9. Society

The presence of the DDC is a benefit for the local communities

The cement plants of the Duna–Dráva Cement Kft. are important business players of the areas of Vác and Beremend. In both regions we are among the biggest employers and help in improving the infrastructure. Traditionally our cement plants are active participants of the community life organised in the Vác and Beremend regions. The majority of the employees live nearby, this is also strengthening the Company’s efforts to support the local communities. We have excellent connections with the regional self-governments, the town officials, we cooperate with the local civil and environment protection organisations and the educational institutions. We think the interested people should learn about our activity more. They should see how and where cement is produced, what environment protectional solutions we apply. This is how the popularity of the traditional Open Day of the Cement plants of Vác and Beremend is stable during which several hundreds of visitors are participating. In 2018 besides the interactive plant and mine visit the guests of the Open Day in Vác were among the first to see the result of the HUF 7 billion environment protection investment.
The DDC and the Habitat for Humanity were providing charity together: the Duna–Dráva Cement Kft. supplied the concrete for the renovation of a house enabling a family to get their own home. The program of the Habitat Second Chance provides help for homeless families with children by renovating empty social rental apartments. The DCC joined this initiative.
The future engineers are in safe hands
In 2018 we joined again to the concrete-technological training that takes place through the initiative of the Hungarian Cement, Concrete and Lime-industrial association. Our company has been assuming an important role for years in the top level training of experts, in this way our colleagues share through lectures their experience and expertise that present the international trends. The practical knowledge, the confident work is important in the industry, and besides the theoretical training we enable the students to visit our cement plants and experience the cement- and concrete-making processes.

Everybody wins through social responsibility

The DDC’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is focusing at the environment protection, health protection and the community sports as well as the supporting of the local cultural initiatives. From the perspective of the plants' functioning it is essential to have on-going talks with the municipal governments, the local communities and the civil organisations.

The objective, philosophy of the CSR activity

Through our CSR activity we try to give back, to give value to the local communities. Since the intention for the sustainable operation is the base of our philosophy it is natural for us to cooperate with the locals in the social responsibility area. The CSR activity means the supporting and informing of those living close to the plants similarly to the wide application of sustainability. Our main objective is to be present with the sustainability and environment protection at corporate level and it should become a basic value for the wider societal group as a voluntary task. In regards of every element of our operation we think in the long run, this is characterising our CSR programs, too: we consider it as a long-term „investment” in a sustainable and healthy future.

Bird-friendly school-yard in Pécs

In order to teach the children with special educational needs through experience a bird-friendly school-yard was established in Pécs in 2017 at the Éltes EGYMI Institute. In order to realize the project we provided HUF 1.5 million within the Green Solution tender. The garden helps in teaching the children with special educational needs in such a way that brings nature closer and helps them in learning the green approach.

Community Herbarium and Training centre

In the Beremend area, in Palkonya a „Community herbarium and training centre” was established in 2016 with the objective to present the herbs, culinary herbs of the region, fungi and the special butterflies that live here because of the special Mediterranean climate. The project aiming to educate
the population environmentally is focusing at the green solutions: collection of rain-water, composting, plant protection with natural materials. There is a dryer operating on solar energy and wind to dry the herbs. We supported the creation of the Community herbarium with HUF 1.5 million.

Green Solution tender: environment awareness, community organisation

In 2018 the Duna-Dráva Cement Kft. announced its Green Solution tender for the 8th time with the objective to provide financial sources for the people living close to the Vác and Beremend Cement Plants and those living in Pécs and in the neighbourhood since 2015 for the environment-aware initiatives, developments and programs. The supported projects primarily aim to support the environment-aware functioning of the infrastructure as well as the more efficient utilisation, enabling a wide group to create a more environment-aware life and to learn the natural environment.

The success of the Green Solution is proved by the 41 projects that were realised since 2011 for which the company provided HUF 59 million throughout the years. During this period the green community areas were most popular among the tenderers but they tendered with pleasure for the educational paths and the bird-friendly gardens, too, in this way helping with the environmental education.

Discovering “green orchard” in Sződliget

The objective of the project established in the kindergarten close to Vác aims to educate the children to environment awareness, and in this way teaching about the natural values and preserving them as well as creating the values of joint work. In 2016 the kindergarten obtained the second time the support of the DDC’s Green Solution tender, the HUF 1 million. Within the project they created a „nature-learning educational path" that involves every organic sense to learn about the “everyday natural wonders”.

On environment protection to grammar school  students

We think it is important to occasionally present our cement plants to those living in the area. Thus every year since 2015 we have organised the grammar school teachers and their students the DDC Green Alternative Competition and Open Day which is a plant visit to Vác respectively Beremend connected with a series of games.

