As a company, WACKER works in accordance with ethical and legal corporate management principles which are applied over and above the legal requirements. The social, ethical and commercial behavioral principles to which WACKER subscribes are summarized in our Code of Conduct. WACKER has set up its own compliance system. All of the WACKER Group’s employees are obliged to comply with these principles. There are also separate or supplementary behavioral guidelines for individual Group companies (Siltronic AG’s Code of Ethics) and sites (WACKER Greater China’s employee handbook). The Group’s American subsidiaries have their own compliance programs tailored specifically to US law.
Compliance – an Important Task for Management
Violations of the behavioral principles or of legal stipulations are not tolerated at WACKER. Every employee who has questions about correct behavior in his or her working environment can obtain advice and help from supervisors, specialist departments, and employee representatives. In Europe, the USA and Asia, Compliance Officers are available as trusted representatives. The objectives of our compliance programs are to prevent misconduct, minimize risks from misconduct, and rigorously expose all cases of corruption or other violations of the law in compliance with the UN’s Global Compact. Parallel to this, an extensive package of obligatory training courses and voluntary training is provided for employees so that they are thoroughly informed about the Group’s behavioral principles and the consequences of violating them.
Since 2006, WACKER has subscribed to the Global Compact initiative. We voluntarily implement the Global Compact’s ten principles for protecting human rights, on social and environmental standards, and for the fight against corruption.
For years, sustainability has been an integral part of WACKER’s production and business processes. We regard this as the basis for our long-term commercial success. WACKER has been committed to the Responsible Care® initiative since its inception and supports its international implementation. It was launched by the chemical industry in 1985. The objective of Responsible Care® is for companies to assume responsibility for achieving continuous improvements in their environment, health and safety efforts – above and beyond legal requirements.
In 2009, we published the WACKER Sustainability Report for the years 2007/2008. The report is geared toward the international G3 guidelines from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the criteria established by the German future e.V. trade association and the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW). Our next Sustainability Report will be published in 2011. Information about the Global Compact, Responsible Care®, and sustainability is published online at www.wacker.com/sustainability