Violations of applicable law and internal rules can cause lasting damage to our company and result in high fines and reputational damage, among other things. This in turn can jeopardize the economic condition of our company and ultimately the security of our jobs.

Please report specific indications of suspected violations of applicable laws, the ZEISS Code of Conduct or other internal regulations in connection with business activities or employees of ZEISS. Of particular relevance are events that indicate a criminal act (e.g., theft, fraud, embezzlement, bribery, environmental crimes, violation of trade secrets) or a deliberate, systematic violation of applicable rules (e.g., permanent non-Compliance with safety standards).

Possible misconduct by business partners in connection with their activities for ZEISS can also be reported (e.g., violations of or risks relating to human and environmental rights in the supply chain).

The reports received are made available to our team at Corporate Compliance (i.e., Head of Corporate Compliance, Corporate Compliance Officer and Senior Corporate Compliance Manager).

The procedure after receipt of a report is as follows:

1. Receipt of the report will be confirmed to you after 7 days at the latest, provided you have given your contact details or contacted us via the ZEISS Integrity Line.
2. Corporate Compliance will make an initial assessment of your report.
3. If additional information is required or questions arise, we will contact you. This will be done directly if you provide your contact details, or via the secure mailbox of the ZEISS Integrity Line for which you can make a note of the access data and log in regularly in the case of anonymous reports.
4. The report is forwarded confidentially to the relevant department (e.g. Human Resources, Data Protection, Security, Legal, Purchasing, Human Rights Officer, etc.), taking into account the legal requirements. There, the facts will be further investigated and, if necessary, measures will be initiated.
   
5. Depending on the complexity and clarity of the matter, the investigation of the information may take some time. We will inform you of the results of the investigation or at least the current status no later than three months after receipt of the report.

Yes, you can send us information via the ZEISS Integrity Line – either by stating your identity or anonymously. For the initial assessment of the report and possible follow-up questions, it is usually easier if we know your identity and can contact you directly.

If you decide to submit a report anonymously, it is important for the processing of the report that we can contact you in case of further questions via the ZEISS Integrity Line mailbox. Therefore, please check your mailbox regularly. You will receive the access data after submitting a report.

We assure you that the report will be handled confidentially, regardless of whether you wish to disclose your identity or remain anonymous.
To ensure confidentiality, it is important that you also handle the information provided confidential.

If an individual is identified as having committed a potential violation, that person will be given the opportunity to make a statement and, if he or she wishes, can consult a trusted person (e.g., company representative body, independent lawyer).

As long as a violation has not been proven, the presumption of innocence applies. Both incriminating and exculpatory facts are included in the investigation in equal measure. We always attach importance to fairness – both in our dealings with whistleblowers and with employees and business partners affected by an allegation. For each individual case, we examine which consequences are suitable, necessary, and appropriate.

There is no retaliation, discrimination or sanctions against whistleblowers who report in good faith a possible violation of applicable law or internal regulations. It is important that you believe at the time of the report that its contents are true and that you are not making the report with improper intent. You are not expected to investigate the facts yourself – we will do that. Even if no violation can be determined during the investigation, you do not have to fear any negative consequences.
However, this does not apply to bad faith allegations, i.e., reports that are recognizably false, submitted with malicious intent.

Information on the processing of your personal data in Compliance notifications can be found here.

Please address any further data protection concerns directly to ZEISS Group Privacy: dataprivacy@zeiss.com.