Protecting Our Values

Freudenberg Ethics Offices give employees the chance to report compliance violations confidentially.

In companies, the term “compliance” means adherence to rules, that is, the observance of legal requirements and internal company values and guidelines. In 1887, Carl Johann Freudenberg, the company’s founder, formulated his business precepts and policies. On that basis, the Freudenberg Group developed its 10 Business Principles. Six Guiding Principles were distilled from them; they define the foundation of the company’s values.

The list of potential compliance violations is long. They range from bribery and corruption to the deliberate disregard of environmental regulations, all the way to personal disparagement and discrimination, including bullying and harassment.

What can individuals do to prevent this kind of misconduct in their professional lives, counteract it or safeguard Freudenberg values and principles? The usual way is to report a violation of the Freudenberg Principles (whether perpetrated, suspected or discernibly threatened) to supervisors, managers, the HR department or the works council.

Anyone not inclined to pursue these avenues for any reason can turn to Freudenberg Ethics Offices as an alternative. There is a main contact point in Weinheim as well as four regional Ethics Offices for North America, South America, India and Asia. Information can be provided to them in any language.

Each office has committees composed of internal and external experts. They are permitted to take action without constraints and are not obligated to divulge non-anonymized information to other offices. That means all inquiries and information are treated in the strictest confidence. The identity of the source of the information is not disclosed to third parties without explicit prior agreement. When reporting suspicions or facts to one of the Ethics Offices, employees are released from existing obligations of confidentiality. If the providers of the information agree to the disclosure of their names, the Freudenberg Group will ensure that their decision does not put them at a disadvantage.