PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR
The principles of ethical behaviour describe our values and our previous actions in dealing with each other as well as with our customers, suppliers and other business partners.
It is understood by all employees of our companies that they must comply with the laws of the states/countries with they work with. Our actions, both internally and in relation with third parties, are in line with our quality and environmental policies.
Business ethics and integrity ensure our credibility. Misconduct and violations of our principles and quality and environmental policies can have serious consequences not only for each individuals but also for our entire company and will therefore not be tolerated.
- We treat each other with respect and fairness. We respect dignity of every individual. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. We consciously embrace the internationality of our companies and the employees working within them. We strongly oppose discrimination based on gender, race, skin colour, religion or belief, political opinion, sexual identity, ethnic origin, age or disability.
- We reject any forms of forced labour. No employee may be compelled to work through violence and/or unlawful measures.
- Prohibition of child labour: We do not tolerate child labour or any other exploitation of children and adolescents.
- We take responsibility for our employees. We are committed to ensuring that everyone working in the company can carry out their tasks safely and stay healthy. Safety takes precedence over all other management objectives. The high level of commitment of employees at work is offset by the company's social obligation to ensure the best working conditions. This also includes compliance with applicable laws and regulations regarding working hours, minimum wages and respecting the freedom of assembly of our employees in accordance with applicable laws.
- We always separate corporate and personal interests. For us, having integrity means acting honestly and righteously. We are committed to free and fair competition. We reject actions that exclude, restrict or distort fair competition. Our employees must protect the interests of the company and are not allowed to use their professional position when dealing with business partners and/or their employees for their own benefit or the benefit of third parties. The development of personal dependencies or obligations towards business partners is not allowed. We reject any form of corruption as harmful to competition.
- We take responsibility for our environment. We use all of our experience, our technical know-how and our creativity to conserve resources and avoid harm to people and the environment. We are continuously working on improving our environmental footprint and resource utilisation.
- Leadership culture: The actions of of our leaders are aligned with the values and goals of the company. We particularly expect our leaders to align their own behaviour on the principles and thus also fulfil an appropriate role model function.
- We rely on competent and committed employees.
