Compliance

Whistleblower System Business
Practices Office. (BPO)

The Whistleblower System BPO receives reports of rule violations. It is an important element of good corporate governance.

Only when rules and standards are complied with we can avoid causing damage to our company, our staff and our business partners. Compliance with the law and internal regulations is a high priority for the Mercedes-Benz Group. Misconduct must therefore be identified early. In order to investigate severe violations in a fair and appropriate manner, we set up the Whistleblower System Business Practices Office (BPO) in 2006. The BPO enables employees and external whistleblowers to report violations anywhere in the world.

Violations posing a high risk include, for example, offenses relating to corruption, breaches of antitrust law and violations of anti-money laundering regulations, as well as violations of binding technical provisions or violations in connection with environmental regulations or human rights.

Mercedes-Benz Group encourages anyone inside or outside the company who observes violations in connection with the company or suspects such violations for concrete reasons to contact the BPO without fear of retaliation and to express the information openly.

Whistleblowers who report possible violations on the basis of concrete indications are protected by the company. The confidentiality of such statements is guaranteed. Employees who feel they have suffered disadvantages as a result of them reporting a violation are protected by the BPO. Discrimination or intimidation of an employee for reporting a violation is itself a violation of our Integrity Code and results in disciplinary actions under labor law. Whistleblowers should disclose their identity so they can be asked questions that may be helpful to the investigation. If a whistleblower requests his or her identity not to be disclosed to other parties within the company, this request will be complied with.

A globally applicable Group policy governs the BPO procedure and the corresponding responsibilities. Its aim is to ensure a fair and transparent procedure that takes into account both the principle of proportionality for the person concerned and the protection of the whistleblower. The policy also sets out the standards by which we assess violations and decide on consequences.

The Whistleblower System BPO receives reports of rule violations.

Information about possible violations is processed transparently and always confidentially by the BPO within the procedure described below:

If you have concrete indications of major risk violations in connection with the business activity of the Mercedes-Benz Group, you can contact the Whistleblower System BPO via the following channels:

BPO reporting form

You may use the reporting form at all hours to report suspicions of a violation – if desired anonymous – to the Whistleblower System BPO.

A fair whistleblower system is an important instrument for good corporate governance. It aids in quickly identifying violations of laws and internal regulations, investigating them without delay and to address proven misconduct. If left unaddressed, violations of laws and regulations can cause severe damage for the company, its employees and business partners as well as the general public.

If you have concrete indications of high risk violations in connection with the Mercedes-Benz Group or its employees, you can contact the Whistleblower System Business Practices Office (BPO) via the following reporting form.

In particular, violations posing a high risk to the company include the following:

Corruption, anti-trust and money laundering offences
Theft, fraud and undue enrichment offences of significant scope or amount (over €100,000)
Severe injury to physical or mental well-being
Severe cases of sexual harassment, discrimination and racism
Criminal violations of data protection rules
Accounting and bookkeeping violations with a significant impact that can be detected externally
Severe violations in connection with engineering specifications and/or technical safety
Violations of human rights (e.g. violating the principles of the UN Global Compact)
Violations in connection with environmental regulations and/or environmental noncompliance of a product
Export control or sanctions violations
Severe violations of the integrity of the whistleblower system, for example, severe violation of whistleblower anonymity or reporting obligations
Other high risks, e.g. violations causing the company to suffer significant losses (over €100,000)
Violations that are likely to do severe harm to the company’s reputation
Severe violations of the Group’s internal agreements to the disadvantage of employees

The criteria for responsibility can vary based on local legal requirements. This review will be conducted after a report is received by the case managers of the whistleblower system.

Here you have the possibility of describing your suspicion of a major risk violation in greater detail. It is a good idea to provide contact details e.g. an e-mail address or telephone number in case there are any questions. Your information will be treated confidentially. However, you can also send your report to the BPO anonymously. If outside Germany, local legal requirements apply. Compliance with the local regulations will be checked by the BPO before processing a report.

Please note: If the tip-off does not meet BPO criteria, your entire report will be forwarded, after a comprehensive review, to the responsible unit (e.g. HR) at Mercedes-Benz Group for local investigation. Thereby your suspicion can be clarified locally. Your information will be treated confidentially by those parties as well.

Please note that the BPO may not process reports which do not contain concrete indications, due to legal reasons.

If you would like to supply us with further documents please send them by e-mail or by mail:

Address

Your reports help us in preventing damage for our company and employees as well as our business partners and the general public. Thank you for your assistance.

Your contact details:

Violation (please select the most applicable criterion):

When did it occur?

Where did it occur?

Who committed the violation?

What happened?

Who besides you also observed the suspicious behavior?

