For us, integrity means doing the right thing in a professional context – on the basis of our own convictions. This includes complying with our Group Essentials and the ethical principles established in these and behaving correctly in accordance with rules. This also requires the steadfastness needed to adhere to these principles – regardless of economic and social pressure.
In our opinion, it is not enough to base correct behavior solely on rules and guidelines, but it takes the attitude of doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. Integrity is an attitude that represents an inner compass for correct action in gray areas, in the absence of explicit rules or in the event of conflicting goals.
Integrity is the maxim for our actions and complements compliance, with which we ensure that all processes and decisions within our Group comply with the relevant rules. Together, they shape our corporate culture, which unites the unspoken and spoken rules and values relating to our daily cooperation.
In addition to personal integrity, organizational integrity matters to us too. It is based on anchoring integrity in the Group’s processes and decisions and offers people a fixed framework for interaction. In a third dimension, we understand integrity as an intangible corporate asset: it strengthens our stakeholders’ trust and makes us more attractive for investors, customers and employees.