4.4.6 Audits and Certifications
Communications industries are subject to different formal frameworks. The Group’s agencies are sometimes audited by clients on different issues. In the United States, in response to a request from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) focusing on issues of audience reliability, all the audits conducted at Publicis Media failed to show any anomalies, thus making the media solutions offered to clients even more credible. The main certifications in place in agencies are:
- ISO certifications; 23% of headcount is covered by the various ISO certifications; the majority of these cover agencies in India and the United States;
| ISO certifications | Nbr of agencies certified |
|---|
ISO certifications ISO 9001 | Nbr of agencies certified 19 |
ISO certifications ISO 14001 | Nbr of agencies certified 16 |
ISO certifications ISO 27001 | Nbr of agencies certified 10 |
ISO certifications ISO 22301 | Nbr of agencies certified 1 |
ISO certifications ISO 17100 | Nbr of agencies certified 2 |
ISO certifications ISO 20121 | Nbr of agencies certified 3 |
ISO certifications ISO 45001 | Nbr of agencies certified 2 |
- professional certifications; in some countries, these are required for certain activities, for example, with the CENP in Brazil or the CAANR in New Zealand;
- technological certifications, which are widespread and cover different types of technical standards. As well as:
- industry qualifications related to certain tightly controlled business sectors, such as healthcare for Publicis Health agencies, in the United States, France and the United Kingdom: employees are trained in local regulatory frameworks and every campaign undergoes a Compliance Review;
- professional accreditations enable checks and audits to be conducted on behalf of clients, as is the case with Publicis Communications in the United States which conducts audits requested by clients on different aspects such as supplier diversity.
4.4.7 Compliance
All compliance matters are monitored by the Group’s Legal Department under the responsibility of the Secretary General, with the support of the local teams in all countries.
In relation to the GRI guidelines:
- Publicis Groupe does not receive any State aid or public financing;
- Publicis Groupe, whose core activities involve the provision of intellectual services, has not recorded any incidents involving child labor or forced or compulsory labor, nor incidents relating to the violation of the rights of native populations, nor human rights grievances;
- Publicis Groupe has not experienced any incidents of non-compliance with voluntary rules and codes concerning: impacts on consumer health and safety; information about its products and services; the provision and use of its services;
- Publicis Groupe has had no complaints filed against it for invasion of privacy or loss of client-related data;
- as happens every year, a very small number of agencies (fewer than ten) recorded incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes relating to communications, more often than not in the form of notices or notifications issued by regulatory or self-regulated bodies, on each occasion giving rise to immediate modifications;
- Publicis Groupe has not had to fight any legal actions for infringement of anti-trust laws, anti-competitive behavior or monopolistic practices, or corruption.
