Compliance

 Our compliance system creates the organisational prerequisites for making sure that the relevant applicable law, our internal regulations and guidelines as well as those regulatory standards recognised by the Company are known across the Group and compliance with them can be monitored.

The Board of Executive Directors has entrusted a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), who reports directly to the Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, with coordinating and documenting compliance activities across the Group. He heads the central compliance committee to which the compliance representatives of the holding and the business segments as well as the heads of the holding units belong, who perform compliance-relevant tasks (e.g. internal audit, risk management, legal affairs, personnel, environmental protection/work safety/quality management). Material breaches of compliance are reported to the CCO, who reports to the Board of Executive Directors.

Responsibility for compliance is borne by those persons in charge of operations in the business segments and holding units. They issue an annual compliance declaration and are supported in a consultative and coordinating capacity by the compliance representatives.

The Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board discusses the effectiveness of K+S Group’s compliance system on a regular basis.

Every employee is made familiar with the fundamental values and the code of conduct that apply throughout the Group as well as with the resultant corporate guidelines. Obligatory training sessions for (potentially) affected employees are held in relation to specific issues (e.g. anti-trust law, anti-corruption, environmental protection/work safety laws). The training framework is designed centrally and supplemented locally with country-specific or regional features. Employees who newly take on management responsibility are offered an expanded introductory programme, which includes training in basic legal and compliance matters.

The employees have the possibility of seeking advice in compliance-related matters through internal helplines. Moreover, we have set up external hotlines (ombudsmen) for advice and, anonymously if desired, the notification of breaches. Compliance violations are consequently pursued and punished.