Established in 1996, EtherWAN became a subsidiary of the German Phoenix Contact group in 2017.
Compliance at Phoenix Contact
Compliance is an integral part of Phoenix Contact’s DNA and is given a correspondingly high level of importance. Therefore, the central Legal and Compliance Department reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer.
The core of the Compliance Management System is the Phoenix Contact Group Code of Conduct. It applies in all Group companies worldwide. It is supplemented by measures such as the whistleblower system and our policy statement on the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG).
Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct of the Phoenix Contact Group forms the core of our compliance measures. At the same time, it is our common denominator and applies without restriction to all employees. To facilitate this, it is available worldwide, both internally and externally, and in various languages.
The German Supply Chain Act
Phoenix Contact has been subject to the new German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) since January 1, 2023. However, human rights have always been a central component of our corporate culture.
We have taken the LkSG as an opportunity to make our activities even more transparent in line with the law: to this end, we have put together a cross-functional team to work on the systematic implementation of the LkSG worldwide. We have published the details in a policy statement regarding the LkSG. We have also revised our Code of Conduct to give the issue even greater priority.
Compliance Management System
The Phoenix Contact Compliance Management System comprises measures that ensure compliance with laws, guidelines, and our Code of Conduct within the Group. These include prevention, detection, and response measures. Examples of these include internal directives, employee awareness training, and providing advice regarding real-life issues. The measures also include making different contact persons and reporting channels available, and also investigating compliance incidents.
Whistleblower system
Why should I report something?
Are you aware of any damaging conduct or commercial and legal risks? If so, the BKMS® whistleblower system is available to you. The electronic platform has been set up so that you can report potential violations of legal obligations and internal regulations. It can be used in suspected cases of:
- Corruption
- Fraud, breach of trust, embezzlement
- Violation of competition law
- Money laundering
- Breach of data protection
- Theft
- Environmental and occupational health and safety violations
- Disregard of social standards and human rights
Phoenix Contact pursues a policy of open communication. As a rule, your line manager is your first port of call if there are any errors or irregularities. If external third parties are aware of errors or irregularities, they should be directed to their designated point of contact at Phoenix Contact.
The BKMS® whistleblower system is a certified system with the functionality to preserve anonymity. Should you prefer, you can also report information without disclosing your identity. Your reports will be recorded in the BKMS® whistleblower system and will be viewed by an employee at an international law firm. If further communication is required between the relevant attorney and you as the whistleblower, this will be conducted in strict confidence and, if desired, anonymously.
Environmental Compliance Standard
The EtherWAN Environmental Compliance Standard contains only bans and restrictions of substances that generally apply to articles or specifically to articles of the electric and electronic industry.
The standard is based on the applicable European legislation as well as selected national, regional, or international regulations that are applicable to EtherWAN products and markets. Prohibitions that relate purely to the use of substances or preparations are not part of this standard.
This standard needs to be observed for all delivery items that remain in EtherWAN products. It does not release from applicable international, European, and national legal regulations.
