Reebok 2011 Annual Report Download - page 52

adidas Group
2011 Annual Report
TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS
48
2011
01.6
01.6 Corporate Governance Report including the Declaration on Corporate Governance
Suggestions of the German Corporate Governance Code
fulfilled to a large extent
adidas AG complies with the suggestions of the Code with one
exception: Pursuant to section 3.6 of the Code, Supervisory Board
meetings should be prepared separately by the Supervisory Board
members representing the shareholders and by those representing
the employees. The members of our Supervisory Board meet for such
preparation meetings as needed.
Relevant management practices
Performance, passion, integrity and diversity are the values of our
Group. They are actively lived by our Executive Board members,
Supervisory Board members and our employees and have been
incorporated into our Code of Conduct. Our business activities are
orientated towards the legal systems in the various countries and
markets in which we operate. We bear significant responsibility for
the people living in these regions and for the environment as a whole.
Compliance within the adidas Group: Our compliance system creates
the organisational requirements for Group-wide awareness of the
respective governing law as well as of our internal rules and guide-
lines and for ensuring their observance. We perceive compliance as
being all-embracing and significant to the product cycle from the
supply chain to the final consumer.
In order to ensure standardised and exemplary actions and behaviour,
in 2006 the adidas Group introduced a Code of Conduct which is
applicable in all regions and business areas. Guidelines for day-to-day
behaviour in everyday work are stipulated in this Code. The Code of
Conduct is available both on our website and on our intranet.
The internal compliance programme based on the Code of Conduct
includes, inter alia, web-based training which is available to all
employees worldwide. Furthermore, on a global level we have
designated local compliance officers reporting directly to the Chief
Compliance Officer of the Group as contact persons, to whom
complaints and information concerning possible compliance
infringements can be reported. In the area of data protection, we
have also established a web-based training programme for all
employees. Additionally, the Group has a “Marketing Guide” to raise
our employees’ awareness with regard to data protection when in
contact with customers. Employees who work in sales receive regular
training concerning matters of competition law. Before our products
are launched on the market, our Intellectual Property department
researches the technologies, trademarks, logos and designs to
identify possible infringements of the rights of third parties.
The Group’s Chief Compliance Officer reports to the Executive
Board regularly concerning the implementation of the compliance
programme as well as information about corporate issues. Further,
he reports to the Audit Committee at one of its meetings at least
once a year concerning the contents and the implementation of the
compliance programme.
Compliance with working and social standards: The development
of company guidelines with regard to social minimum standards,
work safety as well as health and environmental protection and the
monitoring thereof at the production facilities of the adidas Group and
its business partners is an integral component of our Group policies.
Our Group has an individual Code of Conduct for the supply chain,
the “Workplace Standards” : WWW.ADIDAS-GROUP.COM/SUSTAINABILITY . These
standards are orientated towards the conventions of the International
Labour Organization (ILO) and follow the code of conduct of the World
Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI). They help us to
only choose such business partners who fulfil the Group’s Workplace
Standards and business practices in accordance with our values.
We have appointed an expert team especially for the coordination of
compliance with, and control of, the Workplace Standards. We report
on our sustainability programme in this Annual Report and publish
sustainability reports regularly SEE SUSTAINABILITY, P. 107 .
Environmental responsibility and social commitment: For long-term,
successful management of the Group, sustainable actions that
embrace in particular social and environmental responsibility towards
present and future generations are essential. Our Social & Environ-
mental Affairs department, with its worldwide team members, has for
many years been dealing with the rights of employees in the supply
chain and coordinating product safety standards.
Further information on the principles of our management
More information on topics covered in this report can be found on our website at
: WWW.ADIDAS-GROUP.COM, including:
– Code of Conduct
– Sustainability
– Social commitment
– Information and documents on the Annual General Meeting
– Directors’ Dealings
– Accounting and Annual Audit