27.11.2021

To our stakeholders:

As the new CEO of DQS CFS GmbH, I am pleased to confirm that the company reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labor, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to sharing this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

Sincerely yours,

Guido Eggers
Managing Director (CEO)

Respect for human rights is a core value of DQS CFS GmbH. In order to detect possible issues and set up an effective human rights policy, we have conducted a comprehensive materiality analysis to identify the key aspects of our operations which may have an influence (positive or negative) on human rights. This analysis has shown that the largest potential impact on human rights lies with our social compliance audits: as a certification and auditing body, DQS conducts hundreds of human rights audits and responsible sourcing audits across the globe. During these audits, qualified DQS auditors analyze the labor conditions and the health & safety situation at selected suppliers, in order to provide assurance that international standards are met. Therefore, our biggest impact is not through our own supply chain, but through the supplier audits we conduct for our customers.

We firmly believe that social and ethical audits lead to more responsible supply chains and as such help to prevent or remediate human rights violations. Accordingly, the main focus of our efforts is to ensure that all DQS audits are conducted in a highly professional, impartial and competent manner and as described in our quality management manual and the respective auditing guidelines for the various standards.

(For an overview of what DQS does for its own employees, please consult the section on labor below.)

In order to make sure that social audits conducted by DQS contribute to improving social responsibility in supply chains, we have taken the following measures:

- DQS has become a member of the Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors (APSCA), an initiative that aims to ensure the professionalism and competence of social auditors and to drive best practices across the industry.
- DQS has implemented a unified auditing process with the necessary checks and balances to ensure the impartiality, independence and credibility of audits and audit reports.
- DQS manages auditor competence through its auditor competence program, consisting of continuous education and training, calibration sessions, witness audits and performance reviews.
- Back in 2018, discussions with a large variety of stakeholders as well as analysis of current social auditing practice has revealed a need for greater gender awareness in social auditing. As announced in our 2018 report, we had launched the ProGASA-Initiative, which stands for Promotion of Gender Awareness in Social Auditing. The goal of the initiative is to raise gender awareness among social auditors and to provide them with the practical tools to detect and report gender related non-conformities. Ultimately, the initiative should help ensure that social audits are an effective instrument to combat gender-related harassment and discrimination in the workplace. In 2020, we released two e-learning courses on gender awareness in social auditing. All social compliance auditors of the DQS Group have taken the course. By doing so, we ensure that our social auditors understand the dynamics of gender-based harassment, discrimination and violation in the world of work. The course has also been made available to any interested party. (https://dqs-cfs.com/progasa-initiative-for-the-promotion-of-gender-awareness-in-social-audits/)

Specifically for the year 2021, we are happy to report the following initiatives and actions:
- In term of human rights competence, the focus has been on qualifying all DQS social compliance auditors to the Certified Social Compliance Auditor-Level (CSCA) of the APSCA competency framework. By obtaining the CSCA status, auditors demonstrate that they have the required competence, experience and integrity to conduct meaningful and effective social compliance audits, in accordance with transparent international standards.
- We are also happy to report that DQS has been approved as a certification body of the Responsible Steel initiative. Responsible Steel is a not-for-profit organization that has developed a global multi-stakeholder standard and certification programme for the steel industry. The 12 principles of the standard cover environmental, social and governance issues, including human rights. As a certification body for the Responsible Steel standard, we aim to make our own modest contribution to a more sustainable steel production, with respect for people and the planet.

In order to evaluate how our social audits contribute to more sustainable supply chains, DQS engages with its stakeholders through a variety of channels. Participating in working groups with NGOs, suppliers and buyers provides us with structured feedback on auditing practices and follow-up. This approach has not only enabled us to successfully conduct hundreds of social audits, it also ensures that the audit findings are understood and acted upon by all stakeholders, to the benefit of all workers in the supply chain.

During the reporting period, we did not receive a single complaint related to social auditing or potential violations of human rights.

The materiality analysis has shown that workplace safety & working conditions is a highly relevant aspect of the sustainability performance of DQS in two ways: Not only do we have the responsibility to provide safe and fair working conditions for all DQS employees, we also have a responsibility towards the employees of our customers, who rely on DQS to audit their working conditions and their OHSAS management systems.

