A part of compliance for logistics companies is how employees are able to navigate complex trade requirements. Often, employees may not have the practical guidance they need to make the right call.

A new report  2026 Code of Conduct Report from LRN Corporation examines how companies communicate ethical expectations and whether employees have the guidance they need to navigate real-world challenges.

The report draws on two perspectives: an analysis of more than 1,000 codes of conduct and survey responses from about 2,000 employees across multiple countries. The findings point to several gaps that logistics leaders should pay attention to:

International trade guidance is missing from many codes. Only about half of analyzed codes address international trade laws, raising questions about how well employees are prepared to navigate cross-border requirements.

Practical guidance remains limited. Just 29% of analyzed codes include scenario-based questions and answers, leaving employees with fewer opportunities to understand how ethical standards apply to real operational decisions.

Speaking up remains a challenge. Only 66% of employees say they are confident they can report misconduct without retaliation, highlighting the difficulty of building a culture where concerns are raised before they escalate.

Insights shaping the Next Generation of Codes of Conduct

Code usage is strong, but there’s room for improvement

Formal code adoption is widespread: Nearly all employees say their organization requires them to certify or acknowledge the code. But everyday engagement is less consistent. 63% of employees say they have used the code as a resource, down from 70% in 2025, and only about 1 in 4 use it often or very often outside of formal training.

Meanwhile, website access increased by 6 percentage points, although PDFs remain the dominant format. The challenge is shifting from simply providing the code to making it a practical resource employees will use throughout the year.

Many codes fall short on practical guidance

Access is only the beginning. Nearly 1 in 4 employees say their code is difficult to navigate, while nearly 1 in 5 say it lacks practical guidance. More than 80% of codes analyzed have a good layout, and about 80% direct employees to related policies.

But practical decision aids are much less common: Only about 40% include a decision-making model and fewer than 1 in 3 include scenario-based Q&As. Effective design means helping employees not only find information but understand how to apply it when difficult decisions arise.

Codes lag in addressing emerging risks

Traditional compliance topics remain firmly established. Nearly every code addresses conflicts of interest and confidential information, while more than 90% address bribery and corruption. Emerging and operational risks appear far less consistently.

Fewer than 1 in 10 explicitly address AI or technology ethics, while security and crisis management and competitive intelligence appear in only about 1 in 3. The opportunity is not to add every new risk, but to keep the code aligned with your latest risk assessment and the issues employees most need guidance on today.

Keeping the code relevant takes more than training

Training remains valuable: Among employees who receive code training, nearly all say it helps them understand how to use the code. But training now reaches 78% of employees, and only about 3 in 5 say their manager talks about the code. Confidence in speaking up also shows room for improvement.

Nearly all analyzed codes provide reporting resources, but only about 2 in 5 explain investigation procedures, and only 66% of employees are confident they can report misconduct without retaliation. Keeping the code relevant requires reinforcement through managers and leaders, along with greater transparency about what happens after employees speak up.

Effective codes balance substance and usability

More effective codes tend to cover more ground. They score nearly twice as high as less effective codes on LRN’s effectiveness framework and are substantially more comprehensive. But more content creates a design challenge: Nearly 1 in 4 employees say their code is too long or difficult to navigate, rising to about 1 in 3 with Gen Z employees.

The finding is not that longer codes are better. Effective codes need enough substance to address the issues employees face, supported by design, navigation, and practical guidance that make that substance useful for a diverse workforce.