Our Values

As an international chemical company, we operate in markets and countries with different requirements and conditions. We always follow our corporate values and standards in order to act responsibly and secure our license to operate. By living these values every day, we ensure a culture of respect for our customers, partners and employees.

Together with our Code of Conduct Code of Conduct and our global standards, our CORE values lay the foundation for responsible conduct and trustbased relationships with our stakeholders. They define how we want to work together:

O
open

We value diversity, in people, opinions and experience. This is why we foster feedback based on honesty, respect and mutual trust. We learn from setbacks.

R
responsible

We value the health and safety of people above all else. We make sustainability part of every decision. We are committed to strict compliance and environmental standards.

E
entrepreneurial

We focus on our customers, as individuals and as a company. We seize opportunities and think ahead. We take ownership and embrace personal accountability.

Our standards are based on, and in some cases, exceed existing laws and regulations and take internationally recognized principles into account. We respect and promote:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two U.N. Human Rights Covenants
• The 10 principles of the U.N. Global Compact
• The core labor standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy
• The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
• The Responsible Care^® Global Charter
• The German Corporate Governance Code

The main guidelines are primarily summarized in our Group regulations on compliance, human rights, labor and social standards and in the Supplier Code of Conduct. We want to ensure that we act in line with the applicable laws and uphold our responsibility to the environment and society with our comprehensive management and monitoring systems.

The Corporate Audit department continuously monitors compliance with requirements. The head of our legal and compliance organization also acts as Chief Human Rights Officer and oversees the overarching risk management.