Our position and commitments

Antitrust compliance is one of the core principles of our Code of Conduct: Total "complies with all applicable laws, regulations and decisions of the United Nations and the European Union, especially concerning the environment, competition and employment" and "observes the rules of free competition [...]".

Our senior executives have always taken a firm position on the issue.

In 2010, Christophe de Margerie, then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, reaffirmed Total’s commitment in a message addressed to all employees. He encouraged them “to maintain integrity in business relations by respecting free competition regulations”.

Addressing the Senior Management Seminar in 2006, Thierry Desmarest, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total, said: “Competition sometimes forces us to charge less than we would like. It's part of being in business. We have no choice but to comply with antitrust regulations.”

Continuing along the same lines, when asked about Total's position on anti-competitive agreements, General Counsel Peter Herbel told the same meeting: “Our position is very clear: WE DON'T DO IT,” he said. “It's illegal and everyone knows it. Besides, our own Ethics Charter forbids it. These practices do not benefit a company, either in the short or long term.”

He made the following recommendations: “Zero tolerance. Senior managers are responsible for making sure their units don't engage in these practices. […] The top-down message must be clear and unambiguous. I urge you to attend the training sessions organized by your respective legal departments. […] You need to introduce effective compliance programs.”

Former Chief Financial Officer, Robert Castaigne, said in an in-house publication: “Ethical conduct begins by observing the laws that apply to us as a company and, particularly, antitrust laws. […] Everything needs to be done so that all our employees — managers as well as sales and marketing staff — are educated about antitrust issues and are aware of the ethical and economic consequences of their actions.”

This position is widely shared within the businesses.

For Michel Bénézit, President of Total Refining & Marketing and Chairman of its Management Committee, the issue is non-negotiable. In a message forwarded to the entire R&M staff during the 2006 intranet campaign he wrote: “We must guarantee that our business operations comply with the Total Code of Conduct. It is both an individual and collective duty. Concerning the protection of free competition in particular, R&M has a compliance program aimed at strengthening efforts to prevent violations. The purpose of the tool is to help us develop an unbending ‘zero-infraction' attitude in our day-to-day business. Failure to adhere to the program's standards and guidelines would violate antitrust principles and harm the company's interests by exposing it and the employees in question to severe internal sanctions and criminal penalties. To help us ensure strict compliance, R&M's Legal Affairs and Agreements Department, together with the subsidiaries' legal teams, is responsible for providing training on a regular basis and, if necessary, advice. All antitrust issues must be brought to their attention as quickly as possible to ensure an appropriate and effective response.”

Taking a similar tone in the Practical Guide to Antitrust Law in Day-to-Day Chemical Operations, Chemicals President François Cornelis said: “I feel it's necessary to remind all of you that our company intends to comply scrupulously with the local legislation of any country where we conduct business. Antitrust laws are of particular importance. By forbidding practices that restrict free competition, they aim to protect one of the main achievements of the European Union: the free circulation of products and services within a single market. A violation of antitrust legislation is a serious blow to our company's integrity, reputation and honor in the eyes of our shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the public at large. […] Our company's success depends on the values it adheres to and the image it projects. Consequently, we need to apply strict, codified rules of conduct. Please make sure you give this matter your constant attention. Antitrust compliance is the responsibility of every employee.”

Implementation

Our businesses, especially Chemicals and R&M, have developed antitrust compliance programs designed to educate employees and ensure that they respect applicable legislation and regulations at all times. The compliance programs comprise four main components: systematic training, employee accountability, regular audits of program implementation and sanctions in the event of failure to comply.

The first step in setting up these programs was to prepare practical guides for each business, in order to increase familiarity with the regulations and ensure employees conduct themselves appropriately. These guides are accessible to everyone on the intranet.

Employees who are the most exposed to risk — those who are in direct contact with customers, competitors and suppliers — receive training in antitrust law. The dedicated training courses are offered worldwide and tailored to national legislation. They are updated at regular intervals. In addition, Chemicals and Refining & Marketing have developed e-learning programs to help employees broaden their knowledge.

In order to increase accountability, employees exposed to competition risks are required to sign a personal commitment letter in which they undertake to comply with the principles and instructions of the compliance program and with the relevant rules.

Employees are reminded that a “zero tolerance” policy applies in the event of abuses and severe sanctions will be applied.

To ensure distribution and application of the program worldwide and to support line employees in their day-to-day work, dedicated legal departments have been created in Chemicals and Refining & Marketing. They are supported by management at all levels and by Human Resources, which has an important role to play, especially in identifying employees exposed to competition-related issues.

Monitoring

Program compliance is monitored through a system of internal controls, ethical principles and practices, and dedicated contact/listening processes within the businesses.

In the past, Total had been investigated and found guilty of anti-competitive agreements. For more information about principal antitrust proceedings in which the Group is involved, see pages 148 and 149 of the 2010 Registration Document.

Recent achievements

This information is collected for purpose of Communication on Progress in line with our UN Global Compact report.

An antitrust compliance survey was conducted across our businesses in 2008. Based on answers to the questionnaire, more than 4,500 employees received compliance training during the year, either collectively or individually, through dedicated seminars or e-learning modules.
Between 2008 and 2010, 3,938 employees were trained in Refining and Marketing. In 2010, the Chemicals branch of the Group offered training to 921 employees.

In addition, nearly 7,400 employees have signed personal commitment letters since the practice was introduced in 2007 ( 4,587 in Chemicals and  2,795 in Refining & Marketing).