Better Corporate Governance
We want to help make the world a little better for everyone with our products. It is also important to us that we as a Company meet the highest ethical standards. Therefore, we report transparently about our Code of Conduct, our data protection measures, our supervisory board and relevant financial indicators.
Better Behaviour
All Veganz employees sign a commitment in accordance with the German General Act on Equal Treatment (‘Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz’, AGG) and our Veganz Code of Conduct when they join the Company.
OUR CODE OF CONDUCT: WORKING FOR VEGANZ
Our Code of Conduct sets out in detail what is permitted – and what is not – with regard to employee behaviour. Among other things, it describes
- the non-discriminatory appreciation of all people we interact with – regardless of age, gender, religion, skills, origin or sexual orientation,
- the prohibition of giving or accepting unauthorized benefits to or from our business partners,
- the protection of operational, corporate and personal data by all appropriate and reasonable means, and
- the avoidance of conflicts of interest that might arise from secondary employment or equity investments.
Our full Code of Conduct can be found here.
In the past, all employees were required to report any suspicion of a possible breach of ethical conduct to their line manager, who treated this information in the strictest confidence. In order to make it easier for team members and all other stakeholders to make such reports, we have set up a whistleblower system that has been available on our corporate website since May 2022. This online portal enables people to anonymously obtain information on the topics of ethical and law-abiding behaviour and to anonymously report any observed violations of integrity at Veganz itself or at our business partners.
With regard to breaches of ethical behaviour or cases of corruption, we have a clean slate for 2021 and 2020 with zero cases. We want to keep it that way in the future. That is why we are continuously working on the further development of our Code of Conduct, offer staff training on ethical behaviour and regularly review the effectiveness of our anti-corruption measures.
Better data protection
Although personal data is not central to our business model, we are very aware of our responsibility in terms of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and want all persons in contact with Veganz to feel secure in this regard.
In order to identify possible risks with regard to data management in good time, we work together with an external service provider in the field of data protection and privacy. We follow a defined step-by-step model to classify risks according to the probability of their occurrence and the severity of any possible consequential damage.
Among other things, we regularly conduct data protection audits to ensure compliance with data protection requirements. The current audit conducted by our external service provider was successfully completed in early 2022 and the first recommended actions have already been implemented.
In addition, we make use of various tried and tested measures. These include the use of encryption protocols and software as well as physical, electronic and procedural security precautions in connection with the collection, storage and disclosure of personal data.
Our Data Protection Officer is responsible for all questions concerning data protection. He can be contacted by mail at datenschutz@veganz.de.
Better supervision
As the highest governing body, the Supervisory Board is responsible for ensuring that our corporate strategy is being implemented effectively – and is as sustainable as possible.
It is therefore very important for us to have a Supervisory Board whose members have the necessary expertise. Our Supervisory Board currently consists of four male and one female member, all of whom are non-executive members in accordance with the requirements of the German Stock Corporation Act. Two of the members have been members of the Veganz Supervisory Board for less than one year, the other three members for less than three years. They have a wide range of expertise in the field of sales, marketing, operations, finance and sustainability. In addition, four of our Supervisory Board members have worked in the food industry:
OUr Supervisory board
| Name | Function & role at Veganz [1] | Sector expertise | Professioneal expertise | First elected on | Elected until |
| Roland Sieker | • Chairperson of the Supervisory Board • Member of the Audit Committee • Independent | Food (manufacturing) | Marketing; strategy; sustainability | 27. August 2019 | Anual General Meeting 2023 |
| Janina Mütze | • Deputy Chairperson of the Supervisory Board | Market research | Marketing | 24. June 2021 | Anual General Meeting 2023 |
| Michael Durach | • Supervisory Board Member • Independent | Food (manufacturing) | Sales; marketing; sustainability | 24. June 2021 | Anual General Meeting 2023 |
| Ronny Gottschlich | • Supervisory Board Member • Independent | Food (retail) | Operations; marketing | 20. August 2020 | Anual General Meeting 2023 |
| Dr. Jens Pippig | • Supervisory Board Member • Chairperson of the Audit Committee • Independent | Food (retail) | Sales; marketing; finance | 20. August 2020 | Anual General Meeting 2023 |
Further information on the activities of the Supervisory Board in 2021 and their remuneration can be found on pages 8–11, in the Remuneration Report on pages 50/51 and under Other Disclosures on pages 61/62 of the Annual Report. Information on the current mandates of Supervisory Board members and their detailed professional background is provided on our website.
Better financial transparency
Certain financial KPIs are also relevant from a sustainability perspective. In this section, we therefore highlight some of the relevant figures that are regarded as core financial KPIs by the ESG standard of the World Economic Forum (WEF):
In 2021, Veganz paid €1,930 thousand in corporate tax (prior year: €980 thousand) – including other taxes (car tax only) of €0 thousand (prior year: €1 thousand). The employer’s share of social security contributions was €470 thousand in 2021 (prior year: €420 thousand). Expenses for property tax and non-creditable sales taxes were not incurred in 2021 and 2020.
Conversely, the Company received government financial support of €21 thousand in 2021, consisting of subsidies for electric company cars and an apprenticeship bonus (prior year: €52 thousand from short-time work benefits).
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SUSTAINABILITY TOPICS:
Better for the EnvironmentBetter for society
[1] Definition of independence in accordance with recommendations C.6 and C.7 of the current German Corporate Governance Code: https://dcgk.de/de/kodex/aktuelle-fassung/praeambel.html. Retrieved on 18.04.2022