Policies

3. Ecological responsibility

• Tenet
• Responsibility in services
• Responsibility in one’s own actions
• Environmental management and sustainability assessment

4. Economic responsibility, economic controls

• Tenet
• National and International Development
• Quality, accreditation and certification
• Digitalization, IT security
• Compliance, combating corruption, fairness
• Mechanisms of control

Function

We provide interdisciplinary environmental and engineering-oriented consulting and planning services, in the core business areas of land recycling, environmental consulting, and infrastructure planning.

In our long history since the company’s founding in 1948, we have continually grown and adapted to the demands of the industry and our clients. We find long term success in a balanced blend of experience and innovation.

Core values

Added value is achieved based on the following core values:

• Independence and impartiality: our reports and planning are produced according to current standards and regulations and hold up to objective scrutiny.
• Compliance and ethical behaviour: in addition to compliance with applicable law, acting fairly and with integrity is of the utmost importance to us.
• High quality: our work is characterized by professional expertise, accuracy and dependability.
• Appreciation: we treat each other with respect and appreciation.
• Teamwork: our complex and challenging projects are best solved as a team and with an interdisciplinary mindset. Team spirit and individual responsibility complement each other at our company.
• Lasting partnerships: the relationships with our colleagues, clients, and suppliers are based on longevity and mutual benefit.
• Innovation: we support and promote further technical developments and promising innovations.
• Solid economic action: economic planning and controls are aimed at sustainable economic success in the best interest of our staff, shareholders, and our field.

Commitment

We are aware that our long-term business success is equally dependent on assuming social, ecological, and economic responsibility.

Our principles regarding this are represented in the following guidelines. These policies were developed by the HPC Board of Directors and branch leaders, as well as by the management of our subsidiary companies. They are communicated to all employees and are observed by managers and employees alike.

An assessment of the policies is conducted in regular intervals, at least every five years and in alignment with the current intermediate-term HPC strategy.

Tenet

At the core of our success lies a competent and motivated staff. For this reason, it is fundamental that tasks in the core business areas of planning, consulting, and construction management are carried out by our own highly-qualified staff.

At the peripheries of our business areas as well as with special tasks that are not covered by HPC staff, third-party planners, consultants, or construction managers can be commissioned.

We would like to create a workplace environment based on mutual respect and trust which, at the same time, offers security, predictability, and flexibility for both employer and employee. To this end, we pursue the following principles:

Promotion of Occupational Health and Safety

A safe and healthy working environment is essential for the wellbeing of our employees. HPC therefore maintains an occupational health and safety organization according to legal requirements and specific safety certifications.

Subcontractors are incorporated into the occupational safety requirements.

In addition, there are measures for workplace health promotion, which are presented in a separate document and are actively communicated to employees. Likewise, managers are aware that health promotion is a holistic management endeavour.

Fair working conditions

Working conditions should strike a balance that satisfies the needs of both the employer and the employee. In addition to agreed-upon compensation and legally required social contributions, we offer further benefits. Employees are informed of an incentive plan for positive results in their business units. For a better work-life-balance, we facilitate flexible working locations and working hours under consideration of our operational requirements.

Constructive relationships between employer and employees

We foster a proactive and cooperative exchange between management and employees on all levels. This includes constructive cooperation with the respective national employee representatives.

Furthermore, it is valued that employees engage in internal development processes and in internal lecturing, on a volunteering basis and beyond their everyday work. This possibility for participation in evolving the company promotes the social responsibility for and the identification with HPC. It has the additional benefit for employees and company of providing suitable tools and advanced working
conditions as well as a low-level, but high-quality know-how-transfer within the company.

Yearly, mutual feedback meetings are held between management and individual employees to compare expectations and observations of both parties.

Training and further education

We are interested in the long-term retention of well-trained, well-educated professionals. Attractive career perspectives and possibilities for development motivate and satisfy our employees. For this reason, we rely on a comprehensive offering of training opportunities.

Employees are given time for further education and training in order to promote key qualifications and professional expertise. Management training is available for specific career development. Internal opportunities for advancement are offered, and communication among office locations and branches is supported.

HPC is aware of its social responsibility regarding education and training and provides training in technical and commercial professions. In addition, dual study programs and internships for students and schoolchildren are offered as well as bachelor and master theses. Our HR work is oriented towards the different life stages of our employees.

Diversity, combating discrimination and harassment, inclusion

We are convinced that diverse projects and challenges are best solved by diverse teams. Therefore, we promote openness and diversity in our employees. We strive towards an equal representation of gender in management positions through a number of avenues including our management training program. Discrimination on the basis of gender, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, skin color, origin, age, or other group specific characteristics doesn’t stand a chance.

