Values and Responsibility
1. The Henkell & Söhnlein Group
2. Basic Values and Mission Statement
3. Responsibility towards the Brand
4. Responsibility towards the Market
5. Responsibility towards Consumption
6. Responsibility towards Quality
7. Responsibility towards the Environment
8. Responsibility towards the Employees
1. The Henkell & Söhnlein Group
Henkell & Söhnlein is an independent European Drinks Group with headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Henkell & Söhnlein is active in the German and international markets for sparkling wines, wines and spirits.
Henkell & Söhnlein is represented in numerous European countries with its own subsidiaries and sales teams, and in most of these countries it is the market leader for sparkling wines. In some countries it is also the market leader for wines and vodka.
Additionally Henkell & Söhnlein exports sparkling wines, wines and spirits to more than seventy countries throughout the world.
Henkell & Söhnlein is a classical brand product company and constantly cultivates a brand management that is always contemporary.
Henkell & Söhnlein can draw on a history that goes back as far as 1832 – and it builds on this continuously and successfully.
As a company belonging to the Oetker Group, Henkell & Söhnlein is a family-owned company geared towards long-term success.
2. Basic Values and Mission Statement
The success and competitiveness of a company comes from more than just its growth and productivity. For a brand product company, acting responsibly towards people and the environment has become an important factor in doing business successfully.
For Henkell & Söhnlein acting responsibly is a fundamental part of its strategy.
As a brand product company, Henkell & Söhnlein pursues value creation as a strategic goal. It manages this by continuously strengthening its company brands. To achieve such a degree of brand awareness among the consumers it is essential to have strict and sustainable standards of quality in its products and processes.
Permanent quality controls along with transparent and effective processes are what guarantees consistently high product quality within the Henkell & Söhnlein Group. This is confirmed in regular, independent internal and external certifications.
It is the consumer, the customer, who is the real employer of the company. Henkell & Söhnlein has become a byword for responsible communication to consumers as well as a long-term and fair relationship with customers, suppliers and service providers. The basis for this is the result of a sound organisation.
The alcoholic drinks manufactured and sold by Henkell & Söhnlein symbolise enjoyment and a zest for life and, at the same time, they harbour the danger of misuse. Henkell & Söhnlein supports a responsible attitude towards alcohol – both as a matter of principle and with a comprehensive range of measures and commitments.
Foresighted and active protection of the environment is an obligation for Henkell & Söhnlein. The management of this obligation is realised by means of a comprehensive catalogue of measures and is documented in regularly published environmental declarations.
The responsible realisation of this strategy in all areas of activity is incumbent on all Henkell & Söhnlein employees. To this end the company promotes personal development, a proactive attitude, tolerance and responsibility – this also finds expression through the company’s flat hierarchies.
3. Responsibility towards the Brand
Henkell & Söhnlein is a classical brand product company whose goal it is to constantly achieve and build on high-value brands.
To this end, the wishes and requirements of the consumer take centre stage – as they are the real employers of the company.
A strict standard of quality that is always reliable and consistently high is the prerequisite and foundation of each successful brand.
The high quality of the carefully developed basic ingredients that are refined in the making of wines, sparkling wines and spirits demands just as high a degree of quality in the product design and packaging.
Henkell & Söhnlein attaches great importance to the constant further development of its brands and their intelligent extension into concerted families of brands. In this process the company does not just follow the mood of the moment, instead it works consistently towards the achievement of long-term goals.
To raise the profile of the advantages of its products and generate a positive image, Henkell & Söhnlein invests approximately five per cent of its turnover per annum in a programme of continuous communication with its consumers.
In this way, Henkell & Söhnlein brings together a broad range of well-known and respected brands from the sparkling wine, wine and spirits sector in its portfolio, many of which have already been successfully active in their market for over 150 years.
A consistent responsibility towards the quality and success of the brand is what forms the basis of the success of the company.
4. Responsibility towards the Market
The consumer takes centre stage in the Henkell & Söhnlein marketing process. The consumer is reached through the distributors or customers. In this process, Henkell & Söhnlein is also supported by external partners, suppliers and service providers.
Consumers are addressed through each respective brand communication. These communications conform to our own voluntary standards as well as those regulations and standards set out by law and within our sector. Consequently, all Henkell & Söhnlein communications:
- do not lead to anyone feeling harassed or discriminated against regarding their sex, race, sexual persuasion or for any other reason,
- are not made with any connection to pornography and are not broadcast anywhere in its environment,
- are not made in any political or religious context,
- do not in any manner or extent promote the harmful consumption of alcoholic drinks or play down the harm they could cause,
- do not encourage either children or young people to consume alcohol or portray them doing this,
- do not appear in any media where the editorial part addresses mainly children or young people,
- do not present any competitive athlete drinking alcohol or inviting people to drink alcohol,
- do not make any connection between alcohol consumption and driving or operating machines, and
- do not contain any statements concerning treatment, relief or protection from illnesses or attribute the effects of a medicinal treatment to alcoholic drinks.
