Committed to Doing What's Right

Strong governance practices begin at the top providing our organization with clear guidelines to define standards for ethical behavior at every level.

Setting Clear Expectations

Each Chesapeake director or employee, regardless of position, must abide by Chesapeake’s Code of Business Conduct, which is structured around our five core values. To help employees understand expectations around the Code, the company regularly hosts training sessions, and all new employees learn about the Code during their new employee onboarding process. Senior management also communicates with employees about the Code and related policies during Town Halls and other company meetings.  

Beyond enterprise-wide Code training, Chesapeake hosts specialized compliance training sessions tailored to certain employees’ job functions and work types. These sessions offer targeted guidance on important topics such as conflicts of interest, business gifts and entertainment, anti-corruption and fair competition. 

Each year all employees must sign a Code certification confirming they have reviewed the Code and related policies, understand the high standards expected of them and will report actual or potential ethics concerns or Code violations. 

Our Code references a number of policies that further guide employee behavior on more in-depth issues. These documents are available on the Policy Portal of our intranet, providing employees with a central, easily accessible location for reviewing current policies. This portal includes policies such as:

• Anti-Corruption Policy
• Antitrust Policy
• Confidential Information Policy
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Drug and Alcohol Policy
• Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
• Gifts and Entertainment Policy
• Insider Trading Policy
• Non-Retaliation Policy
• Protection of Chesapeake Assets Policy
• Social Media and External Communication Policy
• Vehicle Use Policy
• Zero Tolerance Anti-Harassment and Violence Policy

Ethics Helpline

We expect our employees to report conduct that may be unethical, illegal or in violation of the Code. Accordingly, we expect managers to create an environment where employees feel comfortable reporting concerns. We also offer the Chesapeake Ethics and Integrity Helpline, an anonymous, third-party confidential hotline and secure website. True to our culture, Chesapeake does not tolerate retaliation against anyone who raises issues in good faith.

All reports of unethical business conduct are investigated and reported to both the Board's Audit Committee and appropriate levels of management. Corrective actions are taken when necessary.