Responsible corporate governance

GRI 2: General Disclosures

GRI 2-9 – Governance structure and composition

Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG. has been Interzero Group’s parent company since December 2022. Interzero is synonymous with all entities belonging to Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG.

Dr Axel Schweitzer chairs the Advisory Board of Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG, which monitors and advises the Executive Management of Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG. Its general partner Interzero GP GmbH exercises management of Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG. As of 31 December 2022, Melanie Freytag, Uwe Küber and Felix Held served as its managing directors. Interzero is managed by the three members of Executive Management of Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG:

Melanie Freytag has been CFO of Interzero since 2022 and, together with Sebastiaan Krol, is in charge of Interzero Circular Solutions. In this role, she drives forward issues related to treasury, IT, legal affairs, human resources and much more on a group-wide level. Before joining Interzero, Freytag spent several years working as CFO within ThyssenKrupp Group and for a medium-sized plant and machinery manufacturer.

Felix Held has pertinent experience in the world of investment and has assisted with corporate acquisitions and sales in the energy, chemical and automotive sectors for many years. Since May 2022, he has been responsible for portfolio management and M&A, among other duties, as part of the Executive Management.

Uwe Küber has been actively involved in managing various ALBA companies since 1996 and was chiefly responsible for the construction of various sorting plants. He is Managing Director of Interzero GmbH & Co. KG and, as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Interzero Plastics Recycling, is responsible for technology advancement and optimising sorting quality. 

Interzero’s business model is essentially based on two pillars: sustainable circular solutions and innovative plastics recycling. Dual System Interseroh+ is the connecting element within this integrated strategy. These areas are overseen by the following people:

Florian Werner, who served as CEO of Interzero Plastics Recycling since December 2022, left the company in April 2023. Jan Kroker took over his role. He primarily focuses on strategic development and deepening value creation. Jan Kroker has considerable experience in company management.

Sebastiaan Krol (CEO Interzero Circular Solutions) has more than 15 years of management experience in B2B services and is dedicated to sustainable circular solutions. For example, as CEO he was responsible for a development consultancy where he created many new business areas with a focus on digitisation and oversaw the integration of four large medium-sized service companies.

Markus Müller-Drexel (CEO of Interseroh+ since May 2022) has over 26 years of experience in recycling and the circular economy. He is a member of numerous associations, including the Federation of the German Waste, Water and Raw Materials Management Industry (BDE), the Cologne/Bonn Chamber of Commerce and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK).

The Advisory Board of Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG is a three-member body advising the Executive Management of Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG. Its chair is Dr Axel Schweitzer; the other two members will be appointed in 2023.

GRI 2-10 – Nomination and selection of the highest governance body

Members of the Executive Management and the Advisory Board are nominated and appointed by the shareholders meeting of Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG in keeping with the interests of Interzero.

GRI 2-11 – Chair of the highest governance body

Dr Axel Schweitzer is the majority shareholder and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG. In his role on the Advisory Board, he is responsible for monitoring and advising the Executive Management of Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG. He does not have any managerial roles and does not, for instance, serve on the Executive Management of one of Interzero’s entities.

GRI 2-15 – Conflicts of interest

At Interzero, business decisions are always made in the interests of the company. Interzero therefore avoids situations in which personal or financial interests conflict with those of the company. Any conflicts that occur despite these precautions must be resolved in compliance with the law and applicable company policies (see Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption Policy).

GRI 2-16 – Communication of critical concerns

Interzero’s compliance case management process, which has been coordinated with the Executive Management and the Supervisory Board, entails reporting critical issues to these bodies on the basis of a defined catalogue of criteria. The Compliance Office monitors adherence to this process.

The number and type of critical issues are confidential and represent sensitive information under competition law, which Interzero does not communicate externally.

GRI 2-17 – Collective knowledge of the highest governance body

No training for management with regard to economic, ecological and social issues was offered during the reporting period.

GRI 2-18 – Evaluation of the performance of the highest governance body

The remuneration of the Interzero management is currently not linked to its sustainability-related performance.

GRI 2-19 – Remuneration policies
GRI 2-20 – Process to determine remuneration

Interzero does not currently have policies about salary classification and salary trends. However, this has been determined to be a priority issue for the coming years. To this end, the company plans to start introducing a performance development process and a project on base salary structure in 2023. Information on initial insights will likely be communicated in the next reporting period.

GRI 2-21 – Annual total compensation ratio

The ratio between the highest and the average annual salary among employees in Germany increased slightly from 11 in 2021 to 12.6 in 2022.

GRI 2-25 – Processes to remediate negative impacts

Interzero Meet, a hybrid event, is held every six months to stay in constant dialogue with employees and advance the company based on their needs. The event serves to communicate important strategic decisions and present new projects and gives staff a chance to ask questions and raise issues directly to management. In-between events, we offer various opportunities for interaction with digital CEO Updates and Management Talks and town hall and strategy meetings in the different areas.

GRI 2-26 – Mechanisms for seeking advice and raising concerns

All employees can contact our legally qualified ombudsman, Stephan Rheinwald, about possible incidents of discrimination by email (zero.discrimination@interzero.de). Any breaches reported or identified will be investigated and processed appropriately.

GRI 2-27 – Compliance with laws and regulations

As clearly communicated in the Code of Conduct, Interzero is unreservedly committed to upholding the law. Our employees also share this attitude. Any violations or related regulatory proceedings that occur despite this commitment will be handled with the involvement of Interzero's legal and/or compliance departments. These departments work to address violations and prevent future incidents. For legal reasons, details of ongoing proceedings are not communicated. No fines or non-monetary sanctions were imposed on Interzero during the reporting period.

GRI 205: 3-3 - Anti-corruption: Management of material topics

To enhance its compliance with statutory regulations, Interzero has appointed a compliance officer and assigned him the task of developing and implementing a compliance management system (CMS) for Interzero Holding GmbH & Co. KG and other investees that focuses on preventing antitrust violations and corruption.

The topics covered by the CMS include:

• General compliance with the law
• Anti-discrimination and equal opportunity
• Occupational safety
• Environmental protection and innovation
• Data protection
• Antitrust legislation and fair competition
• Integrity and anti-corruption
• Gifts and rewards
• Donations and sponsoring
• Avoidance of conflicts of interest
• Fair procurement
• Trade secrets and intellectual property

When setting up the CMS, Interzero published its Code of Conduct to ensure the company’s compliance with the law. The Code of Conduct applies to all Interzero employees. It regulates behaviour between employees, explains Interzero's corporate values and its position on compliance issues such as the prevention of corruption, money laundering and financial integrity. The Code is being evaluated and updated continuously.

An Anti-Corruption Policy for Interzero has also been implemented and published internally. It covers the topics mentioned above and defines preventive behavioural guidelines for employees. All employees in sales, marketing and purchasing, as well as managers and assistants who may be affected by compliance risks, have received and continue to receive compliance training. The complete Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption Policy are available to all employees to read on the intranet.

Any employee with a compliance-related question or information is invited to contact our legally qualified ombudsman, Stephan Rheinwald, by email or telephone. Process improvements may be initiated as a result and, depending on the gravity of each case, spoken warnings issued or disciplinary action taken. Compensation claims may also be enforced where appropriate. Details of compliance cases are included in the semi-annual compliance report. The most recent reports were published in June and December 2022.

GRI 205-3 – Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken

No incidents of discrimination were reported or became known otherwise in the reporting period.