The provisions of ESA’s Code of Conduct are as follows:
Conduct
Members are to act with honesty and integrity and should transact their business in such a way as to enhance the reputation of the Association and the sponsorship industry generally. Members will abide by the Consolidated ICC Code of Advertising and Marketing Communication Practice (incorporating the ICC International Code on Sponsorship) and all applicable legal and self-regulatory requirements in the territories in which they operate.
Skills
Members will encourage the development of a professional approach and skills within their own organisations. They should be aware of the latest techniques and developments within the industry for assessing the value and effectiveness of sponsorship and should promote awareness of these techniques wherever reasonably possible.
Written agreements
Members should wherever possible ensure that sponsorship agreements are in writing or at least that clear written evidence of the terms of any agreement is available.
Sponsorship consultants/agencies
Consultant/agency members should make their clients aware of the services that they are providing and any applicable limitations. Consultant/agency members should disclose to their clients as soon as possible the existence of any circumstances which give rise to a significant risk of a material conflict of interest with the members’ duties to their clients. They should ensure their terms of business, including terms of remuneration, are communicated clearly from the outset of any negotiations, and that they are provided to the client in written form or included in any formal agreement. The terms should specify the range of services provided within the agreement, and any activities that are subject to additional remuneration.
Sponsor members
Sponsor members should ensure they act fairly in their dealings with agencies, advisers and rights-holders, and should respect the confidentiality of any ideas presented on a confidential basis. Sponsor members should endeavour to ensure that any entity to which they pay sponsorship fees is properly constituted and that any fees paid will be correctly applied and documented.
Rights-holder members
Rights-holder members with multiple sponsors should ensure that the rights they grant to those sponsors do not conflict.
Insurance
Members should have in place appropriate policies of insurance for their sponsorship-related activities. The Association may from time to time establish minimum levels of insurance cover which its members, or certain categories of member, must have in place.
Minors
Members should not enter into an agreement with a minor without encouraging the minor to seek appropriate independent advice.
Confidentiality
Members should respect the confidentiality of information given to them by any other party involved with them on a sponsorship or which they acquire during the course of a sponsorship.
Dealings with other members
Members should ensure that they and their staff act with professionalism and courtesy in any dealings with other members. While members are encouraged to use Association events for networking, members should recognise the objective of encouraging active and open participation in events by members from all ESA membership categories and should ensure that they and their staff behave consistently with this objective.
ESA policy statements
The Association will from time to time invite comments from members as part of consultations to establish or review the Association’s policy on particular issues. Members are encouraged to contribute as actively as possible in these processes and to ensure that they are aware of the views of the Association as set out in its published policy statements.
Use of ESA name and logo
Members are entitled to use the ESA name and logo in their business materials and advertisements, solely for the purpose of showing that they are ESA members and in accordance with any usage guidelines issued from time to time. Members shall not use the name or logo of the Association in any way which falsely suggests endorsement by ESA or which would be likely to damage ESA’s reputation or goodwill.
Disciplinary and grievance procedures
The Association may from time to time establish disciplinary and/or grievance procedures relating to the conduct of members. Members will abide by any such procedures. Where the Association’s Board considers it appropriate, members may be expelled from the Association for breach of this Code of Conduct.
