Compliance
As an internationally successful company, we operate in many different political systems and jurisdictions. Protecting and maintaining HOCHTIEF’s reputation is a top priority for us. Every employee must therefore be capable of doing the right thing. Illegal company practices must be avoided without any exception. HOCHTIEF has therefore introduced a Compliance Management System (CMS) in order to counter this challenge in the best possible way.
On this page
Organization
This is how HOCHTIEF regulates compliance with all regulations
HOCHTIEF’s Compliance Organization offers support and advice to all HOCHTIEF employees to help them to comply with laws and regulations as well as internal rules.
Responsibility for compliance lies with the Chairman of the Executive Board of HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft. He is supported by the Chief Compliance Officer and the corporate compliance department. Compliance in HOCHTIEF´s divisions has a similar organizational structure, headed in each case by a compliance officer/manager The respective compliance officers/managers report on a regular basis to the Chief Compliance Officer, who in turns report once annually to the Supervisory Board Audit/Sustainability Committee. The compliance officers/managers ensure that the compliance program is implemented in the divisions, that compliance risks are identified at an early stage and that appropriate actions are taken. (General) compliance managers within the divisions´business units provide a direct point of contact for employees in each business unit. They support the maintenance and onward development of the compliance program within their business unit and report to the responsible compliance officers for the division.
The divisions have compliance committees or working groups of their own covering various compliance topics, in which specific functional departments such as human resources, auditing, procurement are represented. These committees meet on a regular basis or as needed to support the compliance organization in integrating the program into business workflows and processes as well as in its continuous improvement. In case of confirmed compliance violations, the compliance committee recommends appropriate measures and sanctions to the relevant managers.
Responsibility for investigating and addressing (potential) complaints in areas that do not come under the topic of compliance lies with the respective functional departments, such as the OSHEP Center or the Data Protection Officer—with the assistance of Corporate Compliance where requested (for further information, please see the relevant sections of this report). Potential restitution or compensation activities—for example, in the case of environmental damage—are also the responsibility of the functional departments concerned.
Factsheet
language variants of the HOCHTIEF Code of Conduct for Business Partners are available.
of business partners in the Division Europe have committed to the Code of Conduct for Business Partners in the core business.
of all HOCHTIEF employees completed the e-learning on the HOCHTIEF Code of Conduct in the first six weeks.
of all HOCHTIEF employees were trained successfully regarding the HOCHTIEF Code of Conduct by the end of 2023.
employees provide information and advice on compliance topics throughout Europe.
training sessions were conducted by Corporate Compliance in 2023.
HOCHTIEF Code of Conduct
We have a tradition of a binding Code of Conduct
We published our Compliance Requirements in such a Code in 2002 and have continuously developed them since. Today, in the form of the HOCHTIEF Code of Conduct, it has been laid down as binding for HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft and the HOCHTIEF Europe Divisions. Available in nine languages, the HOCHTIEF Code of Conduct stipulates binding rules for all employees.
The HOCHTIEF Code of Conduct provides orientation and guidelines on the behavior we expect from our employees in their day-to-day business. It answers questions on antitrust law, provides support in potential conflicts of interest or in negotiations with business partners. It is also meant to help identify situations of bribery or corruption or to deal correctly with donations and sponsorship money.
For this purpose, the Group has developed the Code of Conduct for Business Partners, which is available in 12 languages.
Combining corporate activity with ethical principles has a long tradition at HOCHTIEF and is one of the supporting pillars for long-term success. Compliance with laws and our corporate rules represents a central element of our actions. Therefore, we only work with partners who meet these requirements and also demand them from their partners.
Directives
Clear help for our employees
In all divisions, Group Directives and work instructions specify the contents of the Code of Conduct, in order to provide help for employees. Compliance with these requirements and statutory regulations are an integral part of good Corporate Governance.
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Dealing with business partners
The cooperation with business partners can comport legal risks.
Acts of corruption committed by HOCHTIEF's Business Partners might also engage HOCHTIEF's responsibility. This risk is minimized if we can prove we have carefully selected our contract partners. It is therefore of paramount importance to us that we know exactly who our partners are. To this effect, HOCHTIEF has published, together with the HOCHTIEF Code of Conduct listing all binding behaviour rules for HOCHTIEF employees, all behaviour standards to which our partners are held. The Code of Conduct for Business Partners must be signed by all potential HOCHTIEF partners prior tothe conclusion of any contract.
Our aim is to establish successful and good long-term business relationships. Due diligence checks are therefore carried out before business transactions are concluded: Corporate compliance screens Joint Venture Partners or consultants through a precisely defined selection process and the deal is approved in terms of both integrity and antitrust law. This so called “business partner compliance due diligence” is comprehensively documented by corporate compliance and the standards are regularly reviewed.
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Gifts and invitations
Gifts and invitations are much more restricted in today's business life than they were a few years ago.
Today, gifts and invitations may only be granted or accepted if they occur as polite gesture according to general business habits, and if it can be excluded at first glance that the goal pursued with the gift/invitation is to exercise an inappropriate influence in relation with an upcoming business decision or a measure to be adopted by an authority.
Cash or cash-like benefits are never allowed to be offered, granted, requested or accepted.
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Antitrust law
We are commited to fair competition.
What was perfectly "normal" in relation to competitors even a few years ago might today represent a violation of antitrust law according to the contemporary practice of antitrust authorities. And a violation may be found without having regard to whether or not a restriction of competition was intended. Therefore, HOCHTIEF examines the establishment of joint ventures from an antitrust law perspective.
