Top managers and entrepreneurs sign commitment

Having gained the support of 42 participating companies the "Code of Responsible Conduct for Business" is turning into a joint project of the German industry. Presented to the public on 25th November 2010 in Berlin the initiative managed to welcome 24 new supporters in addition to the initial signees over the past months. The group of signees is composed of big companies' CEOs as well as heads of renown medium-sized and family-run businesses. Through the Code of Responsible Conduct the signees commit themselves to counteract public mistrust in decision makers in business by help of specific measures and reliable standards. The Wittenberg Center coordinates the Code of Responsible Conduct process.

"The trust that people in Germany put into the social market economy and its economic leaders has been severely damaged - and this happened before the economic crisis already." sais BASF Honorary Chairman and initiator of the Code of Responsible Conduct Prof. Dr. Jürgen Strube. "We, the managers of Germany's businesses, seek to send out a signal: Being managers we have to be examples. If people no longer perceive us as examples trust in our economic system and ultimately in democracy will be lost."  

Content

The Code of Responsible Conduct establishes verifiable standards which are supposed to become an integral part of the participating companies' organizational culture. The signees commit themselves to success-oriented and value-oriented leadership in accordance with the idea of social market economy. The Code of Responsible Conduct names fair competition, social partnerships, the principle of performance and sustainability. Likewise, the Code of Responsible Conduct explicitly addresses issues that have caused criticism and discussion among the public such as profits and morality, job cuts and managerial salaries or the violation of rules. "On the one hand, the Code of Responsible Conduct emphasizes the fact that the willingness to perform, profit seeking and competition form the foundation of our prosperity", admits Bosch's CEO Prof. Hermann Scholl. "On the other hand, we want to make clear that all this must be achieved through "fair play" and that we want to accommodate the weak, too."

"Without trust our economy cannot function lastingly."  stressed BASF's CEO Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht. "Regulations and laws provide a framework for our actions but they are no match for trust. Increasing public mistrust in politics and industry hints at the fact that something is going wrong in our country. Being leading managers we are required to admit our responsibility and face discussion."

The values and standards proclaimed in the Code of Responsible Conduct are to be implemented as an integral part of the leadership processes in all participating companies. "Businesses and managers - especially in the financial sector - are heavily reliant on trust." sais Dr. Josef Ackermann, CEO of Deutsche Bank. "Trust is build on reliability. We are only reliable if societal responsibility becomes our natural way of thinking and acting. This responsibility must be an integral part of our corporate policy and business processes, it needs to always be taken into account when making decisions. This is what we wish to express with the Code of Responsible Conduct ."

As a first step, the signees will make an effort to implement the Statement's values and standards for the participating companies. "Additionally, we will invite further entrepreneurs and managers in the following months to join us and sign the Code of Responsible Conduct for Business.” states Prof. Dr. Strube.

The signatories to the Code of Responsible Conduct for Business:

Companies:

