The constantly increasing globalization, technologization and networking of all aspects of our lives makes a diverse range of things more convenient in everyday life but also results in ever more complex legal and administrative challenges. These requirements need to be considered in our daily dealings, our decisions, and our actions.
Specifically, we view the following topics as being relevant:
We have drawn up these compliance guidelines to provide guidance in our everyday working lives. They express our commitment to compliant behavior and convey our ethical and moral values. Those who violate these principles are acting in breach of the rules. They damage the reputation of our company and also risk damage to it economically.
We expect all of our employees to take these compliance guidelines into account and adhere to them in their relevant working environment. They are also expected to respond appropriately to any infringement that may be identified
Thank you very much for your support!
1 General Principles
The reputation of our company is primarily defined by the behavior of our employees. Every one of our employees has to make sure not to damage the reputation of the company by his or her action. We act in a professional and respectful manner, especially when dealing with our customers.
Our employees are selected fundamentally based on their qualifications and capabilities. We guarantee equal treatment and equal opportunities to all people (irrespective of their religion, skin color, gender, ideology, background, etc.) that somehow deal with our company.
We respect internationally recognized human rights and support the adherence to them.
Every one of our employees must refrain from any form of discrimination (e.g. Injustice, harassment) and promote respectful interaction with one another in the spirit of partnership.
2. Rights and Regulations
We act in accordance with the law. In particular, we are committed to the free and democratic order defined in the German constitution.
We generally reject illegal behavior. It leads to a serious loss of reputation and to negative legal consequences.
Alongside disciplinary measures imposed by the company, employees acting unlawfully must also expect to face criminal prosecution from the authorities. Legally compliant behavior is thus in the interest of all employees and should be kept through their own responsibility.
In all cases of doubt, employees should clarify the situation with their superiors, the legal department, or management.
3. Product Safety, Occupational Safety, and Environmental Protection
The safety of our employees and our customers in the different areas of our company and at our project locations is one of our prime goals. The quality and operational safety of our products and services also have to meet the highest standards. We monitor our products on the market with the aim of improving them and making the safer
We maintain a safe working environment and make sure employees are provided with all the equipment required for the completion of their work. Safety regulations must be strictly observed and regularly checked to ensure their effectiveness. Defects must be immediately pointed out, resolved and, if necessary, penalized.
If our work (e.g. fitting, installation, commissioning on construction sites) is also subject to special regulations (e.g. building site and work rules supplied by the customer, state regulations, etc.), these rules must be additionally observed. Management personnel has a particular responsibility for maintaining safety.
We place a focus on sustainability, the economical use of resources, and the avoidance of negative influences on the environment.
4. Expertise and company property
Our broad-based and innovative expertise embodies the intellectual property of our company and, as such, is an essential component of our success.
As a technological company, we are especially dependent on the protection of our expertise and all of our innovations. Therefore, we handle our business secrets particularly carefully and ensure that confidential information cannot fall into the hands of unauthorized third parties.
We handle physical company property (vehicles, tools, furniture, etc.) carefully and in accordance with its intended purpose. Unless explicitly authorized and specified in writing in each individual case, we do not use company property for private purposes.
We handle our financial resources in a responsible manner. We make business decisions according to the relevant requirements and based on a commercial consideration of the opportunities and risks, while also taking into account any business partners involved.
5. Business Secrets and Data Privacy
It is particularly important to protect the confidential information that we receive from our business partners. This information must be handled with the utmost discretion since any breaches of confidentiality can lead to serious liability issues.
We only share business secrets with colleagues to the extent that it may be necessary to carry out relevant business transactions. We view the personal data of our employees and contractual partners as sensitive, personal information and handle it therefore in a confidential manner.
We use personal data exclusively for the purpose for which it was made available to us and comply with the existing laws to protect this type of data
6. Competition
We believe in fair competition
Competition is what drives us to improve. In turn, this helps us to develop the optimal solutions for our customers, while also making us an attractive employer for our employees. We comply with the laws that protect competition. In particular, we do not hold discussions with other market participants about prices, conditions, the allocation of market shares, the coordination of quotation and production strategies or similar.
Such violations lead to severe sanctions from the cartel and/or antitrust authorities.
7. International Trade
Our business activities have an international focus. We comply with the regulations applicable to cross-border trade and with the laws of the countries in which we operate.
In particular, we observe applicable import and export restrictions, any licensing requirements, and the payment of fixed customs duties and fees.
Adherence to these regulations is regularly monitored by the authorities. Significant sanctions may be imposed in the case of infringement.
8. Taxes
We are committed to paying taxes in accordance to our legal obligations. These are absolutely essential financial contributions for the functioning of the state and the preservation of our community. We reject any unlawful withholding of taxes as being unethical and unsocial.
We recognise the need for the public authorities to verify our tax compliance in the form of regular company and tax audits and avoid all behaviour that could hinder the work of the responsible institutions. The correct assessment of the circumstances relating to tax and subsidy law is often difficult. In cases of doubt, it is necessary to involve the supervisors and/or specialists from inside or outside the company.
9. Special Grants
We reject any form of bribery. We do not require any special benefits (e.g. Money, gifts, invitations to sporting or cultural events, or similar) to be successful in our business activities.
Neither our business partners nor third parties, especially public officials, are given any improper advantage nor do we accept any kind of advantage ourselves. We are cautious not to accept or grant any form of benefit. Any benefits whose acceptance require a concealing by the recipient or exposes the recipient to a moral obligation are prohibited. In cases of doubt, employees must seek approval from their superiors.
