Governance and Transparency

Maintaining an Ethical Culture

Economic stress can put good business practices at risk. But there is always a need for strong business ethics – and not just in a challenging economy.

We continually reinforce the importance of ethical behavior throughout our company. We do that by setting, communicating and reinforcing expectations for ethical conduct, and monitoring behavior for compliance.

In 2009, we updated our Code of Business Ethics and launched refresher training for our workforce. The code establishes standards of conduct to help employees perform their duties with integrity. It also describes ethical risks for employees, explains how to recognize and deal with ethical issues, and provides guidance on how to report potentially unethical conduct – anonymously, if they choose.

Our Supplier Code of Conduct covers Duke Energy’s expectations of our suppliers with regard to safety, corporate social responsibility, diversity, environmental leadership and ethical business practices. In 2009, we began providing business ethics training for temporary workers in professional, administrative and corporate roles.