This is where our employees, business partners, customers, and other third parties can report compliance breaches relating to the DEUTZ Group at any time in order to ensure that violations of laws and other rules and regulations can be investigated swiftly and any proven misconduct stopped. Violations of laws and policies can seriously harm the Company, its employees, and its business partners, but also society at large.

Please use the whistleblowing system/complaints procedure if you become aware of any firm indications of a serious violation of applicable laws, policies, or corporate principles. Serious violations mainly include:

• Cases of corruption, antitrust infringement, or money laundering

• Cases of theft, embezzlement, or illicit enrichment

• Violations of securities regulations or the illegal use of insider information

• Human rights or environmental risks and violations of human rights or environmental obligations arising from the business activities of DEUTZ or one of our direct or indirect suppliers; a violation of a protected legal position or human rights or environmental obligation is any conduct that violates one of the prohibitions set out in § 2 (2) and (3) LkSG

• Violations of environmental standards

• Falsification or suppression of contracts, reports, or records

• Serious privacy or data protection violations

• Misconduct in relation to proper accounting practices, internal accounting controls, auditing, and financial reporting

• Breaches of rules that could cause serious damage to the reputation of the Company

• Misconduct on the part of managerial staff or members of governing bodies

• Infringements of EU law, e.g. tax fraud or misconduct relating to public-sector contracts, product safety, road safety, public health, or consumer protection

Protection for all parties involved:

The whistleblowing system/complaints procedure guarantees the highest possible protection for whistleblowers and affected parties, for example by providing the option to report suspicions anonymously. You can also send your complaints to the e-mail address ComplianceDEUTZcom or by post (DEUTZ AG, Corporate Compliance, Ottostr. 1, 51149 Köln, Germany).

An investigation is initiated only after the reported non-compliance is thoroughly reviewed and firm indications of wrongdoing have been identified. The information is reviewed in a fair and confidential process. Neither the name of the whistleblower nor any information that could reveal their identity is disclosed to the subject of the reported suspicion or the wider public. The identity of the whistleblower is revealed only in exceptional circumstances, for example if required by law. Any incidents of discrimination, intimidation, or hostility in connection with suspicions reported via the DEUTZ whistleblowing system/complaints procedure are investigated and punished as appropriate by means of the same process.

TELL US, but tell it right.
 

Once a suspicion report has been received, the Compliance organisation or – in the event of a very serious potential infringement – the dedicated Compliance Committee (comprising the Chief Compliance Officer, Head of Legal, Head of Corporate Audit, and Head of HR) reviews the reported information in accordance with all applicable laws and procedural rules (e.g. concerning confidentiality and the protection of the whistleblower) and initiates measures as necessary.

Everyone involved works as efficiently as possible to investigate and solve problems. However, each investigation is different and therefore the time taken may vary. DEUTZ aims to process all requests quickly, i.e. within weeks rather than months, and to provide you with feedback on the status of the investigation after 3 months at the latest. You will receive feedback once an investigation has been completed.

Dialogue with the whistleblower is often necessary to ensure that the suspicion can be assessed properly and thoroughly and investigative action can be initiated as required. We therefore welcome any means of contact provided by the whistleblower.

If you, as a whistleblower, provide no means of contact (such as an anonymous email address created specifically for this purpose), e.g. for reasons of anonymity, we will treat this as implicit but conscious acceptance of the fact that you will not receive confirmation of receipt of your report (which would otherwise be sent within seven days of receipt) or an (interim) report on the findings of the review (which would otherwise be sent within three months of receipt of your report). Please rest assured that the information you submit will be examined properly in any case.

You should bear in mind that any information that you submit can prompt decisions that may have implications for the employees of the DEUTZ Group and for third parties. We therefore ask that you provide only information that, to the best of your knowledge, is accurate and complete and that you describe your suspected non-compliance as clearly and specifically as possible. For example, it helps the review process if your description of the suspected incident answers the following questions:

• Who is the potential suspect? Who is affected?

• What happened?

• When did the incident happen?

• How often have such incidents happened?

• Where did the incident happen?

Please note that the description must be clear enough for persons unfamiliar with the technical specifics to understand the situation. It will help the review process if you can be contacted to answer further questions. To this end, it would suffice for you to provide an email address created solely for this purpose.

Effectiveness review:

The effectiveness of the complaints procedure is reviewed on an ad hoc basis, but at least once a year.

Record retention period:

The DEUTZ Group stores whistleblower reports as long as these are necessary for the investigation process, or for as long as we are required or entitled by law to retain such reports.