It is one of the main objectives of DQS to create a safe, diverse and fair working environment for its employees. This includes the following commitments:
- To provide a healthy workplace with minimal risk of physical problems arising out of or occurring during the work
- To offer equal pay for equal work
- To actively prevent discrimination in all of its forms, whether it is based on age, gender, race, culture, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or disability
- To respect international labor rights and the applicable laws and regulations, for example in relation to working hours, rights of association, labor contracts, etc.
- To actively foster a respectful working environment, without any abusive, harassing or offensive conduct, whether verbal or physical by employees
- To contribute to an appropriate work-life balance, with support for part-time work and flexible working arrangements that are possible also in management positions.

Finally, DQS also has a responsibility towards the employees of the companies it audits. The audits we provide can lead to improvements in the working conditions along the supply chain, provided that the audits are conducted in a highly professional and competent manner. For more information on this aspect, please refer to the section above on human rights.

To meet the commitments outlined above, we have implemented the following measures:

- Ethics Code: Every employee has to sign the Ethics Code of the DQS Group. This gives every member of staff a personal responsibility to treat people fairly and without prejudice, to value each other’s input, to ensure that no one is harassed or bullied in any way, to promote a work environment where everyone feels confident to report incidents and to foster diversity in the workplace. Monitoring compliance with the ethics code is the responsibility of the top management.
- Corporate Health Management: Every employee has been provided with an ergonomic work station. The “DQS Fit”-initiative encourages all employees to assume an active lifestyle and includes various sports sessions, accessible to all staff members.
- Team building & employee-participation: DQS CFS organizes regular one-day workshops with teambuilding exercises, focusing on employee-feedback and process optimization.
- Employee dialogue: Constant dialogue with the employees is the best way to ensure a good working environment. The management therefore has a responsibility to monitor the employees’ wellbeing, both on a regular basis and through the yearly “Performance and Development review”.
- Work-Life balance: The record-keeping system for working hours enables all staff members to record overtime and to take additional days off in compensation. The system also enables the management to monitor the workload and to take appropriate measures when the workload becomes too high for individual members of staff. Various part-time schemes and flexible working hours allow employees to combine work with their family life.
- Violations procedure: A violations procedure has been put in place, encouraging all staff members to report any incidents and issues. Staff members who report violations are protected from any retaliation efforts.

Specifically for the reporting period 2021, we would like to highlight the following measures and actions:

- In May 2021, the DQS Group conducted a global employee survey. The survey, launched with the slogan “Your Opinion – Our Future”, aimed to gather comprehensive input from all DQS employees across the globe and get feedback on key points such as personal growth, company culture, work-life balance, and job satisfaction overall. The results of the survey were shared transparently and openly with all stakeholders. Each legal entity then formed working groups to better understand the needs and wishes of its employees, and defined follow-up actions.
- In June 2021, it was decided to give every DQS employee the right to work remotely up to three days per week, whenever feasible and appropriate, in order to facilitate a healthy work-life balance.
- As in the previous year, we introduced and maintained clear protocols for preventing COVID-19 infections in the workplace.

The following indicators and tools enable us to monitor the effectiveness of the measures outlined above:

- Global Employee Survey
- Diversity in workplace and in management
- Working hours tracking system
- Employee retention rate
- Employee attendance rate
- Internal audits
- Top management review of employee feedback dialogues

As for the topics mentioned above, DQS again has a double responsibility when it comes to the environment: we carry both responsibility for the direct impact of our operations as well as for the operations of our customers, through the environmental audits we conduct.

A materiality analysis has shown that the second aspect is more significant than the first: the DQS Group conducts over 6000 environmental audits every year and thereby functions as a catalyst. DQS is an accredited body for the certification of environmental management systems and energy management systems as well as for sustainable agriculture audits, environmental product certification and verification of environmental KPIs. As such, DQS has a duty to strive for the highest level of quality, in order to ensure that our environmental audits lead to real improvements of the environmental performance of the auditees. We also have a responsibility towards the public, who needs to be able to put confidence in the certificates and labels we issue.

To reduce our environmental impact and to exert a positive influence, we have taken the following measures:
- Competence of environmental & energy auditors: In order to drive environmental best practices in the industry, DQS has taken various measures to ensure auditor competence meets the highest international standards. This includes, but is not limited to, continuous education and training, calibration sessions, witness audits and performance reviews for all environmental and energy auditors.
- Reduction of travel: DQS continues to extend its network of local auditors all over the globe, in order to reduce the travel times for each audit. Whenever possible, customer representatives appoint local auditors to ensure minimal travel. Whenever allowed, remote auditing is considered (see below). Meetings are conducted through video conferencing whenever possible.
- Paperless office: All administration is handled digitally.
- Public transport for employees: DQS encourages its staff to use public transport to travel to work and provides financially attractive train tickets.

