There is no place for corruption at Volkswagen! We have a clear zero-tolerance policy regarding active and passive corruption. This is firmly anchored in the Group`s Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct applies worldwide to all employees of the Volkswagen Group. We actively prevent corruption, white-collar crime, and other legal violations with additional binding guidelines that apply group-wide and locally.Y ou can find further information in the Guideline Anti-Corruption.
We take our responsibility to protect our company and our employees from corruption risks very seriously. Therefore, a fundamental part of our Compliance Management System is to continuously train and educate our workforce on preventing corruption. Modern web-based trainings, face-to-face trainings and a diverse range of dialog formats are used to raise awareness for the internal regulations and applicable laws and train them in dealing with corruption risks appropriately. For example, throughout the Group, all employees in the salaried areas complete mandatory trainings on corruption prevention.
The same high standards also apply to our national and international business partners. We are convinced that ending corruption is a task best accomplished together. The Code of Conduct for Business Partners is an integral part of the contracts we have with our business partners. It formulates the expectations we have of our service providers, suppliers and sales partners when it comes to integrity and law abiding behavior. In addition, we provide risk-based trainings to our business partners on the basics of Compliance and anti-corruption. Compliance is also an important component of the Merger & Acquisitions processes and our cooperation with non-controlled shareholdings.
We use the Group-wide Business Partner Due Diligence process to check the integrity of our business partners. A successful Compliance audit is the basis for a cooperation. Companies that do not meet the standards of our risk-based, transparent screening process are not considered as business partners. We also support our business partners in meeting the required standards with individual dialog formats.
Our central Whistleblower System is also part of our global Compliance Management System for ending corruption. Being aware of potential rule violations by Volkswagen Group employees is just as crucial to us as responding to rule violations appropriately. Our employees, customers, and other third parties can report possible rule violations committed by employees of the Group at any time. Diverse reporting channels and external ombudsmen are available. Whistleblowers and those affected receive the highest level of protection.
Source link
