Code of Conduct
This Code of Conduct is based on a common basic understanding of socially responsible corporate governance in the sense of the following guidelines.
PRO CAR assumes responsibility within the scope of its respective possibilities and areas of action by taking into account the consequences of our entrepreneurial decisions and actions in legal, conomic, technological as well as social and ecological terms. In this way, we want to contribute to the social and economic development of the countries and regions with which we have a business relationship.
Our actions are in accordance with the relevant legal regulations. We are guided by ethical values and principles, in particular integrity and integrity as well as respect for human dignity, as laid down in the principles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as well as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
It goes without saying that we comply with the applicable laws and other legal provisions in the countries in which we do business. If local laws and regulations are less restrictive, our actions are guided by the principles of this Code of Conduct.
In cases where there is a direct conflict between mandatory local law and the principles contained in this Code of Conduct, local law shall prevail. However, we strive to comply with the contents of this Code of Conduct.
We want this Code of Conduct to ensure that our principles and our commitment to taking responsibility are respected and enforced both within the company and in the supply chains. For this reason important aspects of this Code of Conduct are part of our supplier selection process before we enter into a business relationship.
We also consider this Code of Conduct to be binding on our business partners and hereby call upon them to comply with the principles set out herein and to fulfil their responsibility to respect human rights and the environment within their sphere of influence in order to prevent violations thereof. Violations may ultimately lead to the termination of the business relationship if actions by the business partner are contrary to these provisions or if the business partner is not prepared to take necessary measures to comply with the obligations set out in or associated with this Code of Conduct.
This Code of Conduct is intended to cover the following topics:
Corruption:
We do not tolerate corruption, bribery or extortion, as they prevent fair competition. Benefits that are connected with the intention or could give the appearance of influencing business decisions or obtaining any other improper advantage are neither promised, offered, granted, demanded or accepted in our business relationships, nor do we allow ourselves to be promised them.
Fair competition:
We act in accordance with national and international competition and antitrust laws and do not engage in price fixing, market sharing or customer, market or bid rigging.
Prevention of money laundering:
Money laundering is the process of smuggling illegally generated money or illegally acquired assets into the legal financial and economic cycle. We comply with our legal obligations to prevent money laundering and do not participate in transactions that serve to conceal or integrate criminal or illegally acquired assets.
Protection of information and intellectual property:
We protect confidential information and respect intellectual property; technology and know-how transfer of technology and know-how must be done in a way that protects intellectual property rights and customer information, trade secrets and non-public information. We comply with applicable trade secret laws and treat confidential information of our business partners accordingly.
Data protection:
We process, store and protect personal data in compliance with legal regulations. For example, personal data is collected confidentially, only for legitimate, previously defined purposes and in a transparent manner. We only process personal data if it is protected against loss, modification and unauthorised use or disclosure by appropriate technical and organisational measures.
Export control:
We undertake to comply with the relevant legal standards for export control, in particular licensing requirements, export and support prohibitions in the context of the transfer and export of our goods.
Avoidance of conflicts of interest:
We avoid internal and external conflicts of interest that could illegitimately influence business relationships. Where we fail to do so, we disclose these conflicts.
Health and safety:
We safeguard the health of our employees by taking appropriate health and safety measures that adequately cover the following topics:
- Compliance with applicable laws and orientation towards international standards in relation to health and safety at work;
- appropriate workplace design, safety regulations and provision of appropriate personal protective equipment;
- implementation of preventive controls, emergency response, an accident reporting system and other appropriate measures for continuous improvement;
- Providing access to drinking water in sufficient quantity and access to clean sanitary to clean sanitary facilities for employees.
We ensure that all our employees are appropriately trained.
Remuneration and working hours:
Employees are entitled to timely, regular and full payment of appropriate remuneration. This is based on applicable laws and, where applicable, existing binding collective agreements and is supplemented by the relevant national minimum wage laws.
Applicable laws and international labour standards regarding maximum permissible working hours shall be complied with.
Compliance with human rights:
We respect and support the observance of internationally recognised human rights and respect the personal dignity, privacy and personal rights of each individual. We protect and grant the right to freedom of opinion and expression and do not tolerate any unacceptable treatment of employees, such as physical and psychological hardship, sexual and personal harassment or discrimination.
Prohibition of child labour:
We do not tolerate child labour. We do not hire employees who are not at least 15 years old and we ask for proof of age. In countries covered by the developing country exemption under ILO Convention 138, the minimum age may be reduced to 14 years. We do not hire employees for hazardous work who do not have a minimum age of 18 years according to ILO Convention No. 182.
Prohibition of forced labour:
Forced labour, modern slave labour or comparable measures that deprive people of their freedom are prohibited. All work must be voluntary and it must be possible to terminate the employment relationship.
Freedom of association and collective bargaining:
We respect the right of workers to freedom of association, freedom of assembly and collective and collective bargaining. We respect the right of workers to freedom of association, freedom of association and collective bargaining to the extent permitted and possible by law in the country in which we operate. If this is not permissible, we seek appropriate compromises for our employees.
Promoting diversity and equal opportunities:
We promote equal opportunities and do not tolerate discrimination. We treat all people equally, regardless of gender, age, skin colour, ethnic origin, sexual identity and orientation, disability, religious affiliation, world view or other personal characteristics.
Environment, energy and climate protection:
We act in accordance with the applicable laws and orient ourselves towards international standards to minimise negative impacts on the environment and livelihoods and to continuously improve our environmental and climate protection activities.
We have taken appropriate environmental protection measures that adequately cover the following topics:
-target setting, definition and implementation of measures and their continuous improvement;
- environmental aspects such as reducing CO2 emissions, increasing energy efficiency as well as use of renewable energy, ensuring water quality and reducing water consumption, ensuring air consumption, ensuring air quality, promoting resource efficiency, reducing waste and its proper waste and its proper disposal, as well as the responsible handling of hazardous substances for people and the environment.
Dealing with conflict minerals:
We take due diligence measures to avoid the use of conflict minerals in our products in order to prevent human rights abuses, corruption and funding of armed groups or the like.
Supply chain:
We expect our suppliers to comply with the principles of this Code of Conduct or to apply equivalent codes of conduct. We also encourage them to implement the contents of this Code of Conduct in their supply chains. We reserve the right to systematically check the application of this Code of Conduct at our suppliers and on an ad hoc basis. This may take the form of questionnaires, assessments or audits. If there are still doubts regarding compliance with this Code of Conduct, the supplier will be requested to take appropriate countermeasures and to report the matter to their contact in our company. If necessary, the cooperation will be terminated.
Consumer interests:
As far as consumer interests are concerned, we comply with consumer protection regulations as well as appropriate sales, marketing and information practices. Particularly vulnerable groups (e.g. young people or pregnant women) enjoy heightened attention.
Implementation and enforcement:
We make appropriate and reasonable efforts to continuously implement, document and enforce the principles and values described in this Code of Conduct. and values described in this Code of Conduct on an ongoing basis. apply them. All employees are sensitised to the contents of the Code of Conduct and trained on relevant topics as required. Violations of the Code of Conduct will not be will not be tolerated and may lead to consequences under labour law. We communicate openly and in a dialogue-oriented manner about the requirements of this Code of Conduct and its implementation to employees, customers, suppliers and other interests and stakeholders. We provide our employees and business partners with access to a protected mechanism to report possible mechanism to confidentially report possible violations of the principles of this Code of Conduct.