Additionally all Henkell & Söhnlein communications are made in accordance with the guidelines published by the German Advertising Standards Council (Deutscher Werberat), the Central Association of the German Advertising Industry (Zentralverband der deutschen Werbewirtschaft) or their corresponding European equivalents, concerning commercial communication on alcoholic drinks.
Responsibility towards the market is not just about communications with consumers, it is also about dealing responsibly with all other participants in that market segment, particularly customers as well as suppliers and service providers.
This attitude is characterised by professionalism and mutual respect – and always takes the long-term view.
A conviction for the market economy promotes competition. Henkell & Söhnlein acts in accordance with the European Competition Laws and does not influence competition in a negative manner. In particular this means that:
- Henkell & Söhnlein does not make any unacceptable price fixing agreements with its customers; instead it recommends end-consumer prices that reflect the value of its brands.
- Henkell & Söhnlein does not make any agreements with its competitors or customers concerning the market allocation for particular brands.
- Henkell & Söhnlein does not make any price agreements or agreements concerning production limits or production quotas with its competitors.
To this end, Henkell & Söhnlein also cooperates with other industrial companies in relevant associations, such as the Brand Association (Markenverband) in Germany, the Association of German Sparkling Wine Cellars (Verband Deutscher Sektkellereien) and the Federal Association of the German Spirits Industry (Bundesverband der Deutschen Spirituosen-Industrie). The purpose of this kind of cooperation is to improve fair competition and to better serve end consumers.
In its day-to-day work with external business partners Henkell & Söhnlein acts in accordance with the principles of appropriateness and balance. Decisions are always made in a traceable way within the company and on the basis of objective criteria. In detail this means:
- Presents to suit the occasion for customers and business partners, e.g. birthday presents, are always modest. The most important thing being their intangible, informative character.
- Business trips made by Henkell & Söhnlein employees are paid for by Henkell & Söhnlein. In the same way, our business partners should pay their direct travel costs themselves.
- Any movement of goods, services and money within the organisation is documented in such a way that it can always be traced.
Henkell & Söhnlein sees its business relations with external companies as a partnership, where all parties strive to find the best solutions. This requires an effectively functioning business environment and a sound organisation. A sound organisation is characterised by its members acting in accordance with a dual control principle (where two people are required to authorise decisions). In addition, contracts are only awarded after several comparable offers have been made.
The employees from Henkell & Söhnlein are paid appropriately. Henkell & Söhnlein employees are not allowed to accept any monetary allowances from consumers, customers, suppliers or any other business partners. Acceptance of any business gift is only allowed for presents of up to a maximum value of €40,-. In the same way, any invitations to sports or other events are always refused in cases where the company, and its brands, is not involved as an organiser, sponsor or advertising partner.
5. Responsibility towards Consumption
As a manufacturer and supplier of alcoholic drinks, it is important for Henkell & Söhnlein to promote a responsible attitude towards alcohol.
Alcoholic drinks symbolise enjoyment and a zest for life. Potentially, however, alcoholic drinks also court the danger of being misused. Henkell & Söhnlein promotes the responsible consumption of alcohol by adult consumers, who enjoy it in moderation and do not endanger their own health and safety or that of others.
Furthermore Henkell & Söhnlein is committed to the promotion of information and education campaigns and supports rejecting the consumption of alcoholic stimulants in particular situations in life. These include at work, during pregnancy and breast feeding, and when taking medicine or driving.
The disproportionate consumption of alcohol alters people's ability to perceive and react. Particularly when driving, this can constitute an enormous threat to one’s own health and to the health of other road users.
For this reason, adolescents and young adults should be made aware of the dangers of consuming alcohol and driving at an early stage.
In Germany, for example, the campaign DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE addresses young drivers between eighteen and twenty-four. This has a presence on the internet with its own website financed by the Association of German Sparkling Wine Cellars (Verband Deutscher Sektkellereien) as well as the Federal Association of the German Spirits Industry (Bundesverband der Deutschen Spirituosenindustrie) and other associations.
Henkell & Söhnlein is also working together with the Federal Association of the German Spirits Industry, for instance in the “Klartext reden” (“straight talk”) parents’ prevention campaign or the “SchuJu” Youth Protection Training Initiative (together with the Professional Association of Vocational School Teachers).
The consumption of alcohol has negative effects on children and young people. Henkell & Söhnlein takes a clear stand in the consistent application of the legal regulations when it comes to the dispensing of alcohol to children and young people.
To this end, Henkell & Söhnlein ensures that children and young people, as well as those who are clearly already inebriated, cannot buy or consume alcohol by purchasing it directly or being offered it at any events conducted, initiated or sponsored by Henkell & Söhnlein. In the same way, Henkell & Söhnlein requires this from its partners in the trade and in the hotel and restaurant industry.
