TRANSPARENCY, COMMITMENT, ETHICS
Our company adheres to all the rules related to transparency and open communication between management, employees, shareholders, as well as other social partners (consumers, suppliers, Authorities, local communities, etc.). At Athenian Brewery, we comply with this principle, therefore we are constantly developing structures and ways that allow us to communicate, to share and to participate.
Internal Control is an independent division at Athenian Brewery. Its mission is to support the management’s operations through an effective audit mechanism. This specific division is responsible for conducting audits in relation to all procedures implemented in our company.
Moreover, the Legal Affairs Directorate, in the framework of its operations regarding our company’s compliance with the law (see particularly the company’s program for compliance with the competition law, the law on personal data protection and privacy), the corporate rules and principles (Professional Code of Conduct and individual Group and company policies), ensures that the company operates with transparency through its various procedures.
The Legal Affairs Directorate is not only supported by the Internal Control, but also supports and collaborates with the Internal Control, the Personal Data Protection Office, the Competent Team for the Professional Code of Conduct and representatives and working teams from different company directorates.
Along with regular internal audits, we have also established procedures for the self-assessment of management decisions. In this context, team members check on an annual basis whether the corporate rules and procedures (Hei Rules) are observed by completing self-assessment questionnaires.
It is important for us is to ensure that our company continues to operate successfully, in compliance with the law, our principles, our values and our Professional Code of Conduct. The Professional Code of Conduct and its individual Policies reflect all the rules that govern our business activity. These texts regulate our expected behaviors, as ambassadors of our corporate rules and principles. Among others, they regulate issues on transparency and corruption prevention. They form a system of rules that governs our internal processes, as well as our relationships with our partners, suppliers, customers, consumers, public and state bodies and authorities.
The management, executives, shareholders and employees are committed to observe these rules. At the same time, we make sure that the Code also applies to our partners, customers and suppliers.
We want to be part of a market which is developing in accordance with fair competition. Faithful adherence to the market’s laws and rules is extremely important to us. We operate in compliance with the Greek and EU legislation on competition, while adopting more strict corporate policies, when deemed necessary:
• We apply principles and rules of corporate governance.
• We inform and train our employees on a regular basis, in order to prevent any practices and behaviors that may be harmful to healthy competition, and we have provided detailed informative material on issues related to competition law.
• We have created a special document on the law of unfair competition and the importance of complying with its regulations.
• We carry out regular audits to ensure the compliance with the competition law and our internal policies and guidelines, thus providing feedback on the dynamic compliance system we apply to.
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION
At Athenian Brewery, our main priority is to protect the personal data we process. Being fully aware of the importance of protecting the privacy and security of personal data, we always adhere to the applicable legislation on Personal Data Protection and, to this end, we also:
• Process and collect personal data in a fair and legal manner, only for limited and lawful purposes.
• Make sure to only collect personal data that is absolutely necessary and we do not retain it for a longer time period than what is required
• Take the necessary measures to ensure the security of the personal data we process and we bind our partners to maintain and protect the privacy, confidentiality and integrity of the data processed on our behalf.
• Provide complete, transparent and always in compliance with the law information to anyone who shared their data, while we facilitate the exercise of their rights.
Your trust is very important to us. Thereby, our company’s Personal Data Protection Office and the Data Protection Officer are always available to answer any question you may have. We assure you that we work tirelessly to safeguard your rights and to protect your personal data. For more information, you can visit our company’s Data Protection Policy here.
RESPONSIBLE COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS
At Athenian Brewery, we recognize the promotion of responsible alcohol consumption as an integral element of our corporate responsibility. True to our commitments and principles, we implement a responsible policy regarding the selling and advertising of our products. The rules we have established and follow are clear and inviolable:
• All commercial actions and communications are addressed exclusively to adults and any actions that may involve minors must be refrained from.
• Educational visits to the company’s facilities by minors (students, schools, etc.) are prohibited.
• We create and display special commercials on responsible consumption, with the signature of Heineken.
• The company does not sponsor events addressed to people below the legal age limit for alcohol consumption.
• The message “enjoy responsibly” is displayed on all packages and included in all of the company’s advertising messages.
• Access to our websites by people under the age of 18 is prohibited.
Responsible communication is a matter of principle to us.
• We are committed and we set high standards and strict rules in relation to how our commercial communications are carried out.
• We promote positive role models for responsible alcohol consumption.
• High professionalism and responsible behavior are the key phrases that characterize all of our partners.
• We undertake initiatives for raising awareness and providing information to the public.
SUPPLIER BEHAVIOR PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES
Respecting and observing the Supplier Code is tangible proof and an assurance for us that our suppliers are bound by the same rules and values as we are. This is a vital issue for the protection of our company’s reputation. The Code applies to all of our suppliers and the principles contained therein secure our commitments towards society, the environment, human rights and the market.
