Elevating Ethics: A New Code of Conduct for Alpine Companies

The work of organizations is done by employees, who are themselves a critical asset and hold the organization’s reputation in their hands every time they interact with a customer, partner or future colleague. Companies benefit from having a suite of policies setting out the behavior expected of their teams, but developing those documents is not easy. The best place to start is with a code of conduct.

Ethical conduct policies are vital because they allow employees to raise concerns safely. These policies empower employees to continue innovating and generating new ideas, while also identifying and addressing company weaknesses.

With these drivers in mind, Alpine developed a form code of conduct in 2024 for our portfolio companies to adopt and customize for their business needs. Ethisphere Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Chair Erica Salmon Byrne helped develop the code and deliver a training seminar to the rest of Alpine’s portfolio.

Consistent but Customized

Alpine leveraged the vast resources that Ethisphere has to offer, from sample codes of conduct to guidance on ethical conduct training and “speak up” best practices. We then worked with Salmon Byrne to draft the new form code.

Some sections of the code offer a framework that businesses can customize. The “introductory statement,” for example, invites teams to incorporate their company’s own mission statement, vision, values and guiding principles, which the businesses work on during their PeopleFirst engagements. Other provisions include required language, which companies are encouraged to expand on as needed.

Expanding the Ethical Discussion

In conjunction with the form code of conduct, Alpine hosted a webinar in September 2024 for portfolio company leaders, who could then introduce the code to their teams and expand the discussion. The session included a presentation by Salmon Bryne on building ethical company cultures—in particular, how to build thriving work cultures through robust speak-up policies.

Speak Up Culture

Salmon Byrne explained that it is often informal systems and impressions, rather than formal policies, that determine whether an employee will speak up about a concern at work. For example, a team member familiar with their company’s non-retaliation policy will typically only speak up if they feel confident that the policy will be enforced. Having a policy is important, but it’s usually only the first step.

Salmon Byrne also shared that most employees choose to report concerns to people, not anonymous hotlines.¹ This makes it even more critical that managers lead on conduct, modeling ethics in who they hire, fire, promote, and praise.

Moving the Needle

According to Alpine’s 2024 ESG survey, almost a third of Alpine’s holding companies made updates to their codes of conduct to align with Alpine’s form. We also saw rates of improvement in the adoption of whistleblower policies between 2023 and 2024.²

Cobalt Service Partners, an Alpine portfolio company that provides access solutions, is among the Alpine companies using the form code for updates this year—providing required language to its partner companies where handbook updates are needed.

“I’m very grateful for Alpine’s support,” says Ginna Doyle, Cobalt’s Chief People Officer. “They present us with fully-baked, immediately actionable resources, and distill complex topics down to what’s essential to implement in our businesses—and, perhaps more importantly, how.”

Alpine plans to continue using these resources with its new platform investments and encourages companies to review their codes annually.

Examples of Alpine-Required Code of Conduct Provisions

• Speak up (Whistleblower)
• Harassment and discrimination
• Health and safety
• Anti-corruption

“I’m very grateful for Alpine’s support,” says Ginna Doyle, Cobalt’s Chief People Officer. “They present us with fully-baked, immediately actionable resources, and distill complex topics down to what’s essential to implement in our businesses — and, perhaps more importantly, how.”

 

Ginna Doyle, Chief People Officer, Cobalt Service Partners

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Case studies presented contain the opinions of past and present Alpine portfolio company executives. Alpine makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information presented here. It should not be assumed that the portfolio companies discussed in these case studies were profitable or that future portfolio companies or experiences will be comparable. Past performance is not necessarily indicative, or a guarantee, of future results. Under no circumstances should these case studies be construed as an offer to sell, or a solicitation to buy, any security or as opinions regarding the provision of investment advisory services by Alpine. Please see Alpine’s Terms of Use on Alpine’s website for disclosures.

Endnotes

1. Ethisphere’s 2024 Ethical Culture Report, https://ethisphere.com/2024-culture-report/

2. In 2024, 44% of our holding companies had whistleblower policies in place. Compared to only 26% in 2023.