Governance

Human rights

Management approach and targets

Protecting and promoting human rights are of the utmost importance to us. We report on how we safeguard human rights with regard to working conditions, anti-discrimination measures, and occupational health and safety within DB Group, particularly in the chapter employees.

We expect our business partners to uphold human rights, and our requirements in this regard are set out in the DB Code of Conduct for Business Partners, as well as other documentation. This Code refers to the core labor standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO), such as protection against child and forced labor and against discrimination in employment and occupation. It contains regulations on adequate pay, regulated working time, and the preference for regular employment. The right to auditing may be agreed in contracts with business partners, including adverse legal consequences if the Code is not complied with.

We oppose modern slavery in all its forms, be it forced or compulsory labor, servitude, human trafficking, or child labor, and we report on this in accordance with the provisions of the UK Modern Slavery Act. Due to differences in risk exposure, specially developed social minimum standards apply to DB Schenker’s global activities. This set of standards details the overriding DB Group Code of Conduct and provides, particularly in the international context, minimum standards for situations in which national and international legislation does not stipulate any appropriate social measures. Compliance with the Social Minimum Standards is regularly audited by intra-Group auditors at selected locations.

If human rights violations are suspected, employees, customers, suppliers and any other parties that may be of concern are provided with various channels to report such violations, including the option to report anonymously. In addition to central whistle-blowing management and the available trusted legal practitioners, our electronic whistle-blower sys­tem is also available. DB employees can contact the Human Resources ombudsperson. We follow up on any indications of alleged human rights violations as part of a follow-up process. In 2021, the whistle-blower system reported suspected cases of human rights violations in the medium doubledigit range (mainly cases relating to potential problematic working conditions and potential discrimination).

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