Business ethics and compliance

All business activities and decisions are underpinned by compliance with the applicable laws and internal and external regulations.

No infringements of environmental or social laws and regulations were reported in 2021.

Fronius carries out its business activities in line with the highest ethical standards and requires all employees to act in accordance with these standards of personal and professional integrity. We also expect our business partners to follow this Code of Conduct, acting with integrity and in compliance with the law. This applies to all business partners in the supply chain.

The Code of Conduct is available on our website for all stakeholders to access and is published on internal platforms and notices. The Code has also been adapted for all subsidiaries with country-specific provisions and can be accessed on the local websites.

All employees are given training from their direct managers on how to use the Code of Conduct.

Fronius explicitly opposes all forms of corruption and bribery. Criminal offenses notwithstanding, we examine any benefits accepted or granted to check whether they are appropriate and are not detrimental to our public image. 

We have drawn up extensive measures to prevent corruption and bribery, including raising awareness among employees by sharing information about the Fronius Code of Conduct and requiring them to complete training on compliance matters. We are also working to set up a whistleblowing system to ensure any breaches of compliance are identified at an early stage and the necessary remedial actions can be taken. 

Our approach to dealing with risks, including corruption and bribery risks from suppliers and business partners, is laid out in the Chapter “Value creation”.

There were no confirmed cases of corruption in 2021.

Our long-term interests are protected by a transparent, fair and professional conduct in the market. Our mode of contact ensures a stable and sustainable competitive advantage.

Any involvement in politics is done in a responsible and transparent way; public political processes are not hampered by unfair practices or undue influence. Fronius did not make any donations to political parties in the form of financial contributions or gifts in kind in 2021.

Guidelines and work instructions on how to handle personal data regulate compliance with the applicable data protection laws (specifically the EU General Data Protection Regulation) in the company. We have also set up systems for auditing new and existing data processing operations, introducing new software tools, concluding data processing agreements, and complying with data subject rights (such as requests for information and requests to have data deleted). Representatives from the IT, Risk Management, and Legal departments handle data protection matters together as part of a core data protection team and collaborate closely with a representative of the management board. The information security management system and the information security guidelines show in detail how to protect physical and electronic data and the systems needed for data processing. We are currently in the process of introducing an information management system certified to ISO 27001.

Data privacy and information security are not only crucial for our internal business processes and data processing activities, but for our products too. Suitable, state-of-the-art measures are implemented in line with the level of protection required for the data to be processed and the associated risks. Measures for the early detection, processing, and prevention of cyberattacks have been drawn up due to increasing levels of cybercrime. Employees are kept up to date about possible risks and shown how to take preventative action.

We offer regular trainings for our employees on compliance matters, such as anti-corruption, data protection, and antitrust and competition laws, to keep their knowledge up to date. If employees are directly involved in situations that could have legal implications stemming from antitrust and competition legislation, we offer extra, more in-depth training to prepare them fully for these scenarios. These courses cover the basics regarding the statutory requirements of antitrust and competition law and include practical examples that reference the existing distribution channels at Fronius.

All employees are encouraged to complete online training on the content of the Code of Conduct. A total of 2,607 employees passed this online training in 2021, which is around 72% of the workforce with an e-mail account. Employees that do not have an e-mail account were trained by their direct managers using a handout.

We have increased our target for training participation to 85% for 2022 so we can continue to raise even more awareness of the Code of Conduct.

In 2021, we laid the groundwork for a whistleblowing system to be set up as part of the compliance management system, following the provisions of the EU whistleblowing directive. The whistleblowing system is intended to give employees and external parties alike the opportunity to report any breaches of law within the company. Anonymous reports can also be submitted using the channel planned for this. 

As soon as the national law comes into force in Austria, this channel will be activated and information about it will be made available to potential whistleblowers.