Open Letter to the Chair of the OECD WPRBC

Dear Mrs. Christine Kaufmann,

The first time I contacted you, as chair of the “OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct” (WPRBC), was in May 2023. I informed you that the "Final Statement" of Specific Instance nº 04/2020, conducted by the NCP Brazil, was written, undoubtedly, in a disorganized manner, as well as difficult to understand and omitting several important facts that resulted in the decontextualization of a history of more than 22 long years, favoring the Italian oil giant Eni. Furthermore, this document highlights an active, proud, and defensive participation of the NCP Italy in favor of the “interests” of the Respondent, revealing a serious and questionable “conflict of interest” because the NCP Italy is part of the direct public administration of the Italian government, the “controlling shareholder” of the Respondent.

After just a week, I received your "response", stating that the WPRBC cannot interfere in the the NCP Brazil because the NCPs have “autonomy” in conducting Specific Instances.

I countered your response, claiming that this “autonomy” does not mean that the NCP Brazil can “neglect” its role granted by the OECD, conducting a Specific Instance “at its pleasure”, nor can it allow the NCP Brazil to publish a Final Statement that is not a “mirror” of everything that was manifested and fully proven by more than 100 documents (“depriving” the Submitter of obtaining “minimal” reparation), much less gives the right to the NCP Brazil to “harm” a Submitter.

In August 2023, I made new contact with WPRBC. On this occasion, I demonstrated and proved that the aforementioned Final Statement, by involving the “OECD Secretariat” itself, wrote paragraphs with “untrue content” that attack my honor and reputation, directly violating article 12 of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, the “UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”,  and Principles 01 and 02 of the “UN Global Compact”.

Despite the seriousness of the fact, after 5 months, strangely, I still have not received any response from the WPRBC, much less the necessary “clarification” from the "OECD Secretariat" regarding the conduct of the NCP Brazil.

I hope to receive a response consistent with the seriousness of this issue, otherwise my disappointment with the NCP Brazil will turn into the certainty that the “OECD Guidelines” are only for multinational companies to gain reputational points with their Stakeholders as they boast to the whole world that they “follow” and “accept” the Guidelines. However, when “adverse impacts” are fully proven, these companies do not behave in accordance with the guidance in the “OECD Due Diligence Guide for Responsible Business Conduct”. And, as if that were not more than enough, these companies count on the invaluable help of the NCPs that cause even more damage and harm to the people affected by publishing a Final Statement that is not “reliable” to everything that was presented and proven by the Submitters.

Best Regards.

Douglas Linares Flinto
Founder & CEO Brazilian Business Ethics Institute &
Submitter of Specific Instance nª 04/2020 - NCP Brazil

Read more: 

1) E-mail May 15, 2022: New Eni's Board: "due diligence" of my case 

2) E-mail Sept. 11, 2022: New Eni's Board: Whistleblowing Report vs Human Rights 

3) Eni's Board: Request Douglas Flinto - Addition item to the agenda AGM 2023 Eni SpA

4) Chronology of Facts to describe the events between ENI and DLF from 2001 to 2022

This is Eni's Way

Title: Eni's corporate governance is rubbish... And the Board of Directors is a joke!

Do you think the title of this post contains strong words? So, I ask for your kindness in reading the summary of my story of more than 22 long years with Eni in an attempt to rescue and restore my name, my honor, and my reputation unfairly deprecated. I am quite sure that after reading my post, you will agree with me:

In 2001, after complying with the words and spirit of Eni's Code of Ethics and denouncing a million-dollar scheme of internal fraud and acts of corruption at the Brazilian subsidiary, I was unfairly fired — in proven “retaliation” — by the executives I had exposed, including members of the Board of Agip Brazil.

So, in addition to the presidency of the Brazilian operation (2001) and the Ethics Committee in my country (2002), I made contact – requesting a “due diligence” of my case – with five different Boards of Directors and three different CEOs: Vittorio Mincato (2002), Paolo Scaroni (2009), and Claudio Descalzi (2014, 2020 and 2023). Despite being insistent, Eni never responded to my contacts!

Furthermore, Mr. Mauro Meggiolaro, a journalist and critical shareholder of Eni, took my case to be discussed at four shareholder meetings (2017, 2018, 2020, 2021). In fact, during the 2018 AGM, Mr. Meggiolaro used the microphone, spoke about the “Flinto Case” to everyone present, including members of the company's Board, and offered to be our “mediator”. He even suggested that a meeting be organized to overcome the emotional barrier of our conflict so that we could talk about concrete facts to try to put an end to this story. But the “mediation meeting” was never scheduled!

After the 2020 AGM, I decided to take my case to the NCP Brazil and made a “report” about Eni’s non-compliance involving the “OECD Guidelines”. This report of mine, fully proven by hundreds of documents, concerned the “abuses” of human rights, due to Eni’s “attacks” against my honor and reputation. But the company, once again, refused to engage in dialogue to resolve this ethical conflict and, much less, as advised in the “OECD Guide”, it refused to carry out “due diligence” to verify whether the company caused (or did not cause), contributed (or did not contribute) to the adverse impacts that I have been suffering over these two decades.

Therefore, if the Italian oil giant fulfilled its commitments (such as the Code of Ethics) and, in fact, “accepted” and “followed” international commitments (such as the Global Compact, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the OECD Guidelines), Eni would have another type of conduct concerning my case.

So, is Eni's corporate governance rubbish or not? And is the Board of Directors a joke or not?

2024: Public Challenge to Italian oil giant Eni.

I want to start the year 2024 by launching a “PUBLIC CHALLENGE” to Italian oil giant Eni.

After more than 22 long years, hashtag Eni will finally need to carry out an “in-depth investigation” into my case – in light of the commitments made by the company (to its internal and external Stakeholders) through its own policies and codes, declarations, standards, and procedures as well as international pacts, conventions, principles, and guidelines accepted and followed by Eni, including the Italian government, controlling shareholder of the company, appearing, in many of these international commitments, as adherent, signatory or ratifier – to analyze the facts and the dozens of documents that I presented to hashtag Eni over all these years (see file below).

And the result of this "DUE DILIGENCE", the company will present here, on the largest professional social network in the world, intending to provide “TRANSPARENCY” to our case.

Eni should not be worried about pointing out its mistakes and errors in handling my case. This is because, even with best practices, any company can cause or contribute to negative and harmful consequences that it did not foresee or was unable to avoid.

Eni's Board of Directors and C-Level executives must understand that opposing positions do not mean opposing interests. My position may be different from Eni's position. However, I believe we have a common interest far superior to our positions. And this common interest is precisely the solution to this conflict!

In this public space, LinkedIn, there is a great opportunity for conciliation because we are the "protagonists" in resolving this conflict. Therefore, I have great expectations that, from our dialogue – which never happened – a very positive solution may emerge because this attitude is the right thing to do!

Read more:

1) E-mail May 15, 2022 - New Eni's Board: "due diligence" of my case

2) E-mail Sep 11, 2022 - New Eni's Board: Whistleblowing Report vs Human Rights