Responsible Procurement

Human rights, fair working conditions, environmental protection and the battle against corruption – these are values that we hold high within our Group and throughout our supply chain. We at thyssenkrupp are committed to the United Nations Global Compact. Acting responsibly is firmly integrated in our procurement processes. When awarding contracts, our decisions are not only based on economic, technological and process criteria. Sustainability is also playing a key role in our supplier management. Moreover, we continuously develop our processes. This also means, for example, that we want to further increase transparency regarding the origin of raw materials and so-called conflict materials to detect risks early.

As we are committed to treating employees, customers, suppliers and local residents responsibly and with fairness, we expect our suppliers to share this commitment with us. At thyssenkrupp, we have therefore developed the thyssenkrupp Supplier Code of Conduct, outlining our expectations of sustainability and compliance to be met by our suppliers. The Supplier Code of Conduct is based upon the principles of the United Nations Global Compact and the United Nations universal declaration of Human Rights.

We strive to only work with suppliers whose business activities fully comply with the principles of the thyssenkrupp Supplier Code of Conduct and who signed the related documents upon request.

Various risk analyses help our Group identify risks early. In addition, we ask our suppliers to provide comprehensive information on pertinent processes and management systems via self-assessments.

If our supplier risk analysis shows that there is an elevated risk level regarding specific suppliers, then we strive to conduct a risk-based sustainability audit.

Supplier sustainability audit findings show us in which areas a supplier needs to improve. We can give concrete recommendations on how to address the individual topics.

In Fiscal Year 2017/18, more than 170 suppliers were audited. The auditor is an independent international company. As thyssenkrupp, our target is to audit a minimum of 100 suppliers annually with a view to sustainability standards.

The mining of certain minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the adjoining countries partially contributes to significant human rights abuses and to the financing of violent conflicts in this region. In 2010, U.S. Congress passed legislation that is usually referred to as “Dodd-Frank Act” (full name: “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act”). Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) require companies who file reports with the SEC to disclose whether the products they manufacture or contract to manufacture contain "conflict minerals" that are "necessary to the functionality or production" of those products. "Conflict minerals" contain tantalum, tin, tungsten (and the ores from which they originate) and gold, regardless of where they are sourced, processed or sold.

thyssenkrupp AG (including all its subsidiary companies) does not file reports with the SEC and therefore has no legislative obligations to comply with the conflict minerals requirements covered in Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act. At the same time we recognize the SEC final rule for Section 1502 mandates our direct and indirect customers to undertake due diligence across their global supply chains.

We at thyssenkrupp endeavor not to purchase any material that contains these "conflict minerals" which directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the DRC or an adjoining country. We are implementing reasonable due diligence processes to understand where "conflict minerals" are being used in our products and to determine the source and the origin within our supply chain. These actions are based on established frameworks of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and from other private sector initiatives. We are contacting our direct suppliers to increase the transparency of the materials they provide to thyssenkrupp. We will continue to work closely with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to secure good practices and feasible solutions.

thyssenkrupp AG is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and supports the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the core labor standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO). thyssenkrupp Group is commited to eradicate slavery and human trafficking in its supply chain and own operations. Our efforts to achieve this are described in the "Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement for thyssenkrupp AG and its Subsidiaries", which is made pursuant to section 54 of the United Kingdom Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Responsible Procurement

Statement

Sustainability at thyssenkrupp