Code of Conduct

1. Preamble

As an IT project provider, we are conscious of the importance of our values for the success of our company and the satisfaction of our employees and customers. Our code of conduct is a statement of the exacting standards we always strive to uphold.

We firmly believe that satisfied employees are the foundation of our success. Their passion, their commitment, and their expertise are the motor which drives inovex. We are committed to creating a working environment based on respect, openness, and equal opportunities − one which supports our employees’ well-being and development.

The satisfaction of our customers is also of the highest importance. We strive to exceed our customers’ expectations by providing them with high-quality, sustainable products and services which meet their needs and support their goals. We aim to establish long-term partnerships based on trust, transparency, and first-class collaboration.

At the same time, we recognize that profitability is an important aspect of our activities. We strive to work efficiently, to use resources responsibly, and to foster sustainable business practices in order to ensure long-term success.

Furthermore, we are committed to upholding the values of sustainability, diversity, and equality. We strive to achieve positive social and ecological impacts by promoting environmentally friendly practices, diversity, and inclusion and ensuring that every employee enjoys the same opportunities, regardless of their gender, origin, or background.

In this spirit, we undertake to respect our code of conduct. We are dedicated to realising the vision and mission of our company and to creating sustainable added value for all our stakeholders.

This code of conduct applies to all inovex employees, regardless of their role or area of responsibility. Furthermore, inovex expects the same high ethical standards from its customers, vendors, partners, and contractors.

2. inovex Culture

Our strategic and operative decisions are based on four significant values which stand in close relationship to one another: innovation and excellence, employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and profitability. When we keep these four value dimensions in balance, we remain successful. Our business activities are aimed at achieving holistic, sustainable, and long-term success − not at maximizing short-term profits.

Our corporate culture has developed within this framework of values since our founding in 1999. From the very outset, inovex culture has been based on positive interactions with one another – both between employees and in communication with our customers and business partners. We can only be successful as a company in an environment in which we feel comfortable as people.

Appreciation is the cornerstone of our communication. We always assume that everyone is doing their best. In direct communication with one another, we strive to be friendly, respectful, and patient. At the same time, we support the exchange of different opinions and perspectives because we understand that such discourse expands our horizons.

We are convinced that innovation and excellence can thrive only in an environment characterized by freedom, openness, transparency, and trust. We therefore strive to create a working atmosphere which is based on real-world human needs. These include agile self-organisation, flexible working time and workplace models, individual continuing education budgets, and active participation in the decision-making processes which shape our company’s future.

We consider engagement and responsibility to be core values of our corporate culture. While these values are reflected in our project work for our customers and in our internal teams, they also extend beyond our daily duties. We live these values and strive to contribute to society. We advocate for those who are disadvantaged and need support, and we are therefore involved in a large number of social projects and initiatives.

Cultural values are, however, only functional and legitimate when they are authentically lived. Authenticity means that there is no difference between what we say and what we do. This applies in our communication with one another just as much as it does in our communication with our customers and partners. Openness and honesty are our guiding principles here.

As soon as we notice problems or challenges which could negatively impact one or more of our four values or our collaboration, we work in interdisciplinary teams to resolve it. In the spirit of our agile philosophy, we consider these change processes an ongoing task which will never be completed.

3. Policy on Human Rights and Working Conditions

3.1. Human rights and working conditions

As a company, we respect and protect human rights and comply with fair and legally mandated working conditions. We do not tolerate any activity which could negatively affect the health or development of our employees.

inovex is committed to ensuring that all work carried out by our employees is performed voluntarily and without threat of punishment. We do not tolerate any form of forced or mandatory labour, and all forms of human trafficking, modern slavery, or child labour are strictly prohibited. Furthermore, all inovex employees enjoy freedom of association and the right to engage in collective bargaining.

We ensure that all our employees comply strictly with all legal regulations on working times, rest periods, and breaks, as well as those pertaining to annual leave.

3.2. Pay and benefits

inovex supports its employees’ professional and personal development to the maximum extent possible. We offer customised development paths and a wide range of growth opportunities to ensure long-term prospects. These − naturally − include appropriate remuneration.

As part of an in-person annual review of our employees’ goals and development opportunities, renumeration is also regularly reviewed. Where necessary, it is aligned with both performance and the market, as well as with legal regulations.

In addition to remuneration and statutory benefits, our employees also enjoy additional social benefits − like, for example, company pension schemes and childcare subsidies.

3.3. Equal opportunity and equal treatment

At inovex, people come from the most diverse backgrounds. We have employees from all nationalities, age groups, educational backgrounds, and gender identities. We welcome this diversity and work together to ensure that everyone feels comfortable and receives the same opportunities.

In doing so, we comply with the general laws on equal treatment. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination on the grounds of ethnic background, gender, religion or philosophy, disability, age, sexual identity − or for any other reason.

inovex does not tolerate any form of sexual harassment of its employees and proceeds against it using all possible legal means.

We actively promote equal opportunities in the employment and equal treatment of women, for example through the training of young female employees in STEM fields or by organising events for women in IT.

Our recruitment practices are always legitimate and are performed in accordance with international labour standards in a fair and transparent manner. In selecting candidates, we observe a participatory application process involving multiple people, thus facilitating a wider assessment of a candidate’s suitability for a position.

4. Company Ethics

4.1. Fairness, transparency, and financial responsibility

As part of its business activities, inovex maintains numerous connections with business partners. We always set great store by establishing fair, cooperative, and equal partnerships.

inovex prohibits any form of illegal behaviour, such as deals with competitors to restrict or distort the free market, and we are committed to upholding applicable anti-trust regulations and provisions. This ensures that we remain fairly and openly competitive.

inovex adheres to the highest standards of honesty in its dealings. We ensure that all the internal and external reports and documents we create and publish are complete, appropriate, accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensible. Accurate records and financial reports form our foundation for making responsible business decisions. All financial books, records, and accounts must accurately reflect our business transactions and events and correspond to generally recognised accounting regulations, as well as to our internal auditing system.

4.2. Combating corruption and white-collar crime

Corruption and white-collar crime (including, for example, embezzlement or fraud) are not tolerated by inovex in any form. Our employees neither proactively offer, promise, or grant bribes or unlawful advantages, nor do they passively accept them with the aim of obtaining contracts or any other preferential treatment.

Invitations or gifts are never abused as a means to exert influence. We adhere to applicable legal obligations regarding the prevention of money laundering and participate neither directly nor indirectly in money-laundering activities. Furthermore, we do not tolerate business dealings with third parties which would facilitate tax evasion, and we adhere to applicable anti-corruption laws.

4.3. Export controls and economic sanctions

inovex respects and complies with national and international import and export laws and regulations.

4.4. Conflicts of interest, whistleblowing, and protection from retribution

inovex bases all its actions and decisions on factual criteria. We create the necessary prerequisites for this by preventing conflicts of interest with personal or business activities, and any appearance of such conflicts is approached with maximum transparency.

inovex does not tolerate gross misconduct or the breaking of laws or internal regulations. Anyone suspecting this type of misconduct is free to express their concerns – without incurring negative repercussions. inovex provides appropriate contact points to assist in the early detection and reporting of suspicious activities.

Spreading slander or knowingly making false statements or reports is strictly prohibited. This type of behaviour is unacceptable and can, in, addition to civil law consequences, also result in criminal penalties.

5. Occupational Health and Safety

The physical and mental health of all employees, their safety, and their protection are of central importance to inovex.

The legal framework conditions for occupational health and safety, as well as for accident prevention and workplace ergonomics, are the foundation on which we set our standards, and we continually expand and improve these for the benefit of our employees and our company.

In order to ensure this, we have established an occupational health and safety management team of internal and external experts.

We also drive the continuous further development of our workspaces and working conditions to improve our employees’ health.

A number of our employees are trained as first-aiders and fire wardens. This ensures that we are as well prepared as possible for an emergency in the workplace. These employees regularly take part in refresher courses in order to keep their knowledge current.

The requisite first-aid equipment is also provided at all locations, as is information on fire prevention and first aid.

6. Environmental Protection and Sustainability

Sustainability, environmental protection, and climate protection are some of inovex’s key concerns.

We adhere to existing environmental laws and regulations and regard these as minimum standards.

As IT experts, we are responsible for the sustainable use of innovative technologies. As a company, however, we also have environmental responsibilities towards society.

At inovex, we view sustainability from different perspectives. From a business perspective, we have been implementing sustainable, successful projects for our customers for over 25 years. At the same time, however, we also see things from an ecological and social perspective, and we set great store by sustainable activity.

We have, therefore, established a special team for environmental protection and sustainability and created the new role of sustainability officer.

One of our central goals as a company is to reduce the environmental footprint of our value chain. It is particularly important to us to use resources responsibly and to minimise our effects on the environment, particularly in terms of waste, wastewater, noise, and air pollution.

Here at inovex, we record and document our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and strive to reduce them. We also look for ways to increase our energy efficiency, and we endeavour to use renewable energy sources wherever possible.

We promote awareness of environmental protection within our company and encourage our employees to act in an environmentally conscious manner. We are convinced that we can, through joint efforts and dedication, make a positive contribution to the environment – and we are committed to doing our part.

7. Data Protection and Security

As a data management and processing company, we consider the secure and trustworthy handling of personally identifiable and confidential company data, as well as compliance with current legal regulations, of the utmost importance.

inovex mentors and supports customers during their digital transformations, and data protection and information security play an important role. From the very beginning, project teams have access to data protection and IT security experts who support them in the development and implementation of solutions and who share their knowledge through training and workshops.

inovex is also involved in science and research projects to develop innovative new product solutions and concepts pertaining to data protection and information security. We also share our experience with the scientific community.

As an agile company, inovex regularly uses retrospectives to determine whether processes and working results can be improved and implements measures for improvement.

inovex’s data protection and information security strategy, organisation, and aims were adopted as part of our guidelines for information security and data protection.

7.1. Plagiarism and intellectual property

The use, further processing, or placing on the market of plagiarized content is not tolerated at inovex. We respect the intellectual property of others – including inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, trademarks, names, and images – and we will not publish or use these without permission. In particular, inovex upholds the protection of patents, copyright laws and trademarks.