Compliance

You may be aware of behaviours or risks that endanger Niedersachsen Ports or our corporate culture. By submitting a report, you help to uncover damage to our finances, image and collegial cooperation at an early stage. This allows us to take action, ideally before negative consequences occur.

In the whistleblower portal reports and enquiries can be submitted via the "Make a report" and "Inquiry to the ombudsman Mr. Lindner" tiles.
We have provided for the following categories via the "Make a report" tile:

• Corruption
• Anti-competitive behaviour
• Theft, fraud, embezzlement
• Violation of occupational safety and environmental protection
• Discrimination, sexual harassment
• Other serious violations of the law

Information about these categories can be found on the whistleblower portal.

You may not find your topic in the above reporting categories. In this case, please use the tile "Inquiry to the ombudsman Mr. Lindner".

Your report will not be sent to Niedersachsen Ports, but directly to our ombudsman, Mr. Wolfgang Lindner. Mr. Lindner will review your report and initiate further measures if necessary.

If you choose to disclose your name, your identity as a whistleblower will only be shared with the Executive Management of Niedersachsen Ports if you give your explicit consent to the ombudsman. This confidentiality is guaranteed by a contract between us and our ombudsman. However, it does not apply to the public prosecutor's office or courts.

Any accused individuals and witnesses named by you will be given the opportunity to comment on the circumstances you have reported, wherever this is expedient. If necessary, the reported information will also be shared with the public authorities.

In compliance with the relevant legal regulations, our ombudsman will keep you informed about the progress of the investigation.

Our ombudsman, Mr. Wolfgang Lindner, can only contact you through the Secured Inbox to keep you updated about the investigation. If he has any questions about your report or if details are still unclear to him, the Inbox will be his only way of reaching you. You will remain anonymous throughout the entire dialogue. We are interested in reports to avoid damage, not in you as a whistleblower.

When you create an inbox, you will be assigned a Case ID for the notification and you must choose a password. You must use this Case ID and password to access the mailbox and check whether you have received any questions. This is because we may not be able to close the case without further information from you.

Regardless of whether you remain anonymous or provide your name, we therefore recommend that you create an inbox. This makes it easier and safer for us to communicate with you.

If you wish, all communication with us will remain anonymous.

This whistleblower portal is not a system of Niedersachsen Ports and its operation is ensured outside of our IT environment and our sphere of influence.

The whistleblower portal ensures the technical protection of the content you submit and your identity. Your report is kept anonymous by means of encryption and other special security routines.

The anonymity of the process is certified by an independent body.

At no time during the reporting process are you obliged to provide personal data. To further increase the security of your anonymity, please consider the following points:

• If you would like to remain anonymous, please do not submit any personal information, e.g., your name or relationship with those involved. Also, please do not submit any information that can be traced back to you.
• If possible, do not use any technical devices provided by us as your employer (e.g. PC, laptop, smartphone). An intranet connection in particular can jeopardise your anonymity.
• Enter the link to the whistleblowing system directly in the address bar of your browser and, if necessary, bookmark it to access the system again at a later point in time.
• Make sure that your internet connection is secure, which is indicated by the lock symbol next to the address bar.
• Files may contain hidden personal data that jeopardise your anonymity. Remove this data before sending. If you are unable to remove this data, copy the text of your attachment to your message text or send the printed document anonymously, if possible stating the Case ID, to the address of our confidential counsellor.

Your identity as a whistleblower will only be passed on to the management of Niedersachsen Ports, insofar as you give your name, with your declaration of consent to our confidential counsellor. This confidentiality is contractually guaranteed to our ombudsman. However, it does not apply to the public prosecutor's office or courts.