"Compliance with all applicable legal provisions and our internal rules is an essential prerequisite for the success of the Salzgitter Group; it is a cornerstone of our corporate culture."

Gunnar Groebler, Chief Executive Officer

Compliance at the Salzgitter Group

Along with the performance of our employees, reliable social framework conditions, fair and trusting cooperation with partners, and an appreciative relationship with our natural environment are essential to the success of the Salzgitter Group.

For this reason, it is important to observe generally accepted basic values in our dealings with other people and companies, to comply with the law and to behave fairly towards people and nature. In short: We act responsibly at all times.

Our Mission Statement YOUNITED

In addition to the legal requirements for corporate governance and the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code, we have developed the mission statement "YOUNITED" for our Group. Among other things, employees from all Group companies and hierarchical levels have defined a common set of values. It includes values such as reliability, fairness and sustainability.

 

Acting responsibly

Our Executive Board has defined a set of clear principles of conduct for all employees of the Group in the form of a Code of Conduct. They provide guidance in our daily work, which is to be aligned to these principles. These include lawful conduct and ethical behavior, a commitment to fair and honest competition, the rejection of all forms of corruption as well as respect for internationally recognized human rights. It also serves to promote trusting cooperation and honest dealings among employees and with business partners.

 

Zero Tolerance

Compliance with statutory regulations constitutes the irrevocable framework within which the Salzgitter Group conducts its entrepreneurial activities. Violations of the law will not be tolerated.

Picture with link to PDF Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct of the
Salzgitter Group as PDF
 

The topic of compliance is also firmly anchored in the Declaration on Corporate Governance.

Supplier Code
of the Salzgitter Group
as PDF
 

Picture with link to PDF Policy statement on human rights strategy

Policy statement on human rights strategy
of the Salzgitter Group
as PDF

Our Compliance Management System

The aim of the compliance management system at the Salzgitter Group is to prevent violations of laws and internal guidelines throughout the Group, as well as to uncover violations and respond to them appropriately and effectively. It is based on the three pillars of PREVENT, DETECT and REACT.

 

Code of Conduct and Group Policy Corporate Compliance

The rules of the Code of Conduct form a core element of the Salzgitter Group's corporate culture. The Group's Corporate Compliance Guideline obligates all Group employees to comply with the law and internal guidelines and provides them with concrete rules of conduct for the prevention of corruption, correct behavior in terms of antitrust and competition law, and for the avoidance of money laundering risks.

Compliance training program

Our compliance training program provides all employees with the necessary knowledge on corruption prevention, competition/antitrust law and money laundering prevention to better identify and avoid the risk of violations in relation to their assigned tasks and areas of responsibility.

Compliance Information Desk

The legal departments of the Salzgitter Group are available to all Group companies and employees as contacts in legal matters and guarantee comprehensive legal advice.

Compliance employee communications

Employee communication tools are used to continuously raise awareness of compliance-relevant issues among all Group employees.

CMS at the Group companies

Each Group company has an appropriate compliance management system geared to its size, the nature of its business activities and its risk situation.

Group compliance risk analysis

The compliance risk situation of the Salzgitter Group is regularly analyzed and assessed.

Notification system

The whistleblower system of the Salzgitter Group gives everyone the opportunity to point out violations of the law and misconduct.

Effectiveness control

The effectiveness of the compliance management systems of the Salzgitter Group and the Group companies is regularly reviewed by means of internal audits.

Internal investigations

Any suspicion of a violation of the law or rules is comprehensively investigated and clarified.

Sanctions and improvement measures

Appropriate sanctions are applied in response to any violations identified. Improvement measures are taken to prevent recurrence.

Reporting

The compliance reporting system ensures that the Executive Board is kept up to date on compliance events. The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board are also regularly informed about the further development of the compliance management system and significant compliance events at the Salzgitter Group.

Salzgitter Group's whistleblower system

We have set up the FAIR TOGETHER whistleblower system in order to learn about and counteract violations of the law in connection with the economic activities of Salzgitter Group companies and human rights violations along its supply chains.

 

Providing information

All Group employees, business partners and anyone else affected by the activities of the Salzgitter Group can contact the Salzgitter Group's reporting offices to submit information. FAIR TOGETHER offers the opportunity to point out violations of the law or other circumstances through which people, the environment, Salzgitter AG or one of its Group companies are harmed, unjustly disadvantaged or natural resources unlawfully impaired in connection with the economic activities of the Salzgitter Group or one of its suppliers. Reports can generally be submitted in German or English. Reports in other languages are accepted by e-mail or letter.

Confidentiality and anonymity

All tips are treated confidentially. The information they contain about persons and facts is accessible internally only to those employees who need it to process the case.

Anonymous reports can be made by letter or to the ombudswoman. The ombudswoman will not disclose the identity of the whistleblower or other parties involved to the Salzgitter Group at the whistleblower's request.

Frequently, inquiries arise regarding tips received. We are grateful to whistleblowers who give us the opportunity to contact them. Accordingly, we ask whistleblowers to provide us with their contact information. If anonymity is to be maintained, we ask that you contact us via the ombudswoman so that we can make inquiries.
 

No disadvantages for whistleblowers

No whistleblower who reports information that he or she could reasonably trust to be correct when making the report need fear any disadvantage. The protection of Salzgitter Group employees who provide information is specifically regulated in the Group's Corporate Compliance Guideline.
 

Fairness

Reporting inaccurate information may unfairly expose affected individuals and companies to suspicion. Therefore, please handle the opportunity to provide information responsibly.
 

Clue processing

Every whistleblower who gives us the opportunity to contact him or her will receive confirmation within seven days that his or her report has been received. After three months at the latest, we inform the whistleblower about planned follow-up measures and those already taken. Every report is checked for validity by the responsible Compliance Office. The underlying facts are clarified either by the Group Internal Audit department of Salzgitter AG or by the management of the Group company concerned, if necessary with the support of the responsible legal department. Once the facts of the matter have been clarified, the management of the Group company concerned decides on the measures to be taken.
 

Privacy notice

For more detailed information on data protection and the processing of your personal data within the whistleblower system, please refer to our Whistleblower System – Data Privacy.

Registration Offices

Salzgitter Group's Compliance Hotline

Compliance Management
Group Legal Department of Salzgitter AG

+49 5341 21-9229
compliance-hotline@salzgitter-ag.de

Postal address:
Salzgitter AG
Compliance-Hotline/10 RVC
Eisenhüttenstraße 99
38239 Salzgitter

Ombudswoman of Salzgitter AG

Lawyer
Nina Weigel-Grabenhorst

+49 531 310 7 3177
 salzgitter-ombudsfrau@sqr-law.com

Postal address:
Ombudsfrau der Salzgitter AG
SQR Rechtsanwälte LLP
Wolfenbütteler Straße 45
38124 Braunschweig

External reporting offices

If you do not wish to address your information to a Salzgitter Group reporting office, you can also contact the reporting offices of the following authorities and institutions: