the honour, awarded in June recognizes the cooperative vision of alphonse Desjardins, who not only founded the caisses populaires in Québec, but also greatly inspired the founding of credit unions elsewhere in the country, as well as in the United States. code of ethics and professional conduct each officer and employee must respect the rules of the Desjardins Group code of ethics and professional conduct and must conduct themselves and their decisions according to the principles and values in the code.