Well-trained, qualified, satisfied employees, cooperation based on mutual appreciation, as well as motivation and performance are the basis of our long-term success. We value the individual personalities of our employees, promote diversity in the company and respect personal rights. The corporate management has also set itself the goal of actively supporting the individual development of all employees through fair and safe working conditions.

Equality and equal opportunities

Each and every one at Groz-Beckert must contribute to an atmosphere characterized by tolerance and respect. We actively support equal opportunities and the development of the personal potential of all employees. Groz-Beckert rejects any form of discrimination, harassment, physical violence or bullying.

All employees are requested to report relevant instances to their superior or the equal opportunities officer. The company expressly reserves the right to report violations of this principle under criminal law and to take action under employment law.

Management culture

Our managers are aware of their role model function. They lead on an equal footing and actively involve their employees in decisions. It is essential for managers to support employees with appreciation and recognition, to strengthen mutual feedback and dialog and to enable constructive cooperation across the various levels of the company. This creates a productive environment with sustainable economic efficiency of the company and a high level of employee satisfaction.

Compatibility of private and professional life

In discussions between corporate management, site management and employees, we create and optimize the general conditions for each country and location in order to support all employees in line with their personal situation.

Employee representatives and trade unions

Where employee representatives and trade unions exist, the management works with them based on respect and trust. We achieve sustainable, practical solutions through constructive dialog. In this process, we always aim to strike a balance between the economic, organizational and legal interests and obligations of the company and the interests of employees.

Health and well-being

Preventing hazards in the workplace and promoting preventative health care are key goals at Groz-Beckert. High technical and operational safety standards, as well as established processes help us to rule out work accidents and prevent occupational illnesses. Our company-wide management system for occupational health and safety (ARGUS) creates reliable framework conditions for safe working and is a reflection of the high value we place on individual health.

Our processes are based the principle that every employee should come to work healthy and go home again in good health every day. That is why we take technical measures, or provide suitable protective equipment where this is not possible. We work with employees to analyze the long-term impacts of the activities and have established structures that promote effective situational prevention (related to the working environment) and behavioral prevention (related to the individual) and enable continuous improvement.

Occupational health promotion at Groz-Beckert also includes all relevant processes to maintain and promote health and well-being. We offer site-specific programs aimed at effective prevention and reintegration. We advise and support employees with health complaints individually, if necessary, for example by adapting the workplace to the specific needs of the individual.

Safety

We ensure that our sites are safe for our employees, guests and neighboring residents and that no longer-term stress is caused. We also actively protect the company against negative consequences, such as time off for illness, compensation claims and the deterioration of business relationships due to misconduct or damage. To this end, we identify, evaluate and minimize all key risk factors at our sites around the world. There are also action plans in place for a wide range of relevant risk scenarios, which are used to minimize the impacts in the event of damage. In addition, we have a crisis management system in place, where responsibilities and processes are defined to enable us to react quickly and efficiently to damage and crises that may arise.

Know-how protection

New ideas and products, inventions and innovations ensure that we keep our leading position in the markets. That is why we work to preserve and protect our trade secrets. The knowledge of each individual is an important part of our know-how and therefore worthy of protection.

As we are aware of the sensitivity of our know-how, we do not pass it on to unauthorized persons and systematically protect it against unauthorized access. We take particular care in public and protect business and personal information. This applies especially, but not exclusively, to business and private communication as well as social media, on business trips, trade fairs and in other public spaces.

It is a matter of course for Groz-Beckert to protect the know-how of our business partners in the same way. For our part, we obligate external partners to secrecy if necessary and thus make mutual trust the basis of every cooperation.

Handling personal data

We take data protection very seriously as an individual right to privacy. This creates a great deal of responsibility. However, as digitalization opens up new business areas, innovative processes and communication and mobility opportunities that offer great added value for our employees and business partners, the collection or creation of data as well as its storage and use is unavoidable.

We only process and use personal data to the extent that this is explicitly permitted by laws, regulations and/or the consent of data subjects. Employees and business partners are guaranteed adequate transparency with regard to the handling of their data and options for how their data is used.

At Groz-Beckert, compliance with these specifications is ensured by a central data protection officer, supporting data protection coordinators and strict limitation to purpose-specific data processing.

Anyone who provides us with data should be able to rely on it being secure against access by unauthorized persons. Each individual employee must ensure that this is the case and receives relevant training in this field.

Social media and other digital media

When using social media platforms, internet forums, blogs and messenger services, we act with care and do not disclose confidential or protected company information. Our company-wide social media policy sets out binding requirements for this and must be complied with by all employees.

Error culture

Innovation is an important aspect for creating value, and corrections are a crucial step in any sustainable development. As a company and as individuals, we learn every day from both successful and failed attempts, helping us to improve things and find new solutions. Mistakes are therefore a natural part of our daily work. We analyze them, learn from them and eliminate avoidable mistakes. We are willing to experiment and do so based on a structured approach.