The Green Alternative Competition and Open Day is presenting the top technology of cement making and the role assumed in the sustainable business for the children of Vác, Beremend and Pécs that is organised once a year, alternately in the cement plant of Vác respectively Beremend.
Earlier in the first online phase of the games the teams had to complete the questionnaire related to the DDC’s environment-friendly functioning and they had also to prepare a short video. Last time the teams could prove their skills in the field, besides the theoretical task (questionnaire) they planted trees and plants and decorated one of the parks in Vác with „Land arts”. In the finals the best teams are dealing with cement-industrial and environment-protection-related and dexterity tasks and they can also show their creativity at the fashion show of the clothes and jewels made of cement-sacks and the DDC cement. The games aim that the youngsters living close to the plant get to know the DDC’s activity and urge them to acquire the sustainable approach.

A “talent seeker” where there are several hundreds of winners

Our company has paid special attention for years to the wide supporting of the future experts. For the young students we established the „DDC for the talented” scholarship program, and we are supporting the top education students with the theoretical and practical learning. Perseverance, endurance and the more-than-average performance – these are common items related to the 900 grammar and high school youngsters who have already received the „DDC for the talented” scholarship. Those students of Vác and Beremend for 8 years received and keep receiving the support who are considered with their performance – besides learning – as outstanding and promising in the areas of sport, music or arts. We are providing scholarship for the winners for ten months, and by using this they can improve their skills and achieve their goals. Since the launching of the scholarship program the DCC provided HUF 63 million to the students. Some of them deserved and won the scholarship several times with his committed work shown in the area.

We are decorating / building our environment together

In 2019 we enlarged our social responsibility program with another pillar named the Green Town program. The new initiative aimed to raise the attention of the local community, the people of Vác and the students learning in the area to the principles we have been representing for years: the organised and tidy environments important both within and outside the cement plant. During the 2-day program landscaping and beautifying and garbage-collecting tasks awaited the participating students of Vác and the DDC workers at the KRESZ drivers' training park and flooding area of Deákvár. In the future we intend to extend the program to other areas too.ducational path" that involves every organic sense to learn about the “everyday natural wonders”.

So far we have already joined the Advent events of the Rotary Club of Pécs during which a modest but diligent young student could receive a support of HUF 100,000. The mission of the Rotary Club of Pécs consists of promoting the solidarity and tries to better the Christmas of 24 grammar or high school students with its program. As part of the Christmas fair in Pécs on each day of the Advent period one of the windows of the famous Nádor Hotel gets open and it is hiding a money award of HUF 100,000 for a young talent. It is important for our company to provide proper background for the young talents, that is why every year we are joining the initiative of the Rotary Club.

1. Guideline on the rules of business ethics and complying with them

This guideline is outlining the HeidelbergCement Group’s compliance program in the following topics: obligations, compliance at affiliated companies, contents and tools, consequences in case of non-compliance.

2. Corporate ethical code

The corporate code of ethics is defining the ethical and legal norms related to the everyday business activity.

3. Anti-corruption guideline

This guideline gives information on the situations that may involve corruption risks. It defines the risk-reducing activities, and they need to be applied by every employee during their daily routine.

4. Guideline on complying with the competitiveness law

The guideline provides a view about the responsibility considered from competitiveness perspective, the breach of competitiveness related to the DDC’s business areas as well as the legal consequences, the behavioural norms to avoid these, the behaviour related to the investigation by the competitiveness agency. In case of the EEC countries it contains the compliance rules related to the grey cement-specific/cement-based products.

5. Compliance Incident Reporting and Administration guidelines

These guidelines can be connected to the incident types, the reporting channels, the mode of reporting, the principles of investigation and the steps, the people to be notified and the measures taken. 

6. Commercial sanctions guideline

The objective of the guideline consists of informing the employees about the principles of the legal provisions with the topic of commercial sanctions in the EU countries and the USA, about the inner organisation and processes within the HeidelbergCement Group, in connection with the commercial sanctions respectively the consequences if the provisions of the present guideline are not complied with.

7. Human rights standpoint

Within the guideline the HeidelbergCement Group assumes to respect the human rights. In every country where the group is present it complies with the law and decrees in force and considers them as the basis for its business activity.

8. Money laundering policy

Since the German money laundering rules stipulate group requirements, the HeidelbergCement AG as the mother company is responsible to assure that the money laundering policies are complied with by the subsidiaries all over the world. The policy contains the procedures that need to be complied with by every subsidiary in order to meet the legal and ethical requirements so that the operation specified according to the money laundering law can be assured.

9. Compliance training

Every year our colleagues receive compliance training. For this every newcomer shall complete the Compliance Basic test and will repeat it every two years. Each colleague receives the brochure of the Corporate ethical code, and the workers of the departments receive tailormade training. The employees of the special departments and the managers and above will complete the Preventing Corruption test and every two years they complete the Competition Law Curriculum test. The Compliance Officer can be contacted by anybody and any time.