governance.
In addition to ecological and social issues, good governance has an increasingly important influence on the perception and valuation of companies. For UBM, good governance means being viewed as a trustworthy and reliable partner by our stakeholders. That is the foundation of our business success.
UBM’s values – competent. consequent. transparent. – are reflected in our social responsibility: act ethically, accept the consequences, communicate transparently. To ensure that our values are lived throughout the entire company and reflected in our employees‘ everyday activities, our actions are based on ethical principles, relevant national and international legal norms, and internal guidelines.
As an active part of society, we accept our responsibility and have identified the following major subject areas as part of our materiality analysis:
- Corporate governance & compliance
- Sustainable procurement & regional added value
- Innovation & technologies
compliance management system.
The compliance management system implemented by UBM is intended to minimise the risk of a potential violation of legal regulations and ensure adherence to all framework conditions. A compliance management system manual details the responsibilities and powers of the compliance organisation as well as the processes that implement the related rules and guidelines. The Management Board and Supervisory Board consider it their responsibility to guarantee the consequent implementation of all compliance principles. Our approach follows the principle of prevention – disclosure – reaction, whereby the focus is on the prevention of incorrect behaviour.
ethics code.
A separate, binding ethics code forms the basis for all business activities and decisions. It is the foundation for moral, ethical and legally compliant behaviour by all UBM employees and is designed to prevent mistakes.
The values and principles contained in the code are based on national and international laws and requirements and on agreements like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the United Nations Guidelines (above all the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the international labour standards set by the International Labour Organisation (in particular the Fundamental Principles of the IAO).
The subject areas covered by the ethics code include, among others, bribery and corruption, fair competition, fundamental and human rights, compliance with economic sanctions and export controls, working conditions, occupational safety and health, environmental protection, the prevention of money laundering, capital market compliance and data protection. This code has been expressly agreed in writing with all employees in their national language since 2021 and is regularly adapted to reflect developments in the social and regulatory environment as well as ethic values.
code of conduct for business partners.
We not only place high priority on responsible actions by all UBM employees, but also set high standards for our business partners. A separate code of conduct for our business partners is firmly anchored in our corporate processes and regularly adapted to reflect developments in the business and regulatory environment and in fundamental ethical values.
This code is based on the same principles and regulations as the ethics code and covers issues like bribery and corruption, fair competition, fundamental and human rights, compliance with economic sanctions and export controls, working conditions, occupational safety and health, environmental protection, the prevention of money laundering, capital market compliance and data protection. The code of conduct applies to all business partners from a fee/order volume of € 20,000 (gross) who sell their products or services to UBM.
If a business partner refuses to sign the code of conduct, any negotiated contracts will not be signed and the compliance officer is immediately informed. He will then decide – together with the Management Board – on further procedures. In the event the code is violated, UBM reserves the right to undertake suitable measures at any time which, in the end, can lead to suspension or immediate termination of a contract relationship with the business partner.
iso certificates.
The corporate units in Austria (AG and UBM Austria), Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland are certified under the following internationally recognised norm:
- quality management norm ISO 9001
The certificates can be downloaded from the following links: