Sustainability Report 2015
Code of Conduct
Along with the Corporate Strategy and Corporate Governance Principles, the Code of Conduct of Hannover Re sets out rules for how all employees of Hannover Rück SE are to behave with integrity and is intended to help them cope with ethical and legal challenges in their daily work. These rules, for example on the observance of human rights and combating corruption, reflect the high ethical and legal standards that guide our actions worldwide. We consider integrity in dealings with our stakeholders to be the foundation of a successful enterprise. Both in our strategic planning and in day-to-day business, we therefore aspire to live up to the highest ethical and legal standards; after all, the image of Hannover Rück SE is shaped by the demeanour, actions and behaviour of every one of us. The Code of Conduct of Hannover Re was revised and adopted by the Executive Board on 10 August 2015. The revised version of the Code of Conduct was communicated to all members of staff.
Since mid-2012 our Code of Conduct for Suppliers has also been in effect for extensive parts of the company at the Hannover location. Among other things, this requires compliance with environmental and social standards and it forms an integral component of contracts when it comes to, for example, tendering and awarding infrastructure services as well as various construction works. Existing supplier relationships in the areas of Facilities Management and IT are also progressively checked for fulfilment of the Code of Conduct as part of an ongoing process.
As a complementary tool, an application-supported procedure has also been developed for self-reporting by suppliers and service providers that similarly includes criteria from the Code of Conduct. The procedure is now used on a regular basis by Facilities Management. In the context of an assessment carried out in 2014 all IT suppliers were contacted and evaluated on the basis of a checklist. This evaluation was stored in the supplier management system and will be factored into the selection of suppliers when placing future contracts; furthermore, these criteria are also used for the regular evaluation of suppliers. Contracts with critically assessed suppliers are not renewed; an early-warning system ensures that an adequate lead time is available to select and as necessary familiarise an alternative vendor.