Guidelines and Values

We tolerate no corruption or bribery of any form (Zero Tolerance). Bribes are no means to get orders for us. Fighting corruption is an integral part of the SHS Group's long-term sustainability approach.

We respect human dignity. We tolerate no discrimination based on gender, skin colour, religion, nationality, social background, political or other views, disablement, age, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or other traits. Sexual harassment and other personal attacks on individuals or groups have no place in our company. We do not conduct business with suppliers whose products we know to have been manufactured or extracted by violent means, threats of violence or in a discriminating environment. We take care not to procure products from regions where human rights violations can be justifiably expected. 

We aim to avoid conflicts of interest. Should conflicts of interest exist or arise, they are openly and transparently communicated to supervisors and appropriate solutions are found for avoiding or overcoming them.

Highly diverse green areas are cultivated,  maintained and fostered in the company grounds of the SHS locations, directly contributing to biodiversity. In the process, small spaces with different living conditions encourage special habitats and regionally rare species. In addition to which the SHS Group owns large forest tracts that are naturally sustained.

We treat the subject of "Conflict Minerals" with great diligence and ensure to the greatest possible extent that no material is procured from conflict countries that directly or indirectly finance or abet armed groups. Appropriate processes have been established for a tracking analysis. We expect our suppliers to prove that they procure or process DRC-conflict-free materials. In our supplier questionnaire, we refer to the conflict-free procurement of materials, evaluate this and derive measures for continuous improvement.

Protecting the personal data of our employees, clients and suppliers is in our own interest. No personal data must be collected or processed without legal permissibility or the data subject's consent.

We dedicate our entire experience, know-how and creativity to saving resources and avoiding pollution for people and the environment. Inter alia, this also relates to the correct handling of mercury, chemicals and wastes, and compliance with the legal requirements for avoiding harmful soil changes, water and air pollution, noise emissions and excessive water consumption.

We deplore war and terrorism as well as unlawful force and deeds against people. We comply with all applicable laws and guidelines for fighting money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as all economic sanctions pertaining to us. We continuously monitor the relevant sanctions lists and check if our contract partners are listed in any of them. We never actively do any business with companies or persons we know to be included in the corresponding lists. We rely on digital sanction list screening tools for this.

We are committed to free and fair competition and comply with regulations fighting unfair competition. We keep sensitive information potentially able to jeopardize the fair competition between us and our competitors confidential. We want to convince with our high-quality products and strengthen our market position this way.

The strong commitment of the employees at their workplace is offset by the company's social obligation to ensure the best labour conditions and nationally appropriate levels of income. An up-to-date social policy supports employees in exceptional life situations.

We distance ourselves from all business practices contradicting internationally recognized human rights. Instead, we are committed to the standards of the freedom of association, meaning that
- employees can freely organize in unions or join them,
- the foundation, joining of and membership in a union must no be used as a reason for wrongful discrimination or retribution measures,
- unions can freely operate in keeping with the jurisdiction of the place of employment, which includes the right to strike and right to collective bargaining.

We show tolerance for different opinions, viewpoints and lifestyles. We give other views a chance. We openly listen to others and examine their views without bias.

We act in conformance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and firmly reject human rights violations of any form in our own business activities and throughout our value creation chain. This particularly concerns child labour, forced labour and slavery. Nobody is meant to be employed against their will or forced to work by illegal measures.

We protect the intellectual property of our company and defend it from unauthorized access by third parties. All employees are required to keep business matters of a confidential nature secret from third parties.

Board members, executives, employees and works councils cooperate trustfully as a team and foster a culture of participation. A transparent information policy and open internal dialogue ensure mutual trust and credibility.

Safety and health are always the highest priority and are integrated in all company processes.
To make sure that all the company's employees can go about their tasks safely and stay healthy, we are committed to ensuring that
 - safety standards are complied with in the provision and maintenance of work environments, workplaces and work equipment, and that they are free from unlawful effects of chemical, physical or biological substances. It is our aim to avoid accidents and reach a zero accident rate. Cleanliness and neatness are important for safe work as well as a high product quality and the good impression we want to leave our clients with,
- measures are applied to prevent excessive physical and mental exhaustion, especially by unsuitable work scheduling in terms of working hours and rest periods,
- all employees are trained in occupational health and safety.

As an internationally engaged enterprise with a globally branched chain of supply, it is in our own interest to respect the rights and interests of local populations, local communities and population groups in keeping with international standards, and not to violate them. Measures are being applied to exclude impacts of our business activity on local communities or keep them as slight as possible.

We aim to make an active contribution to climate protection. The transformation process is aimed at climate-neutrality by 2045. To achieve this, we bank on the use of hydrogen, electric steel production and the recycling of scrap steel. We want to save 55 percent of the CO2 by 2030 already – 4,9 million tons per year.
Our steel has long since become an essential part of the energy and mobility transition and is found in offshore wind farms, solar parks and pumped-storage plants, railway tracks and electric cars. Wind parks around the world stand on Dillinger steel foundations.