Business ethics

Complying with ethical standards and laws is the starting point for all actions and decisions at Kalmar. Behaving ethically is the responsibility of every employee at Kalmar and a requirement to the company’s business partners. The role of Kalmar’s management is to send a clear message from the top and enable the creation of structures which ensure that compliance risks are effectively assessed, controlled and mitigated. Kalmar’s Code of Conduct is our main instrument in setting and implementing an ethical corporate culture. The Code of Conduct helps our people make informed decisions and find more information when in doubt.

Kalmar has a robust risk-based Ethics & Compliance programme, which focuses on preventing, detecting and responding to potential misconduct, and ensures that related risks are managed effectively and consistently throughout the organisation. The Ethics & Compliance (E&C) team consists of experienced professionals that drive and monitor the overall E&C programme, conducts regular E&C risk assessments, administers the SpeakUp channels and ensures that reported concerns are handled independently, promptly and professionally, oversees Kalmar’s third party and export controls programmes, and provides E&C guidance and support to the whole organisation.

Prevent - Educate Kalmar employees on E&C policies and laws, build a culture of integrity and respect within Kalmar’s organisation, counsel leaders and employees through E&C challenges, build and monitor effective controls against fraud and other misconduct
Detect - Administer Kalmar’s confidential SpeakUp reporting channel available to colleagues and partners, professionally conduct and oversee E&C investigations of identified concerns, monitor core controls for potential misconduct.
Respond - Ensure that Kalmar responds promptly and appropriately when there is substantiated misconduct or critical gaps in its control frameworks

The Ethics & Compliance team supports the company’s divisions with proactive advice, information and training and by conducting internal investigations. Through mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses, Kalmar trains its employees on ethics and compliance-related topics and provides exercises and examples that help employees with ethical dilemmas. The Code of Conduct training always includes content on anti-corruption and anti-bribery.

Kalmar promotes a speak-up culture and the company encourages its employees to openly raise and discuss compliance concerns and questions, as well as to seek guidance. Kalmar employees can report their concerns and potential misconduct through a variety of channels, which includes:

Discussing directly with the line manager (primary channel for employees)
Informing HR or the Ethics and Compliance functions
Kalmar’s SpeakUp line is an externally hosted channel that is available to anyone to report suspicions of misconduct in a safe and confidential way. It is an early warning system for Kalmar to respond to potential problems, reduce risk and build trust within and outside of the organisation. Access the SpeakUp line to make a report at https://kalmar.speakup.report/global

All suspected misconduct, including cases related to corruption and bribery, is subject to review and a potential investigation as assessed by Kalmar’s Ethics & Compliance team. Kalmar’s SpeakUp system enables and protects the confidentiality of reports and, where allowed by applicable law, the anonymity of reporters who wish to remain anonymous.

In confirmed cases of misconduct, the Ethics & Compliance team agrees with relevant management team members on appropriate corrective actions, such as improved controls, training, disciplinary actions or termination of third-party relationships. The appropriate and adequate means of remedy are determined based on the details of the case, the needs of the affected person or people, and local legislation. The Kalmar Leadership Team discusses compliance topics and reviews the need for remedial and/or corrective measures during the bimonthly Code of Conduct panels led by the Head of Ethics & Compliance.

Third Party Risks

Kalmar’s robust third-party business partner programme ensures that all partners are appropriately vetted and managed in a risk-based manner. Sales partners like dealers, distributors and agents are subject to extra onboarding controls and oversight, to ensure they are engaged only for legitimate business purposes. They receive heightened screening, additional compliance training and monitoring, and are always engaged transparently using Kalmar’s standardised business partner contracts.

Management Oversight

Kalmar’s E&C governance model connects the E&C team directly to senior management and the Audit and Risk Management Committee of the Board of Directors, to apprise them of the state of the E&C programme, existing and emerging compliance risks, and the status of reported concerns and investigations.