Valued-based compliance is an indispensable part of our daily business activities, and it means we act in accordance with laws and regulations. Our Compliance Management System consists of basic principles and measures to promote compliant behavior throughout the company.
The Objectives of Our Compliance Activities
Our compliance activities focus on
- complying with anti-corruption regulations,
- maintenance and promotion of fair competition,
- compliance of our products with technical regulatory stipulations,
- respect for and the protection of human rights,
- adherence to data protection laws,
- compliance with sanctions,
- prevention of money laundering.
Seven Elements That Build on One Another
Our Compliance Management System (CMS) considers national and international standards and is applied on a global scale at Mercedes-Benz Group and all Group companies. The CMS consists of seven elements that build on one another.
The objective of our Compliance Management System is to promote compliance with laws and policies within the company and to prevent inappropriate behavior. The foundation for this is our culture of integrity. Corresponding measures are defined by our compliance and legal organizations taking into account the company’s business requirements.
Our compliance and legal organizations have set themselves the goal of ensuring Group-wide compliance with laws and regulations. They are structured in a way to be able to optimally support and advise all our divisions in their business activities, processes, and services. In addition, our global network of local contact persons also makes sure that our standards are met and helps local management at Group companies implement our compliance program.
The Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG regularly obtains information on the current status of our Compliance Management System and its further development. It is also continuously informed about the Whistleblower System Business & People Protection Office (BPO) and further topics, if necessary.
We systematically analyze and assess the compliance risks of our Group companies. Our analysis is based on centrally compiled information on the Group companies and takes specific additional details into account as needed. The results of this analysis form the basis of our risk control.
Our compliance program comprises principles and measures designed to reduce compliance risks and prevent violations of laws and regulations. The individual measures are based on the knowledge gained through our systematic compliance risk analysis, which considers indicators such as the region or business model of the particular business unit. The main focal areas of our compliance measures include, among others, our Whistleblower System Business & People Protection Office (BPO), Infopoint Integrity and integrity checks on new and existing business partners.
Based on our Integrity Code, we provide our employees with an extensive training program on compliance topics. To this end, we regularly analyze the need, adjust or expand the training program and carry out a final evaluation. Our training measures aim to ensure acting with integrity and compliant behavior within the company over the long term and provide our employees with help to tackle specific issues from practice.
We continuously review the adequacy and effectiveness of our Compliance Management System and adapt it to global developments, changing risks, and new legal requirements. We also monitor important core processes during the year based on key performance indicators (KPIs) that include, amongst others, process duration and quality. In addition, we analyze the knowledge gained through independent internal and external assessments.