All managers and employees at Groz-Beckert are therefore required to address mistakes in a collegial, open and self-critical manner and to use them for further development in the interests of the company.

Choosing our suppliers and partners

We also expect our business partners to adhere to this Code of Conduct and to act professionally without exception. This is ensured by a careful selection process. In a multi-stage qualification process for suppliers, we ask whether they act in accordance with Groz-Beckert’s sustainability goals and comply with national and international standards and laws on occupational safety, environmental protection and human rights. We also expect our suppliers not to purchase goods and materials for the manufacture of their products for Groz-Beckert in an illegal or unethical manner.

Employees who are responsible for selecting business partners must take this into account and review supplier relationships continuously. This is done based on an appropriate risk management process and is accompanied by regular training for employees.

Confidentiality

Intensive exchange and flow of information based on mutual trust are the foundations of our cooperation with business partners. As we are aware of the sensitivity of our own know-how and data, it is a matter of course for us to protect the know-how and data of our business partners to the same extent. We place high value on mutual trust.

In return, we expect the same level of confidentiality. The legal requirements set high standards for data protection for us and our business partners. We require the same standard of care from third parties in order to protect Groz-Beckert’s know-how in the business relationship.

Fair competition

Reputable and fair dealings are the basis of every successful business relationship. This is another reason why fairness is one of Groz-Beckert’s core corporate values. The requirement we place on ourselves to impress our customers and partners through quality and innovation is directly linked to this principle. That’s why we follow this approach both inside and outside the company and are always committed to fair competition.

Violations of antitrust regulations are unacceptable for Groz-Beckert and are consistently investigated and punished. This is why every employee is trained in the regulations applicable to their area.

Bribery and corruption

Groz-Beckert distances itself from any kind of corruption. We impress our business partners with our products and services and not by granting them personal advantages. Nor do we allow ourselves to be bribed or take advantage of our position in the company.

Gifts and invitations are customary and permitted when dealing with business partners in the ordinary course of business and to an appropriate extent. The principle always applies that the mere appearance of undue influence must be avoided – regardless of whether we are a giftor or a giftee. This also applies to discounts and benefits.

Gratuities on our part are always appropriate and never aim to influence the business partner. Conversely, gifts and invitations from our business partners have no influence on our actions. Our decisions are always based on reasonable grounds and are not guided by gratuities. Gratuities are rejected by us if it appears that they are intended to influence the situation.

Our company-wide Compliance Policy establishes a binding set of rules for gratuities and must be complied with by all employees.

Conflicts of interest

Situations are conceivable where personal interests could conflict with our professional judgment. In such cases, it is important that the superior is informed of the conflict of interest in a transparent and timely manner and that the further course of action is clarified together.

Prevention of money laundering

Money laundering refers to the procedure for introducing illegally generated money or assets acquired illegally 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.

Social responsibility and corporate success go hand in hand at Groz-Beckert.

Environmental and resource protection

Groz-Beckert strives every day to maintain ecological conditions that are worth living in for present and future generations. To this end, we have set ourselves binding sustainability goals and committed to an active strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our consumption of resources. We therefore strive to achieve a responsible environmental and energy balance sheet as the core of sustainable business activity across the entire corporate environment.

We place particular importance on the constant further development of all technical and organizational processes in order to achieve continuous optimization. This reduces the use of materials, achieves effective energy savings and increases the share of renewable sources in our electricity and energy mix.

We also strive for continuous improvement along the entire supply and value chain – whether in the planning of internal and external processes, the selection of materials and suppliers, or the development of products and services. In the long term, we want to transform Groz-Beckert into a circular economy, where negative environmental impact is largely ruled out through the consistent reuse of resources and materials and the sustainable exploitation of all energy potentials.

Donations and sponsorship

Social responsibility and corporate success go hand in hand at Groz-Beckert. We base our approach on regional involvement. This means that the individual sites independently support local and regional initiatives in their area. When making the selection, we ensure that the activities strengthen social development. We therefore do not fund individuals. We support initiatives that focus on a socially relevant topic such as education and science, art and culture or charitable purposes in their work.

Donations are only received by organizations that are recognized as non-profit organizations. In the case of donations, we do not pursue any economic purpose and do not expect anything in return. Sponsoring activities, on the other hand, serve to increase the public perception of the company. They are based on contractually agreed services and trade-offs. The binding sponsoring guideline ensures compliance with our corporate principles in this area.

Volunteer work

Volunteer work is an important pillar of any functioning society. As a company, we fulfill our responsibility in this respect by supporting and promoting the volunteer work carried out by our employees. It makes no difference to us whether these are social or charitable causes.