Winners of 2025 UNIC Business Integrity Award announced in Kyiv

The recipients of this year’s Ukrainian Network of Integrity and Compliance (UNIC) Award, an annual honor recognizing companies for their commitment to transparency, ethical practices, and responsible corporate governance, have been officially announced in Kyiv.

The winners were revealed during a press briefing held at the Media Center Ukraine. This year’s awards were presented in four categories: “Development of Integrity Teams” went to AbinBev Efes Ukraine, “Promotion of Business Integrity” was awarded to Aurora Multimarket, “Unbreakable Compliance” recognized Kyivstar, and the UNIC-2025 Grand Prix was presented to Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukraine’s national railway company.

Speakers at the event emphasized that many Ukrainian companies are adopting a strategic approach to embedding integrity in their operations.

Business Ombudsman of Ukraine Roman Vashchuk noted that local companies are going beyond surface-level initiatives and are integrating ethical standards into the core of their internal procedures.

“The management of firms approaches this strategically, from the ground up,” Vashchuk said. “It’s not just about putting a blinking compliance logo on the website and calling it a day. We’re seeing changes in the principles companies follow, in how documents are drafted, and in the mindset around their long-term impact, even at the earliest stages of development.”

Olha Savran, manager of the OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, echoed this sentiment. She highlighted that while many multinational companies implement ethics programs in Ukraine due to directives from their global headquarters, Ukrainian firms are increasingly taking initiative themselves, and doing so with innovation.

“This competition has shown that Western businesses in Ukraine roll out ethics programs because they’re mandated to do so, and they do it in smart, tech-driven ways,” Savran said. “What’s encouraging is that Ukrainian corporations are also emerging as leaders in this space.”

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news