Long-term business success can only be achieved through adherence to sustainability principles and responsible behaviour toward customers, business partners and employees at all of our locations. We are a globally operating company with a presence in more than 40 countries around the world. Despite the global scope of our operations, we firmly believe that “all business is local business”. First of all, our operations are strongly impacted by developments on local markets. In addition, we realise that the only way for us to gain social acceptance for our business activities is to make sure we never lose sight of the long-term welfare of the people and natural environments at our sites. We therefore seek to be a good neighbour and we feel obligated to maintain an open dialogue with local communities in order to help improve the quality of life wherever we do business. Our employees base their actions on the common values and principles that are laid out and communicated in our Group Guidelines.
HeidelbergCement considers respect for, and compliance with, the laws and regulations of the countries where we operate to be the legal basis of our business activities. As an internationally operating company, we are also obligated to adhere to global values and standards. We are therefore committed to the ILO core labour standards, the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises as well as the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We expect our employees and business associates worldwide to comply with these essential guidelines and recommendations, and we adhere to the guidelines formulated by the Cement Sustainability Initiative.
Principles and guidelines In 2009 we replaced our own Corporate Governance Principles with a general reference to the recommendations contained in the German Corporate Governance Code, which we comply with. Our Group Leadership Principles form the foundation of our shared management culture. At the same time, our endeavours to achieve outstanding business performance and attain a high standing in our sector make it imperative that our behaviour strictly complies with all legal and ethical standards. For this reason, we have a binding Code of Business Conduct that specifies the ethical and legal standards for all business activities — from strategic planning to daily operations. We have also developed Group-wide guidelines and policies that explain how our obligations regarding health and occupational safety, environmental protection, sustainable supplier management and social responsibility are to be put into practice on a daily basis. Together, these guidelines and codes form a Group-wide framework for responsible business operations.
HeidelbergCement Guidelines
|
|
| Leadership Principles |
Basis for standardised management culture |
| Code of Business Conduct |
Binding rules of conduct for all employees |
| Corporate Occupational Health and Safety Policy |
Guidelines for reducing the risk of employee accidents, injuries and occupational illnesses |
| Sustainability Ambitions 2020 |
Measures and goals for the six most important areas of our sustainability strategy |
| Corporate Citizenship Guideline |
Binding aspects of our commitment to society |
| Purchasing Guidelines, Supplier Code of Conduct |
Binding sustainability guidelines for purchasing and supplier management |