Henkell & Söhnlein meets all its legal obligations concerning any declarations and communications and voluntarily involves itself in the appropriate sector associations with the goal of promoting a responsible attitude towards alcohol.
6. Responsibility towards Quality
Henkell & Söhnlein pursues the goal of being the provider with the highest quality standards in its brands and products in each individual market sector, and also of being perceived as such. Leadership in terms of quality is the way to success.
This attitude is demonstrated in the quality of the products and, consequently, the basic ingredients as well as the other materials used in the production process.
Concerning the sourcing of the basic ingredients and other materials, the basis for the identifiably high quality of our products is the long-term relationship we have with our business partners.
Our relationship does not merely begin when the goods are purchased; it begins already during the cultivation and production phase:
- Henkell & Söhnlein has been working together with its suppliers of wines and basic wines over a long period. Decisions concerning questions of cultivation are always made together.
- Henkell & Söhnlein knows their alcohol suppliers’ distillation, production and maturation facilities and checks these on a regular basis.
The other materials used meet the highest quality standards, which have been set out in detailed specifications. A significantly high degree of compliance with specifications is ascertained by means of constant quality controls; on receiving materials, during their processing and before the finished products are approved for dispatch.
High-quality processing is a necessary requirement for high-quality products. The processes used within the Henkell & Söhnlein Group are both transparent and effective. This is demonstrated by means of the following regularly carried out certification procedures:
- DIN / ISO 9001
- International Food Standards (IFS)
- Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)
- EU Ecological Audit
- Certified Organic Bottling Plant
Henkell & Söhnlein fosters a process quality development that is subject to continuous improvement.
7. Responsibility towards the Environment
Our sustained and responsible conduct is a central pillar of our company policy – and is also actively implemented with respect to the environment. The environment is a great deal more than simply a resource; preserving it is an obligation for Henkell & Söhnlein.
The company develops, produces and sells products in accordance with the appropriate environmental laws and regulations – where adherence to all the legal stipulations is understood to be the very least that can be done.
In the creation of its products, Henkell & Söhnlein takes the whole of their lifecycle into account, paying special attention to the extensive protection of natural resources.
Henkell & Söhnlein is anxious to ensure that any emissions that are relevant to health or the environment are kept at a minimum or averted in the long run.
Henkell & Söhnlein sets up processes for monitoring environmental policy and targets and, where any deviation is perceived, takes measures to eliminate any weak points in good time.
Henkell & Söhnlein makes arrangements that guarantee that any contract partners working on the company premises apply the same environmental protection standards in their work.
Henkell & Söhnlein informs the public about the environmental protection measures that they practise and the environmental targets that they have set out.
Henkell & Söhnlein is audited in accordance with EU ecological standards and provides evidence of the sustainability of its commitment to the environment through regularly published environmental statements.
8. Responsibility towards Employees
Henkell & Söhnlein takes on responsibility for all its employees. The employees take on responsibility for the company. Our flat hierarchies demand a high degree of personal initiative from our employees.
As an international Group, Henkell & Söhnlein creates an open atmosphere where everyone treats everyone with respect. Any differences concerning race, ethnic origin, sex, religion or philosophy of life, disability, age and sexual identity do not in any way lead to being treated differently. Employees at Henkell & Söhnlein are not allowed to annoy or discriminate against their colleagues in any way.
Henkell & Söhnlein respects and promotes the rights of its employees. Henkell & Söhnlein guarantees that any existing laws and collective agreements are adhered to and realised. The company management and employee representatives work together constructively.
Henkell & Söhnlein does not intervene in anyone’s personal opinion or political views. Any political and religious activities should, however, be conducted outside work time and off the company premises.
Henkell & Söhnlein promotes the employment of disabled people and sets up adequate working conditions for them.
Henkell & Söhnlein sees training as a socio-political responsibility and uses this to generate its young people within the company. In terms of content, the trainees are trained comprehensively and given the best possible professional and personal advice.
Henkell & Söhnlein supports any employees who take on honorary posts, as long as these do not have a negative influence on the employee’s work or conflict with Henkell & Söhnlein business.
Henkell & Söhnlein is actively looking into the work-life-balance question and works out practical solutions in dialogue with its employees, for example by offering part time employment contracts.
Henkell & Söhnlein and its employees promote a responsible attitude towards the health and safety of the workforce and pay special attention to the continuous improvement of the working environment. This is realised through the employees’ suggestions promoted by Henkell & Söhnlein as well as the health and safety management programme.
All Henkell & Söhnlein employees are responsible for their own work performance and their own development. Henkell & Söhnlein promotes and supports employees by carrying out professional training programmes.
Henkell & Söhnlein is an attractive employer and supports its employees in terms of their professional and personal development.