Further information:

After receipt of the tip-off, the BPO conducts an initial risk-based assessment of the potential violation. Violations considered high risk for the company include, amongst others, offenses relating to corruption, breaches of antitrust law and violations of anti-money laundering regulations as well as human rights violations. For tip-offs with high risk for the company, its employees or business partners, an initial legal review of the incident is carried out. If the review finds that the suspicions are substantiated, appropriate measures are taken. For example, the case can be assigned to the appropriate investigative unit (e.g. Corporate Security, Corporate Data Protection, Corporate Audit, Legal Division, Purchasing Units) with specific orders to conduct an investigation.

All other tip-offs are forwarded by the BPO to the responsible department (e.g. Human Resources, Corporate Security, Corporate Data Protection). The whistleblower is informed in advance about the forwarding. Violations include, for example, theft, embezzlement or personal enrichment with a value of less than 100,000 Euros – provided they are not related to corruption.

The BPO accompanies the processing of tip-offs until the case has been closed. While doing so, the BPO ensures highest confidentiality.

In cases with a high risk for the company, its employees or business partners, appropriate follow-up measures (e.g. an investigation request) will be taken.

In the event of an investigation, the potentially affected person will be informed of the suspicion in writing without delay, as far as this is possible for investigative reasons, and is given an opportunity – as soon as possible – to respond to the allegations. If desired, the potentially affected employees of Mercedes-Benz Group can call in a person of trust for the investigative questioning/hearing (e.g. member of the company’s Works Council or a lawyer) and inform their manager of the allegations.

As long as a violation has not been proven, the presumption of innocence applies. Incriminating and exculpating facts are equally included in the investigation.

Moreover, our whistleblower system places great importance on fairness – in dealing with whistleblowers as well as employees or business partners affected by an allegation. The BPO always applies the principle of proportionality and examines each case individually to determine what consequences are suitable, necessary and appropriate.

Other cases are investigated by the relevant department (e.g. Human Resources, Corporate Security, Corporate Data Protection).

The person affected by the allegation and, if applicable, his or her manager are informed of the case closure. The result of the investigation is communicated to the person affected in writing. The whistleblower, unless he or she remains anonymous, will also be informed about the case closure and the final result.

If the accusations have turned out not to be true, the person affected will be rehabilitated upon request.

If the suspicion against an employee of Mercedes-Benz Group is confirmed, the case is passed on to the Human Resources department. If necessary, the person affected will be heard again, as will his or her manager. Personnel measures are taken in accordance with the principle of proportionality. In the event of misconduct by a business partner, appropriate consequences will also be taken in accordance with the principle of proportionality. If a business partner refuses to implement a jointly developed improvement plan or if the business partner does not improve, the Mercedes-Benz Group may temporarily suspend or terminate the business relationship after giving appropriate notice and warning.

In order to assess which measures are appropriate in response to a violation, the following criteria, among others, are regularly taken into account in accordance with the principle of proportionality:

Type and severity of the violation
Responsibility of the affected person (intent, negligence)
Amount, reversibility and probability of occurrence of a damage or injury
Attitude towards the violation of the affected person
Cooperation in investigating the facts of the case and/or compensation of damages occurred and/or a possible self-disclosure by the affected person
Mercedes-Benz Group’s leverage on the business partner

Specific personnel measures in the event of violations against employees of Mercedes-Benz Group are taken in accordance with local law, but may, depending on the severity of the violation, include both disciplinary and labor law measures (e.g. admonishment, warning, ordinary or extraordinary termination of employment, reduction of variable compensation components, claims for restitution, repayment and/or damages claims). In the event of identified criminal offenses, the Mercedes-Benz Group reserves the right to file criminal charges.

Measures against business partners are also taken in accordance with local law and the corresponding contractual agreements between the Mercedes-Benz Group and the business partner.

All data will be deleted after appropriate retention periods.

To steadily increase trust in the BPO and increase awareness of the BPO among employees, we rely on various communication measures. For example, the BPO provides information materials such as country-specific info cards, pocket guides and an explanatory film, and informs employees in dialog events. In addition, the BPO regularly informs employees about the number of reported violations as well as the type of confirmed violations and provides case studies on a quarterly basis. For business partners, the Mercedes-Benz Group explicitly refers to the Whistleblowing System BPO in its Responsible Sourcing Standards.

Every quarter, the BPO reports to the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board on newly opened and closed cases. By reprocessing reported incidents, the BPO contributes to the continuous further development of processes and guidelines regarding compliance within the +++++ Group.

Compliance

Whistleblower System Business Practices Office. (BPO)

Whistleblower System Business
Practices Office. (BPO)