By Fernanda Lazzarini*

The 6th edition of the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (IBGC) Code of Best Corporate Governance Practices aims to contribute to the sustainable development and transparency of organizations by encouraging the conscious and effective use of corporate governance instruments. The document's five principles are: transparency, accountability, equity, sustainability and integrity.

Integrity, a new feature of the new edition, is related to ethical culture and coherence between the discourse adopted by organizations and their daily practices. Transparency, in turn, seeks to keep all interested parties well-informed, thus promoting an environment of trust. The principle of equity establishes the need for fair and equal treatment for all, and the principle of accountability implies the responsibility of governance agents in the performance of their functions. Finally, the principle of sustainability emphasizes that organizations must recognize the interdependence of their activities with social, economic and environmental ecosystems.

Along with the principle of integrity, the document also provides a new definition of corporate governance, defining it as a system composed of rules and processes through which organizations are directed and supervised, aiming at the creation of sustainable values, both for the organization itself and for its shareholders and the community as a whole. The system guides the actions of governance agents and all individuals involved in a company or entity, seeking to achieve a balance between the interests of all parties involved, and thus, contribute positively to the local community, society and the environment.

With the aim of reaching all types and sizes of companies, the new code, through several recommendations, people and entities, corrected flaws identified in previous editions. The renewal brings with it a lighter and more comprehensive language, as opposed to the previous edition, which had extremely dense content and did not communicate with everyone.

The IBGC, founded in 1995, aims to generate and disseminate knowledge about best corporate governance practices and influence all stakeholders to adopt them, thus contributing to better sustainable performance of organizations and, consequently, to a better society as a whole. The code has been published by the Institute since 1999, with its 6th edition replacing the 2015 edition that was in force.

(with the collaboration of Felipe Kang)