Foundation
Fundamental Understanding
In order for a company to be successful, its business model has to be accepted by all relevant stakeholder groups, from its customers through to civil society and the public, investors or business partners. Managing with integrity, the sustainability of business models and the extent to which a company is perceived as living up to its social responsibilities are playing an increasingly important role. This applies no less to the real estate sector.
Any misconduct by a company’s management also tends to result in the corporate governance regulations being tightened up, as was the case with the Financial Market Integrity Strengthening Act (FISG). Among other measures, the obligation to establish an appropriate and effective internal control system (ICS) as well as a corresponding risk management system (RMS) for listed stock corporations was introduced in a quest to strengthen trust in the German financial market.
This is why, here at Vonovia, we see corporate governance as the responsible management and supervision of a company. The Management Board and the Supervisory Board have made a comprehensive commitment to the principles of corporate governance as set out in the German Corporate Governance Code.
Standards of Corporate Governance
These principles are the basis for the sustainable success of the company and therefore serve as guidelines for conduct in the company’s daily management and business. Good corporate governance strengthens the trust of our shareholders, business associates, customers, employees and the general public in Vonovia SE. It increases the company’s transparency and strengthens the credibility of our group of undertakings.
With balanced corporate governance, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board wish to safeguard Vonovia SE’s competitiveness, strengthen the trust of the capital market and the general public in the company and sustainably increase the company’s value. Corporate governance, acting in accordance with the principles of responsible management aimed at increasing the value of the business on a sustainable basis, is an essential requirement for the Vonovia Group, embracing all areas of the business.
As a major real estate company, we are aware of the particular significance of our entrepreneurial actions for society at large. Our corporate culture is founded on transparent reporting and corporate communications, on corporate governance aimed at the interests of all stakeholders, on fair and open dealings between the Management Board, the Supervisory Board and employees as well as on compliance with the law.
The Code of Conduct provides the ethical and legal framework within which we act and want to ensure our commercial success. The focus is on dealing fairly with each other but also in particular on dealing fairly with our customers, business partners and investors. The Code of Conduct specifies how we assume our ethical and legal responsibility as a company and is the expression of our company values.
Information on the Company’s Governing Constitution
The designation Vonovia comprises Vonovia SE and its Group companies. Vonovia is a European company (SE) in accordance with the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG), the SE Act and the SE Regulation. Its registered headquarters are in Bochum. It has three governing bodies: the Annual General Meeting, the Supervisory Board and the Management Board. The duties and authority of those bodies derive from the SE Regulation (SE-VO), the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG) and the Articles of Association. Shareholders, as the owners of the company, exercise their rights at the Annual General Meeting.
According to the two-tier governance system, Vonovia SE has a Management Board and a Supervisory Board. In the two-tier governance system, the management of business and the monitoring of business are strictly separated from each other, meaning that individuals cannot be members of both bodies at the same time. The duties and responsibilities of the bodies are clearly specified by law in the German Stock Corporation Act. In accordance with the governing laws, in particular the SE Regulation and the German SE Employee Participation Act (SEBG), the Supervisory Board is only made up of representatives of the shareholders. The highest representative body of the employees is the Group works council. An SE works council was also set up at the level of Vonovia SE.
The Management Board and Supervisory Board of a company listed in Germany are obliged by law (Section 161 of the German Stock Corporation Act) to report once a year on whether the officially published and relevant recommendations issued by the government commission German Corporate Governance Code, as valid at the date of the declaration, have been, and are being, complied with. Companies affected are also required to state which of the recommendations of the Code have not been, or will not be, applied and, if not, why. The most recent Declaration of Conformity is valid for at least the next five years and the Declarations of Conformity that are no longer valid can be found on the company’s website. If the auditor finds the Declaration of Conformity to be incorrect, the Supervisory Board is informed and this is also noted in the audit report.
The Management Board reports in its declaration, also on behalf of the Supervisory Board, on important aspects of corporate governance pursuant to Section 289f of the German Commercial Code (HGB) and Principle 23 of the German Corporate Governance Code (GCGC) 2022.
Declaration of Conformity to the GCGC Pursuant to Section 161 of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG)
On December 12, 2023, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Vonovia SE declared that, since the last Declaration of Compliance was issued on December 9, 2022, the company has complied with all the recommendations of the Government Commission on the German Corporate Governance Code (the “Code”) as amended on June 27, 2022, published by the German Federal Ministry of Justice in the official section of the Federal Gazette, and will comply in the future with all of these recommendations, with the exception of G.13 sentence 2.
G.13 sentence 2 of the Code specifies that, if post-contractual non-compete clauses apply, the severance payments shall be taken into account in the calculation of any compensation payments. This recommendation has not yet been implemented in one particular case for reasons relating to vested rights. The recommendation set out in G.13 sentence 2 of the Code will be applied to contract extensions and to any contracts concluded in the future.