the full article on Transparency International: UK Needs Zero Tolerance for Corruption

Our Opinion:
Corruption is an issue which is firmly within the CSR agenda.  The regulation already exists, it is simply a question of corporate responsibility whether it is adhered to or not.

Last year, Transparency International labelled the UK “a place where corrupt business is done” after its CPI ranking plummeted from 12th to 16th.

This year the UK sank another place to 17th while Ireland (which was joint 16th in 2008) rose to 14th.  The top country was New Zealand; the USA was ranked 18th and Somalia last.

The UK is now in danger of slipping out of the top 20 most trusted countries within which to do business, while Barbados entered the top 20 this year and Qatar looks set to enter next year.

CSR consultants and executives need to ensure their businesses have robust and meaningful anti-corruption measures in place.  If they don’t, they can hardly be considered responsible.