Our Stories

The role of the Compliance & Integrity Department is to promote a culture of compliance and integrity to drive performance of the business. To do this, we focus on three primary objectives: anticipating and mitigating compliance risks, detecting and responding to allegations of non-compliance, and promoting a culture of compliance and integrity that encourages ethical conduct and compliance with the Altria Code of Conduct, our policies and the law. Our success requires us to partner inclusively and collaboratively and communicate transparently about our compliance and integrity efforts.

I'm responsible for our risk assessment process, which is how Altria identifies key compliance focus areas and enterprise risks. Throughout this process, we engage with employees, regardless of their level, to identify, prioritize and manage significant risks – compliance, strategic, operational or financial – relevant to the business. Those risks are shared with the Risk Oversight Committee, and ultimately with our Board of Directors.

We promote a culture of compliance and integrity in many ways. For example, we identify employees from various departments to serve on Compliance Committees. These committee members serve as local ambassadors to increase awareness and resources for employees to ask question and raise concerns. Also, in 2019, we hosted our first-ever National Compliance Week that consisted of various employee engagement opportunities, including games, a scavenger hunt, and an external speaker. We also regularly communicate the importance of compliance and integrity across the enterprise. For example, many resources are available on the Compliance and Integrity intranet site including our Policy Library and we distribute routine publications highlighting different aspects of our Compliance & Integrity Program in employee communications.