• Ackermann, Dr. Josef: Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Bank AG
• Behrendt, Michael: Chief Executive Officer Hapag Lloyd AG,
  Kranich, Ulrich: Member of the Management Board Hapag Lloyd AG
• Berssenbrügge, Gerhard: Chief Executive Officer Nestlé Deutschland AG
• Cordes, Dr. Eckhard: Chief Executive Officer METRO AG
• Dekkers, Dr. Marijn: Chief Executive Officer Bayer AG,
  Pott, Dr. Richard: Member of the Management Board Bayer AG
• Diekmann, Michael: Chief Executive Officer Allianz AG
• Enders, Thomas: Chief Executive Officer Airbus S.A.S.
• Engel, Dr. Klaus: Chief Executive Officer Evonik Industries AG
• Fehrenbach, Franz: Chief Executive Officer Robert Bosch GmbH,
  Scholl, Prof . Hermann: Chairman of the Supervisory Board Robert Bosch GmbH
• Franz, Dr. Christoph: Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Lufthansa AG
• Fuchs, Stefan: Chief Executive Officer FUCHS PETROLUB AG
• Großmann, Dr. Jürgen: Chief Executive Officer RWE AG
• Hainer, Herbert: Chief Executive Officer adidas AG,
  Dassler, Frank A.: General Counsel adidas AG
• Hambrecht, Dr. Jürgen: Chief Executive Officer BASF SE (2003 to 2011)
  Bock, Dr. Kurt: Chief Executive Officer BASF SE (from 2011)
  Voscherau, Dr. h.c. Eggert: Chairman of the Supervisory Board, BASF SE
• Heitmann, Dr. Axel: Chief Executive Officer LANXESS AG
• Heuchert, Dr. Karsten: Chief Executive Officer VNG - Verbundnetz Gas AG
• Kirchhoff, Dr. Jochen: Chairman of Advisory Board and Shareholder Circle KIRCHHOFF Group
• Kley, Dr. Karl-Ludwig: Chief Executive Officer and General Partner Merck KGaA
• Leibinger-Kammüller, Dr. Nicola: Managing Director Trumpf GmbH & Co. KG
• Lütkestratkötter, Dr. Herbert: Chief Executive Officer Hochtief AG
• Metzler, Friedrich von: General Partner B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG
• Nonnenmacher, Prof. Rolf: Spokesman of the Management Board KPMG AG (2005 to 2011),
  Becker, Klaus: Spokesman of the Management Board KPMG AG (from 2011)
• Obermann, René: Chief Executive Officer Deutsche Telekom AG,
  Sattelberger, Thomas: Member of the Management Board Deutsche Telekom AG
• Oesterle, Dr. Fritz: Chief Executive Officer Celesio AG
• Oetker, Dr. Arend: Dr. Arend Oetker Holding GmbH & Co. KG
• Ostrowski, Hartmut: Chief Executive Officer Bertelsmann AG
• Putsch, Martin: Chief Executive Officer RECARO Group - Putsch GmbH & Co. KG,
  Kellinghusen, Dr. Georg: Chief Financial Officer RECARO Group - Putsch GmbH & Co. KG
• Reithofer, Dr. Norbert: Chief Executive Officer BMW AG,
  Milberg, Prof. Joachim: Chairman of the Supervisory Board BMW AG
• Reitzle, Prof. Wolfgang: Chief Executive Officer Linde AG
• Rorsted, Kasper: Chief Executive Officer Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
• Rühl, Gisbert: Chief Executive Officer Klöckner & Co SE
• Scheufelen, Dr. Ulrich: Papierfabrik Scheufelen GmbH & Co. KG
• Schmitz, Andreas: Spokesman of the Management Board HSBC Trinkhaus & Burkhardt AG
• Schrader, Hans-Otto: Chief Executive Officer Otto Group,
  Otto, Dr. Michael: Chairman of the Supervisory Board Otto Group
• Snabe, Jim Hagemann: Spokesman of the Management Board SAP AG,
  Plattner, Prof. Hasso: Chairman of the Supervisory Board SAP AG
• Staudigl, Dr. Rudolf: Chief Executive Officer Wacker Chemie AG,
  Rauhut , Dr. Joachim: Member of the Management Board Wacker Chemie AG,
  Sittenthaler, Dr. Wilhelm: Member of the Management Board Wacker Chemie AG,
  Willems, Auguste (Guido): Member of the Management Board Wacker Chemie AG
• Steiner, Norbert: Chief Executive Officer K+S AG
• Tafel, Andreas: Managing Director Apontas GmbH & Co. KG
• Teyssen, Dr. Johannes: Chief Executive Officer E.ON AG,
  Maubach, Prof. Klaus-Dieter: Member of the Management Board E.ON AG
• Weimer, Dr. Theodor:  Spokesman of the Management Board UniCredit Bank AG/HypoVereinsbank
• Winterkorn, Prof. Martin: Chief Executive Officer Volkswagen AG
• Zetsche, Dr. Dieter: Chief Executive Officer Daimler AG

Organizations:

• Haasis, Heinrich: Chairman Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband e.V.
• Hundt, Prof. Dieter: President Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbände
• Vassiliadis, Michael: Chairman Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie,
• Voscherau, Dr. h.c. Eggert: Chairman Bundesarbeitgeberverband Chemie e.V.