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Money laundering
HOCHTIEF actively campaigns for combating money laundering. We therefore strive to ensure that employees identify such cases through internal training programs and review processes and report them to corporate compliance.
"Money laundering" means the smuggling of assets of "illegal" origin into the legal financial and economic cycle. Money laundering aims at dissimulating the illegal origin of the assets and at making possible the use of the illegally acquired assets in "clean" form again in the regular economy.
Money laundering therefore serves on the one hand the purpose of dissimulating the underlying infraction, and on the other hand of keeping the illegally obtained assets out of reach of authorities. In practice, this means that corresponding due diligence obligations must be fulfilled and, if necessary, strict regulations must be observed in individual cases when accepting funds and concluding the underlying contracts.
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Antiterror/sanctions
The European Union has adopted several regulations aiming at fighting worldwide terrorism on the basis of a resolution by the UN Security Council, after the 11th September 2001.
The events in Ukraine have led to the EU, the United Kingdom and the USA increasingly issuing regulations that severely restrict economic trade with Russia and Belarus.
In practice, this means that any business contact must be checked against the names of persons, organizations and institutions featured on the sanctions lists. HOCHTIEF has established appropriate processes for checking business partners (clients, suppliers, subcontractors) and employees, in order to prevent violations.
Measures
Highest ethical standards
Anticorruption
Corruption takes many faces and occurs in the most different domains. Preventing and combating corruption is a top priority within the HOCHTIEF Group.
HOCHTIEF expects the same from its business partners. Our relationships to all business partners must be based on objective criteria alone, especially on quality, reliability, the competitiveness of their prices as well as on the respect of environmental and social standards and on the principles of good Corporate Governance.
HOCHTIEF prohibits bribery in any form. This means that employees may never demand or accept something of value (e.g. payments in cash, gifts, entertainment events or other personal advantages) in their relations with business partners or public officials. This also means that personal advantages may never be promised or delivered to employees of other companies or public officials in the hope to obtain a contract, to make sure a deal is concluded or to procure HOCHTIEF an unfair advantage.
All employees must inform their supervisors whenever a Business Partner or official proposes or requires a personal advantage.
So-called "facilitation payments" (i.e. small amounts of money or something of value granted to public officials in exchange for the acceleration or facilitation of administrative procedures or decisions by authorities, such as custom clearance) are also prohibited.
Training
HOCHTIEF’s compliance organization continuously informs employees about the CMS, contact persons and internal guidelines via internal media. The intranet also always contains the latest training courses. These include class room and web-based training courses and e-learning.
Monitoring and improvement
The element of monitoring is a central component of an effective CMS. In addition to internal monitoring measures, such as in-house compliance audits or the annual monitoring of the effectiveness of corporate compliance with the involvement of internal auditing, monitoring is also carried out externally. HOCHTIEF has had its divisions Europe and Americas audited in accordance with IDW PS 980 since 2020. In 2022, the Austrian branch was certified in accordance with ISO 37001 and ISO 37301 as a pilot project. The division Americas was already successfully certified to ISO 37001 and 37301 in 2022 and 2024. The division Europe is currently undergoing ISO certification in accordance with ISO 37001 and 37301, which will be completed in late summer 2024. Its information system is already certified to ISO 37002.
HOCHTIEF is continuously improving its compliance processes through regular jour fixes, the annual strategy meeting and involvement in peer learning groups. On the one hand, processes are made more efficient, on the other hand processes across countries are standardized. Therefore we respond in good time to new developments in the compliance landscape.
Reporting complaints
HOCHTIEF’s whistleblower system
HOCHTIEF’s ISO 37002-certified whistleblower system offers different ways to give information regarding violations of internal or legal rules in business. On the one hand, a web-based system is available to you for this purpose. On the other hand, you have the option of contacting an ombudsman. Criminal offenses in particular can cause great damage to the company. For this reason, we would like to encourage those who have knowledge of possible crimes or other irregularities to have the courage to use HOCHTIEF’s notification system. In 2023, 206 complaints were received via the HOCHTIEF Whistleblowing systems (2022: 109 complaints). These were assigned to different subject areas. Six complaints related to potential corruption and antitrust violations. Of these, four matters were closed without findings. Two matters have not yet been conclusively clarified. However, here too, there are no findings to date regarding possible misconduct by HOCHTIEF employees. There were 42 complaints relating to discrimination and harassment, no complaints relating to customer data on data protection and one complaint relating to conflicts of interest, and no complaints relating to money laundering and insider trading.
HOCHTIEF does not tolerate violations of the law or breaches of its internal rules and principles. All affiliated companies will respond appropriately to compliance cases identified during an investigation. Sanctions under labor law and the assertion of claims for damages against the employees involved must be examined. These may take the form of warnings, dismissals or the reduction or elimination of any bonus payments (malus system).
Every complaint received will be investigated by the responsible HOCHTIEF company - regardless of the reporting channel. In terms of the received complaints, 157 cases, or 76 percent, have been closed.
This is how you notify us regarding an incident
Web-based system: hochtief.integrityline.com/frontpageOmbudsman: 0800 8862525 (calls from Germany free of charge)
Ombudsman: +49 30 88625254 (calls from abroad)
Dirk von Keitz
HOCHTIEF
Head of Corporate Compliance
Alfredstraße 236
D-45133 Essen
Tel.: +49 201 824-1962
compliance@hochtief.de