We expect all our employees to act to the highest international standards for appropriate ethical behavior. This is enshrined in our Corporate Governance and Code of Conduct policies.

Syngenta's Code of Conduct governs the behavior of its 19,000 employees. It sets out the ethical and policy framework that underpins the way employees act towards the company, each other and those outside the company.

Business practices and ethics
The Code of Conduct addresses critical issues for corporate behavior, ranging from political donations, bribery and conflicts of interest to policies against discrimination and harassment, aspects of competition law and a commitment to scientific standards.

Amongst the business practices covered by the Code of Conduct, bribery is an issue that has long undermined the governance and effectiveness of government and private sectors alike. In some countries, the vicious cycle of bribery continues to prevent fair, efficient and transparent political and economic institutions from flourishing, constituting a serious obstacle to development. The payment of bribes is expressly forbidden in both Syngenta's Code of Conduct policy and the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials. Syngenta is committed to a corruption-free environment and complies with national legislation in this respect, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of the United States and the Swiss Penal Code.

Internal systems: whistleblowing
Syngenta emphasizes the quality of its internal systems to deal with any breaches of the Code of Conduct appropriately and effectively. To that end, we aim to reinforce our management systems, ensuring we have robust internal systems to manage matters that arise. This will include having a process to investigate complaints, support for mediation and appropriate protection for whistleblowers. These arrangements are currently being implemented: we will report on them in future years.

Governance
Syngenta is committed to the highest standards of corporate governance corresponding to the requirements of the capital markets where we are listed, namely Switzerland and the USA.

Syngenta is led by a strong and experienced Board. It includes representatives from four nationalities, drawn from international business and scientific backgrounds. It brings diversity in expertise and perspective to the leadership of a complex, highly regulated, global business. The Board of Directors is elected by the shareholders and holds the ultimate decision making authority of the company, except for those matters reserved by law or by the company's Articles of Incorporation to the shareholders.

For full details, please refer to the Corporate Governance Report 2003.