Sustainable management
Integrity and transparency underpinning our actions
Our economic activities are oriented around long-term stability and a sense of responsibility. This is an important cornerstone of gaining the trust of our customers, partners and employees. We largely finance our activities with our own funds and are very cautious about where and how we invest our money. This is connected with fair competition, legal compliance and internal rules surrounding responsible conduct.
We believe future-oriented business activities means: promoting healthy growth, regularly reviewing and improving our business model and arranging our supply chains so that they remain viable over the long term. This builds the foundations for success – today and in the future.
We choose our suppliers on the basis of clearly defined criteria and expect them to comply with recognised international standards, such as those relating to employment rights and occupational safety. Legal requirements – including the ban on child labour and forced labour – constitute the minimum requirement. This is supplemented by a binding code of conduct for suppliers, which all strategic suppliers are obligated to sign.
Our suppliers must use established quality management systems. For certain products, additional specific requirements, such as the use of materials or the design of the packaging, apply. We monitor legal requirements through internal check mechanisms.
We have suppliers audited by external audits at risk-based intervals. The objective is to monitor adhesion to quality and compliance standards and to continuously promote improvements.
We have a longstanding working relationship with experienced logistics partners who know our requirements. When planning routes, consolidating deliveries and combining different modes of transport (HGV, train, ship), we set out to reduce our transport requirements and make efficient use of available capacities.
Legal and compliance
As a family-run company, responsible conduct is at the heart of our corporate culture. Compliance with all applicable regulations is enshrined in binding internal rules designed to ensure fair conduct and manage risk.
Our compliance principles include the handling of conflicts of interest, anti-corruption measures and measures to promote fair competition. Training courses and clear instruction manuals support employees in implementing these standards in their day-to-day work.