Social responsibility

We firmly believe that it is the task of companies to make people’s lives better. We therefore set high standards for ourselves: in everything that we do, we want to live up to our own values and convictions. We want to conduct ourselves with integrity at all times. And more than that: we want to always be able to stand by what we do

This attitude is expressed in our Codes of Conduct and in our efforts to protect human rights in all our supply and value creation chains at all times. We attach great importance to maximum product safety, quality, and transparency so that customers are delighted to use our products.

And finally, it is important for us to be a “good citizen”. We believe that our responsibility also extends to deploying know-how and expertise wherever it is needed. In this way, we want to help solve or at least mitigate the challenges in society with our activities.

Code of Conduct

Our Group-wide Code of Conduct sets out clear rules of behavior that apply to all our employees. They are based on our values and convictions and are intended to ensure ethical, responsible, and exemplary behavior at all times.

Code of Conduct

We have also developed a Supplier Code of Conduct which our suppliers must observe as a prerequisite for all contractual relationships with us. The Code is intended to ensure that all suppliers comply with our standards with regard to ethics, labor and social practices, as well as the environment.

We pursue violations of these guidelines with the same resolve as any unlawful conduct. Consequently, non-compliance with our guidelines can also lead to us terminating the contractual relationship.

Human rights

We regard respect for human rights as a matter of course. We are committed to ensuring that these rights are guaranteed not only within our company, but along our entire supply chain. We endorse the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ILO’s Core Labor Standards.

We have enshrined our commitment to human rights in our Codes of Conduct. We ensure that the behavioral guidelines defined in these Codes are observed both in our own processes and in those of our suppliers.

In order to preclude human rights violations as far as possible, we will adopt an even more restrictive approach in the coming years with the expansion of checks and the further development of our structures and processes. As we continue to refine our management systems and processes, we are guided by the OECD Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct, whose requirements are an integral part of our future concepts for our products and supply chains.

Product and supply chain responsibility

Product safety, quality, and transparency

Our products should not only be known for their exceptional quality, but also for their high levels of safety and product transparency. Our customers should always be able to recognize which commodities and materials are used in our products, as well as their properties. We provide this information via various channels, e.g., the Internet, our social media channels, our customer hotline, or on the packaging.

Our MISSION eco & care grading system launched in 2013 also enables customers to see at a glance which quality and sustainability criteria our electrical appliances meet. Since this grading system has proven to be effective, we will gradually apply it to our other products as well. We also plan to expand the communication with our customers.

With regard to product safety and quality, we are guided by our future-oriented concepts (“Coffee of the Future”, “Plastic of the Future”, “Pulp of the Future” and “Electrical Appliance of the Future”). These are described in the section.

Product and supply chain responsibility

Corporate citizenship

We see ourselves as part of society and benefit from an intact social environment in many ways. As such, we believe it is our duty to play an active role in helping tackle various social issues.

In order to target and coordinate our corporate citizenship activities in the most effective way possible, we pursue a Group-wide social responsibility strategy. The principles behind this strategy include prioritizing areas where our business activities have a direct impact and where we can directly observe the projects' urgency and success ourselves.

Our engagement is primarily in the following areas:

Social projects
Educational projects
Cultural projects
Sports

We intend to expand our corporate citizenship activities even further in the future. The main focus will be on projects that enable the project participants to develop economically and earn a reasonable income (“inclusive business”), while at the same time ensuring that part of the earnings are reinvested in local communities.

Example projects:

Education for children and adolescents in need

Education is the cornerstone for a successful future. We therefore support school education for children in South America, for example, by providing school supplies and organizing children’s activity days and educational competitions.

Cooperation with the Child Protection League

We have been supporting the Child Protection League for many years now, helping to improve the situation of disadvantaged children and families. In keeping with their motto “Helping Together”, we are involved in a variety of ways with the Child Protection League’s activities.

Fighting food waste

Our subsidiary Cofresco has been supporting the “Don't Throw Me Away!” initiative of Umweltbildungszentrum Hollen e.V. for several years. The initiative aims to educate children about the right way to treat food and thus prevent food that is still usable from being thrown away.