Compliance

To us, compliance is a central component of good corporate governance. It means much more than just obeying rules and regulations. It is a question of mindset. It concerns every one of us at thyssenkrupp, every day, everywhere.

Values such as reliability, honesty, credibility, and integrity are not empty words to us, but permeate our corporate DNA. This is the standard we apply when developing our strategic compliance measures, creating a value culture which must be jointly supported and consistently lived by all employees – and in particular our managers. A written code of values provides the basis for our decisions.

This value culture is embedded in our Mission Statement. Through our compliance commitment the Executive Board takes a firm stance, rejecting compliance violations of all kinds. This unequivocal commitment is supported by a code of conduct and various Policies, in particular in the core compliance areas antitrust law, corruption prevention, anti-money laundering, data protection and trade compliance.

thyssenkrupp stands for fair and straight business

What's important to us is that our corporate philosophy is lived at all levels of the thyssenkrupp Company in the interests of “good corporate governance.” We strive to ensure that there are no systemic weaknesses and deficits, in the area of compliance or anywhere else.

At the same time we want to support entrepreneurial courage within a clearly defined framework. While it is part of our philosophy to take calculable entrepreneurial risks and make and accept mistakes, we will not take risks with compliance.

In a healthy corporate and management culture, commitment and shared values go hand-in-hand. Violations of the law or internal rules are not compatible with our understanding of compliance. The following rules therefore apply unequivocally:

  • We systematically investigate all reports of legal violations and clear up the facts.

  • We treat all information received confidentially and use all appropriate measures to protect whistleblowers who act in good faith from any disadvantages arising from their notification. When clarifying such reports, we protect the legitimate interests of the people affected by the allegations.

People make mistakes. If an employee who has unintentionally violated the law admits his mistake and seriously tries to make amends, he deserves a second chance – the circumstances of the concrete individual case permitting. This too is a question of value culture and fairness in our dealings with each other.

thyssenkrupp stands for fair and straight business – this is the standard we resolutely pursue. We would rather sacrifice a contract than win it by breaking the rules.