Siemens launches round two of global Integrity Initiative with USD 30 million funding 

“The Integrity Initiative promotes ethical standards and fair competition,” said Erich Kaeser, CEO, Siemens Middle East. “We stand for integrity and transparency in business, both in the Middle East and globally, and we are proud to support organizations that fight corruption.”

The initiative lends support to organizations and projects around the world that fight corruption and fraud through collective action, education and training. Established in 2009, the USD100 million initiative seeks out schemes that have a clear impact on the business environment and can demonstrate objective and measurable results. For the second installment, Siemens intends to award funds to the most promising and innovative proposals, including for regional projects across Middle East.

In the first round of funding, Siemens provided financing for 31 projects globally with a combined value of USD 40 million, helping facilitate hundreds of training courses, publications and awareness-raising events. Four proposals in the region had received support, including a three-year program to enhance business integrity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with USD 750,000 of funding. The scheme, which is being run by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), aims to raise awareness of existing international best practices in anti-corruption through regular conferences and training sessions.

Another project, instigated by the Regional Bureau for Arab States at the United Nations Development Program, received USD 1.78 million from the Siemens Integrity Initiative and is seeking to support anti-corruption policy reform through the training of non-governmental practitioners. Participants have already established a Doha Working Group, which brings together regional and international experts on business integrity and anti-corruption to develop region-specific training programs.

The submission process and application templates for the second tranche are described in detail at www.siemens.com/integrity-initiative including references to the history of the Siemens Integrity Initiative which was part of the settlement between Siemens AG and the World Bank. The deadline for the submission of applications is August 29, 2013, with the announcement of selected projects expected in summer 2014.

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the fields of industry, energy and healthcare as well as providing infrastructure solutions, primarily for cities and metropolitan areas. For over 165 years, Siemens has stood for technological excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality. The company is the world's largest provider of environmental technologies. Around 40 percent of its total revenue stems from green products and solutions. In fiscal 2012, which ended on September 30, 2012, revenue from continuing operations totaled €78.3 billion and income from continuing operations €5.2 billion. At the end of September 2012, Siemens had around 370,000 employees worldwide on the basis of continuing operations. Further information is available on the Internet at: www.siemens.com.