(2) Compliance Management

Compliance means that the company, its bodies and employees act in line with the applicable rules and regulations. For the Management Board, compliance with statutory law and the observance of internal guidelines are the basis of corporate management and culture. Compliance is to ensure the integrity of employees, customers and business partners and avoid possible negative consequences for the company (and for the environment and society at large).

The management and monitoring of Vonovia is based on the relevant statutory requirements, the Articles of Association and the rules of procedure for the Supervisory Board and the Management Board. They form the basis for the company’s internal rules and guidelines, adherence to which is monitored by a central compliance management system and administered by a guideline management team that forms part of the Compliance & Data Protection department.

The guidelines describe clear organizational and monitoring structures with specified responsibilities and appropriately installed checks. The legally compliant behavior of all employees in the business processes is ensured by suitable control procedures and supervision by managers.

The company has also put in place a compliance management system based on IDW (Institute of Public Auditors in Germany) PS 980 and has created a central function, the Chief Compliance Officer, whose remit focuses on identifying compliance risks, taking suitable measures to avoid and detect these risks and taking appropriate action in response to compliance risks (compliance program). This individual also acts as the company’s human rights officer.

In terms of specific content, the main features of the compliance management system are Vonovia’s Code of Conduct, which focuses on ethical values and statutory requirements and reinforces the personal responsibility of employees, Vonovia’s Compliance Guidelines and a Business Partner Code setting out requirements that the company’s contractual partners have to meet. An external ombudsperson and a compliance hotline at the external law firm GSK Stockmann is available to answer questions on all compliance matters. These systems also feature an anonymous whistleblower hotline in six languages. All of the whistleblower channels are available not only to employees, but also to external groups, such as customers and business partners.