To combat possible discrimination, harassment, or any possible compliance violations, Trust Centers are named for HPC AG and each subsidiary. Whistleblowers are guaranteed anonymity and immunity.

We employ people with disabilities and actively integrate them into our work processes.

Human rights, combating child and forced labor

HPC is committed to complying with national labor laws. Human rights violations in the form of child labor or forced labor is not permitted in our field of work. In order to promote compliance with human rights along our supply chain, we are increasing the proportion of suppliers who have signed our Supplier Code of Conduct and accepted contractual clauses with labor and human rights requirements.

Tenet

As natural scientists and engineers, we are aware of the responsibility we have for the environment. The HPC-Claim “For the environment. For the people.” signifies that we stand for the sustainable use of natural resources through our technical planning. Using materiality analyses, we identify the key aspects of our impacton the environment and use these to strive for greater sustainability.

Responsibility in services

Many of our engineering services serve to better protect and use natural resources like water, air, and soil in an environmentally sustainable manner. Further innovative services are being developed to increase sustainability or limit and reverse the effects of climate change, for example, technical planning in renewable energy. When possible and sensible, we integrate a sustainability assessment of various planning options into our planning process.

Responsibility in one’s own actions

Climate change and sustainable resource management represent possibly the most urgent challenge and important duty of our global community today. To make our contribution to climate protection, we are analysing our footprint regarding greenhouse gas emissions and implementing a strategy to compensate for our greenhouse gas emissions and reach climate neutrality.

To improve our own environmental performance, we use water and energy sparingly and avoid waste. Waste that cannot be avoided is recycled whenever possible.

When procuring supplies and materials and when making purchases and investments, we take sustainability criteria into account in accordance with our guide to sustainable procurement and give preference to environmentally friendly and resource-saving products. This also applies to the purchase of electricity. To promote environmentally friendly mobility, we have ecologically-based rules for company vehicles and a program to expand charging stations at our branches.

We involve our suppliers in our sustainability efforts through our “Supplier Code of
Conduct”.

Environmental management and sustainability assessment

To monitor our processes and environmental performance, we maintain certified environmental management in accordance with ISO 14001 in our head office, and subject ourselves to various sustainability ratings.

Tenet

The goal of our economic controls is the long-term economic success of HPC. All our branches and units strive to build versatile portfolios and to acquire a wide variety of both public and commercial clients, to assure flexible and resilient reaction to market-based changes in our field. We are aware of the special importance of regular commercial and public customers and will continue to develop them in a targeted manner.

In the commercial sphere, one mantra applies without exception:
Liquidity before returns before growth.
The equity ratio should not fall below 30%.

National and International Development

In our existing branches and office locations, we strive for organic growth. In addition, companies are being acquired to expand the client base, to expand resources and services offerings, or to heighten our regional presence. After acquisition, these companies are fully integrated into their national company.

The goal of further development is to gain recognition in the core competencies within the respective national markets.

We only invest in operating subsidiaries in Europe.

The further internationalization of our business takes place via cooperatives like Inogen.

Quality, accreditation and certification

The high quality of our work is independently assessed and certified or accredited. In Germany, HPC AG is certified according to ISO 9001 (quality management), ISO 14001 (environmental management), and SCC (occupational safety) as well as according to ISO 17025 (sampling and analysis methods).

With regard to certifications and accreditations, our European subsidiaries follow
the same philosophy as HPC in Germany.

Digitalization, IT security

To achieve sustainable competitive advantages, we are improving the digitalization of our activities and processes. This serves to support our teams and employees in project work and administration, to improve customer management and to promote innovation.

Along with continual digitalization, we are strengthening IT security to ensure the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of information.

Compliance, combating corruption, fairness

The observation of applicable legal regulations is the basis of our work, and aims to ensure not only behavioural integrity, but the seriousness of our work as consultants and planners.

We stand for fair competition. Antitrust and competition provisions form the legal framework that all employees are obligated to comply with. An agreement with a competitor to restrict competition is a serious violation of the law and will not be tolerated.

Our relationships with our suppliers, customers, and other businesses partners are based on fair business practices. Corruption and bribery will not be tolerated. If not completely forbidden by national legislation, accepting gifts or invitations is only permitted if they are of minor value and can be viewed as an expression of general local business practices, invitations must be for business reasons.

Mechanisms of control

To identify and properly react to risks, we have installed various controls and early warning systems to monitor economic, project, and liquidity risks, as well as market and competition-based risks.

Various organization models and control mechanisms according to different national legislation may be implemented.

Director
Thomas Osberghaus