Compliance in the Südzucker and Freiberger Groups

We want to succeed in the competitive market through innovation, quality, reliability, and fairness. In doing so, it is important to us to act in a legally compliant, ethical, environmentally conscious, and honest manner, both in our own business and in our dealings with our business partners along our supply chains at home and abroad. Compliance with the Südzucker Group's Code of Conduct, which is also binding for the Freiberger Group, as well as with legal requirements and internal company guidelines, is an essential part of our company's image as a credible and reliable partner. Only by complying with rules can the company, its employees, and business partners be protected from violations and inappropriate behavior.

 

Südzucker Group whistleblower system and its application to the Freiberger Group

Employees, business partners (customers, suppliers, service providers), or other third parties may become aware of events or transactions that do not comply with these rules. By providing a whistleblower system, we offer the opportunity to report (potential) violations, e.g., of our Code of Conduct, legal provisions, and internal company guidelines. This enables us to identify risks at an early stage and respond to them in an appropriate and targeted manner.

Reports of (potential) violations can be made directly to the relevant contact persons within the company, i.e., supervisors, the works council, the compliance officer at Freiberger Lebensmittel GmbH, or the chief compliance officer at Südzucker AG. 

If you have concerns or if it is not possible to address the issue personally, serious incidents can be reported – anonymously if desired – via our confidential compliance lines.

• The Compliance Line is a data protection-certified electronic communication platform through which information can be sent directly to the Chief Compliance Officer of Südzucker AG or the responsible Compliance Officers of the Südzucker divisions/subsidiaries.
• Data and information in the Compliance Lines are encrypted and only accessible to authorized persons within the Südzucker Group.
• Please note that the Compliance Line is not intended for customer inquiries about products or services. For this purpose, please contact us at info@freiberger.de. 

In Südzucker's whistleblower system, the Freiberger Compliance Line is available as a group solution for the Freiberger Group for the following companies:

• Freiberger Lebensmittel GmbH
• HASA GmbH
• Freiberger Osterweddingen GmbH
• PrimAs Tiefkühlprodukte GmbH

The Freiberger Compliance Line can be used to report complaints about any of the Freiberger Group's subsidiaries to the Freiberger Compliance Officer and the Chief Compliance Officer of Südzucker AG.

Alternatively, information can be reported directly to the Chief Compliance Officer of Südzucker AG via the Südzucker Group Compliance Line.

Please use our whistleblower system responsibly. It must not be misused to defame others or make false allegations! In the event that a whistleblower intentionally or through gross negligence makes untrue or inaccurate statements, no protection against reprisals will be granted and Freiberger or Südzucker reserves the right to initiate disciplinary and/or criminal/civil legal action.

Further information on the Südzucker Group's whistleblower system can be found in our FAQs and directly on the Freiberger Compliance Line.

An internal report is often the best way to bring information to the attention of the people who can investigate and remedy the violation most quickly. 

If the violation has not been effectively pursued internally, if reprisals are to be feared, or if an internally reported violation could not be remedied, the whistleblower has the option of submitting a report via an external reporting channel. The whistleblower can find out more about the external reporting channels of individual countries (Germany, Austria, Denmark, France, Spain, Sweden, Croatia, Czechia, Ireland, Latvia, and Portugal) and the European Union at https://www.eqs.com/external-reporting-channels/.