All commission payments or reimbursements to dealers, agents, or consultants must only be made for legitimate and truly delivered services and must appropriately match these services.
10. Avoidance of Conflicting Interests
The loyalty of our employees to their company is indispensable to the success of the company. We avoid anything that is contrary to the legitimate interests of the company
Secondary employment requires prior approval,which the company will not unreasonably refuse.
We clearly distinguish between business and private interests. We do not use our activities in the company to gain personal benefits. We avoid commissioning business partners due to personal interests. Under no circumstances are business partners preferred due to private interests.
The proper documentation of business transactions ensures that we can verify our actions. We document the essential business processes in a factually correct, complete, transparent, and written (electronic) form. This information is stored in such way that the relevant document remains intact, traceable, and assignable for at least the retention periods required by law.
11. Cooperation and Management Culture
We work together openly and without prejudice. In order to achieve optimal results, we work in a trustful, collegial and responsible manner with one another. This includes listening earnestly to the opinions of others and being prepared to genuinely question our own.
Management personnel serves as role models and thus has a particular responsibility for applying and implementing these compliance guidelines on a daily basis. They are responsible for promoting compliant behavior amongst their employees. They are also the first point of contact for all questions that their employees may have.
Management personnel place trust in their employees, agree clear, ambitious and realistic performance goals and provide them with sufficient room to assume responsibility, grow to meet challenges and achieve their performance goals. Management personnel notices and recognizes the achievements of the employees.
12. Scope of validity, implementation, and sustainability
These compliance guidelines are binding for all companies in the WITRON Group and their employees worldwide.
If the company has issue- or country-specific regulations, they are a useful supplement to these compliance guidelines.
In addition to the employee's superior, management and/or the legal department are also available to answer questions about these guidelines or about what the correct behavior is in specific cases. Violation of these compliance guidelines will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary measures. All evidence indicating any violations will be investigated. Evidence can be directed to the respective supervisor, the management, the legal department, the works council, or the appropriate representatives (e.g. data protection, IT security, occupational safety). This information can be sent by email to the works council at the following email address: compliance(at)witron.de.
For any information provided in good faith or with a request for discretion, the company will keep the identiy of the person providing the information confidential.
The Blue Competence initiative
We are a partner of the Blue Competence sustainability initiative. Blue Competence (www.bluecompetence.net) is an initiative of the VDMA (www.vdma.org), to promote sustainability in the engineering industry, but to also make sustainable solutions known to the industry. With our partnership, we commit ourselves to compliance with the twelve sustainability principles of the engineering industry.
Parkstein, November 19, 2021
Our obligation to ensure the health, safety and well-being of our employees is an integral part of our corporate philosophy. As a family business, we attach great importance to this out of tradition.
Health and safety at work is the responsibility of the management board, supervisors and employees!
All employees cooperate responsibly when applying the safety measures daily. Everyone has the duty to point out recognized dangers as well as to eliminate potential dangers.
1) Laws and regulations
WITRON is obligated to comply with laws and regulations. Cooperation with authorities, institutions and qualified partners is maintained on an ongoing basis.
2) Workplace safety
An integral part of the health and safety management system is to design the organization and facilities in such a way that the safety and health of employees are not endangered. For this purpose, the main focus shall be placed on preventive measures. Appropriate equipment and protective clothing is provided, proper use is ensured.
3) Trainings and instructions
The company offers regular training and instruction possibilities on the topics of "occupational safety", "accident prevention" as well as "first aid". All employees are responsible and obligated to use this offer and apply the knowledge gained.
4) Investments
All necessary resources for the health and safety management system are planned and made available in coordination with the management.
5) Effectiveness review
The effectiveness of the decisions and measures taken is reviewed on a regular basis. Management review meetings and internal/external audits ensure that this health and safety policy is complied with and that the specified targets are met. The potential for improvement is identified and the appropriate measures taken.
The quality policy of the WITRON Group implements the standard ISO 9001, forms an essential part of our company management and is on a par with the other corporate policy goals.
The quality policy is based on the following principles:
We derive our quality attributes and our quality tasks directly from customer requirements. In doing so, we aim to meet and exceed the demands and expectations of our customers in terms of quality and
on-time delivery of our products and services.
Our quality management system is based on the principle of personnel responsibility, which means that all employees are personally responsible for the quality of their work and that they control
themselves.
We enable our employees to make their contribution to our quality goals through targeted and advanced training and by providing comprehensive information.
The personal development of employees in their job is our primary goal. That is why we promote our employees flexibly in accordance with their abilities and interests. We expect commitment and
dedication from everyone.
Environmentally friendly handling of our resources and the use of ecologically sound materials are a matter of course in our business.
Our quality management manual represents a description of the quality management system we have established. Our quality policy is further specified and explained in detail for the individual areas of
responsibility.
With our quality management system, we pursue the following goals:
Our organizational goals incorporate the requirements and expectations of the customer. They are evaluated in the specialist departments and agreed upon in coordination with the management board.
For this purpose, the quality management system is regularly checked and assessed for possible improvements and its effectiveness.
For legal reasons, we are obliged to point out that this document is not binding and is for information purposes only. Specific commitments and obligations remain subject to individual customer contracts.
The managers of the companies of the WITRON Group