Status: 01.08.2023
Preface
The Governance Codex applies to all companies and all people of Vogel Communications Group (VCG-Group).
With the VCG Governance Codex, we ensure to align responsible governance with essential legal provisions, internal and external guidelines, mission statements, and behavioral recommendations in the VCG-Group.
For this, the issues of all groups of interest (partners, board of directors, chief executives, employees, clients, etc.) are focused equally.
The VCG-Group will be committed to transparent corporate communication, and a permanently viable and faithful corporate governance.
In particular, the measures are based on the ESG fields of action (Environment, Social, Governance), within which we act sustainably to strengthen governance, advance social progress, and protect our environment.
An appropriate opportunity and risk management and a compliance management system have been established and are continuously optimized including all relevant processes and structures.
The VCG Vision and the VCG Governance Codex
We support the VCG Vision and Mission with the VCG Governance Codex:
Vogel Communications Group is the most distinguished knowledge and communications partner. – Vision
We make our clients more successful through communication – nationally and internationally! – Mission
The VCG Governance Codex consists of the following four pillars:
1. Values and Culture
VCG-Values – Our framework for moral and authentic actions:
Our company values are our characteristic features, our core beliefs, and an integral part of our corporate identity:
leading / substantiated / connecting / mediation competent / value-creating
At the same time, our shared corporate values bind us to the well-being of the company and all employees.
VCG-Culture – How we act as a community:
We are a value-creating corporate group with a culture that is responsible, sustainable, and directed towards the future.
Therefore, our shared corporate values and the resulting corporate culture bind us to always openly act for the well-being of the VCG-Group and all employees, and to always evolve.
The value of our unique accomplishments derives from our community and the merging of our competencies to effectively convey knowledge.
2. Guiding Principle and Motto
VCG Governance Guiding Principle – What guides us in designing and implementing our governance:
Our every action serves the well-being of our Vogel Communications Group.
We have an ethic, legal, and economic obligation to lead our corporate group with purpose, in line with values and rules, to achieve our goals and to protect the VCG-Group from internal or external harm.
This makes us a trustworthy company for our employees, clients, and partners.
Elaboration of the Guiding Principle:
- We consider all of us to be part of a whole, the VCG-Group. Therefore, individual goals do not trump corporate group goals.
- We establish a Corporate Governance PDCA-Cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) that sets the standard in the business. Taking proportionality into account, we continuously review the relevant topics in the group-wide department of Corporate Governance and implement them in a coordinated and centrally conceptualized way.
- If a business process is found to be legally questionable, that process is immediately reviewed and corrected if needed.
We derive our VCG Governance Motto from this:
Purposefully assuming responsibility!
3. Risk analyses and responsibilities
This defines our responsibilities:
In general, every business activity comes with risks and opportunities.
Potential risks are identified by a standardized advance evaluation. These are to be considered with our values, our culture, and our Governance Guiding Principle in mind.
When identifying a risk and prior to a decision, a profound risk analysis spear-headed by the Corporate Governance department in cooperation with the responsible operating employees is developed.
Individual risk decisions on department- or subsidiary-level are impermissible. The decision is based on the analysis and recommendation of the VCG-Group Corporate Governance department and is made exclusively by VCG-Group management.
4. Fields of action and elements
We see a special importance when it comes to the application of the Codex by employees in their daily work in the following areas which can be continuously expanded and further developed:
These fields of action are found on the current version of the information platform for employees (Vogel Home), and if needed can be expanded by further relevant topics if legal or internal requirements appear to necessitate this.
Anchoring of the VCG Governance Codex within the VCG-Group
Chief Executives and Managers
The VCG Governance Codex will become part of our leadership philosophy and leadership responsibility. All chief executives and managers of the VCG-Group live this codex. We will continuously create awareness and understanding of this.
Employees
We will continuously create and actively monitor the awareness of the VCG Governance Codex through employee trainings, technological support, and standard processes. It becomes part of the competence development of our employees.
Department of Corporate Governance The department of Corporate Governance guarantees the operational implementation, continuous monitoring and development of the VCG Governance Codex for the VCG Group