Specifically for the year 2021, we would like to highlight the following measures and initiatives:
- Our largest direct environmental impact stems from travel to and from the audited sites. DQS CFS supports remote auditing as an equally effective audit approach and strives to be a frontrunner in this respect. Conducting audits remotely allows us to drastically reduce our carbon footprint. In May 2021, we hosted remAUDIT, the world’s first conference dedicated to the practice of remote auditing. The goal of the conference was to raise awareness on the potential and limitations of remote audits, as well as provide practical guidance on how to conduct audits remotely. In many ways, the COVID-19 pandemic meant the breakthrough of remote auditing. However, accreditation requirements and scheme owners guidelines in many cases still require audits to be conducted on-site, especially in production environments.
- We are also happy to report that DQS has been approved as a certification body of the Responsible Steel initiative. More information is available in section 1.2.
- In October 2021, we organized the Sustainability Heroes Conference and Award Ceremony. This annual conference, organized by DQS and DGQ, is a platform for cross-industry exchange on sustainability management and best practices. With more than 350 participants from all industry sectors, the conference raises awareness and inspires our clients to improve their sustainability management and environmental performance even further. The conference took place as a virtual event.

The following indicators and tools enable us to monitor the effectiveness of the measures outlined above:

- Auditor competence: customer feedback, auditor peer witness audits, internal audits, accreditation audits
- Travel: Number of audits performed by local auditors ( > 90 %)
- Number of trainings that have been conducted online vs. number of classroom trainings
- Number of on-site audits that have been replaced by remote auditing

As a certification body, impartiality and incorruptibility are crucial in order to ensure the credibility of certificates and audit reports. DQS has a zero-tolerance for corruption and has implemented the necessary processes and control points to prevent corruption on all levels of the organization.

The DQS Ethics Code commits all DQS staff to act in accordance with the law, to refuse bribery and corruption, to not tolerate illegal or unethical behavior by clients, suppliers or by public officials; and to adhere to high standards of ethical conduct around the world, including the ten principles of the UN Global Compact.

In accordance with the Ethics Code, all hospitality and gifts need to be declared. Any approaches by other organizations that could be construed as bribery need to be refused. All supplier bids need to be managed through a clear, fair and open process and decisions based on quality of service, price and conformance to our company policies on environmental management and ethical practices.

DQS encourages whistle-blowers to come forward and to report the violations in accordance with our internal processes. Whistleblowers will be protected against any retaliation efforts.

Following the publication of the International Standard for Anti-Bribery Management Systems ISO 37001 in 2016, DQS CFS has developed its ISO 37001 certification program. Needless to say, the integrity and impartiality of anti-corruption auditors should be absolutely impeccable, which is why we took this opportunity to re-affirm the values of DQS.

- Ethics code: Every employee has to sign the Ethics Code of the DQS Group, which outlines clear rules for preventing bribery and corruption.
- Processes and control points: DQS has set up its certification processes in accordance with ISO 19011 and is accredited by the German accreditation body DAkkS. These processes include multiple checks and balances to safeguard the independence of the auditor and the certification body.
- Monitoring: Internal audits and accreditation audits are used to verify the effectiveness of the processes, specifically with regard to the impartiality of the auditor and the certification body.
- Violations procedure: All stakeholders, including but not limited to staff members, are encouraged to report violations. This may include bribery, corruption, breach of internal policies, unauthorized disclosures of confidential information, failure to comply with legal obligations, criminal offenses, etc. DQS has the appropriate procedures in place to protect whistleblowers from retaliation efforts.

After obtaining accreditation from the German Accreditation Body DAkkS for the certification of organizations to ISO 37001, the standard for anti-bribery management systems, in 2018, 2019 was a year full of training and capacity building. Our anti-bribery experts held trainings internationally in Germany, Mexico and Turkey, providing much-needed expertise on effective anti-bribery management.

In order to ensure the lasting competence of our auditors, we became a member of the German Institute for Compliance (DICO).

Compliance with the code is measured through various means:

- Internal audits: The internal audits evaluate whether all staff follow the documented procedures, in order to make sure all certification decisions are made in accordance with the applicable regulations.
- Accreditation audits: Audits performed by the German accreditation body DAkkS are conducted to verify whether DQS operates in accordance with the applicable accreditation standards. This includes processes to ensure impartiality, independence and incorruptibility.
- Auditor witness reports: Auditors are regularly assigned to monitor the performance of other auditors. Any irregularities must be included in a witness report.
- Violations: All reported violations are duly investigated. During the reporting period, there have been no complaints or violations related to corruption or bribery.