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Information on the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinschG)

Upon the HinschG taking effect, employees—including former employees—job applicants, interns, self-employed individuals, freelancers, temporary workers, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers, as well as their employees, will be given the opportunity to report or disclose information regarding the following matters:

  1. Violations subject to criminal penalties,
  2. Violations punishable by a fine, provided that the violated provision serves to protect life, limb, or health, or to protect the rights of employees or their representative bodies,
  3. other violations of federal and state laws, as well as directly applicable legal acts of the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community

These include, among other things:

  • Combating money laundering and terrorist financing,
  • product safety and compliance,
  • road safety,
  • Environmental protection,
  • Promoting the use of energy from renewable sources and energy efficiency,
  • Food safety,
  • consumer rights and consumer protection,
  • Protection of privacy in electronic communications, protection of the confidentiality of communications, protection of personal data,
  • Information technology security.
  • Violations of federal and uniformly applicable regulations governing contracting authorities regarding the procedures for awarding public contracts and concessions, as well as legal remedies in these procedures, once the relevant EU thresholds are reached, and other violations of financial and tax laws.

Please note:

  • The Internal Reporting Office is not the point of contact for general complaints.
  • Please report alleged violations of data protection directly to the Data Protection Officer.
  • If you have information regarding other violations, please contact the appropriate authorities.
  • The Internal Reporting Office is not intended for responding to acute emergencies or dangerous situations.

Whistleblowers are protected from suffering any adverse consequences as a result of their report or tip. Retaliation in connection with professional activities (e.g., being passed over for promotions, receiving written warnings, termination, or other forms of discrimination) based on a report must not occur.

COLOMBI GmbH has established an internal reporting office to which whistleblowers can turn. The procedure for internal reports pursuant to Section 17 of the Whistleblower Protection Act (HinschG) is handled confidentially in compliance with data protection guidelines (GDPR):

  • The internal reporting office will confirm receipt of a report to the whistleblower within seven days at the latest.
  • The validity of the report received and its relevance under Section 2 of the HinschG are reviewed.
  • If necessary, the whistleblower will be asked to provide additional information.
  • Subsequently, appropriate measures will be taken in accordance with Section 18 of the HinschG.

If you wish to file a report, you may contact the following complaints office within our company:

  • In person:
    Peter Frank
    Accounting Department
    Rotteckring 16, 79098 Freiburg
  • In writing via email: hintbox@colombi.de

Important Note on Reporting Violations:

In the event of immediate danger or threatening situations, please first contact the known emergency numbers or the nearest police station. Before submitting a report, we offer information and advice on available remedies and procedures to protect you from retaliation. Please note: A report made with the intent to mislead may result in criminal charges.

Individuals who wish to report misconduct may contact either an internal or an external reporting office. If internal measures can effectively address any violations, please contact the Internal Reporting Office first. In doing so, you help ensure the reliability and integrity of COLOMBI GmbH, promote compliance with regulations, and foster fair interactions among colleagues. Even after submitting a report internally, you may still submit a (further) report externally.

The following authorities offer an external reporting office:

  • Federal Office of Justice (BfJ)
    Areas of jurisdiction: criminal law, administrative offenses (to the extent that the violated provision serves to protect life, limb, or health, or to protect the rights of employees or their representative bodies), product safety, traffic safety, environmental protection, radiation protection and nuclear safety, food and feed safety, animal health and welfare, public health, consumer protection, protection of privacy and personal data, as well as the security of network and information systems, public procurement, tax law applicable to corporations and commercial partnerships, the protection of the financial interests of the European Union, state aid, other internal market regulations (European Union regulations on the free movement of goods, persons, services, and capital), and statements by civil servants that constitute a breach of the duty of loyalty to the Constitution. https://www.bundesjustizamt.de/DE/MeldestelledesBundes/MeldestelledesBundes_node.html
  • Federal Cartel Office
    Violations of the prohibition on cartels, abuse of market power, and violations of the prohibition on the enforcement of decisions in corporate mergers (Section 41 GWB), violations of enforceable orders and conditions imposed by competition authorities, calls for a supply or purchase boycott (Section 21(1) GWB), inducing others to violate antitrust law (Section 21(2) and (3) GWB), Threatening to cause harm in response to a referral to the competition authorities (Section 21(4) GWB), Providing incorrect information in an application for approval of competition rules (Section 24(4), sentence 3 GWB), Inaccurate or incomplete information in the notification of a business combination (Section 39(3), sentence 5, GWB), Misconduct by large online platforms in digital markets (Digital Markets Act (DMA))
    https://www.bundeskartellamt.de/DE/Hinweise_auf_Verstoesse/Hinweise_node.html
  • BaFin
    Violations of supervisory law by banks, financial service providers, payment and e-money institutions, private insurance companies, pension funds, and securities trading firms.
    https://www.bafin.de/DE/DieBaFin/Hinweisgeberstelle/8_Zugang_zur_Hinweisgeberstelle/ZugangHinweisgeberstelle_node.html