KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA (also referred to hereinafter as the “company”) has the following governance bodies prescribed by law: the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, the Supervisory Board, and the personally liable partner KWS SE, represented by its Executive Board.
Responsible corporate governance has always been of great importance at KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA. The Supervisory Board of KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA and the Executive Board of KWS SE, the personally liable partner of KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA, (also referred to hereinafter as the Executive Board), run and accompany KWS with the goal of ensuring it creates sustainable value added. Since it was founded in 1856, our company’s successful development has been founded on thinking long term and acting in terms of sustainability.
The company complies almost fully with the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code
The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board once again examined in the year under review whether the company complies with the stipulations of the German Corporate Governance Code. As a result, the following Declaration of Compliance was issued to the effect that the company complies fully with the code’s recommendations; the declaration can also be found at www.kws.com/corp/en/company/investor-relations/corporate-governance.
2023/2024 Declaration of Compliance in Accordance with Section 161 of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG)
The Executive Board of KWS SE, the personally liable partner of KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA, (hereinafter referred to as the Executive Board), and the Supervisory Board of KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA declare in compliance with Section 161 of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG) that the company has complied with the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code in the version dated April 28, 2022, since the last Declaration of Compliance was issued in September 2023 and will comply with them in the future, allowing for the following special aspects specific to its legal form.
Special aspects due to the legal form of a partnership limited by shares (KGaA)
The company is a partnership limited by shares (KGaA). The German Corporate Governance Code is tailored to companies with the legal form of a stock corporation or a European Stock Corporation (Societas Europaea or SE) and does not take into account the special aspects of the legal form of a partnership limited by shares.
The personally liable partner is responsible for managing the business of a partnership limited by shares; the company’s sole personally liable partner is KWS SE, whose Executive Board is therefore responsible for management of the company’s business.
The rights and obligations of the Supervisory Board at a partnership limited by shares are limited compared to those at a stock corporation or SE; in particular, the Supervisory Board at a partnership limited by shares does not hold personnel responsibility as regards management. The Supervisory Board at a partnership limited by shares is therefore not responsible for appointing or removing personally liable partners and their Executive Board members. It is therefore also not responsible for defining the contractual terms and conditions for them, such as in particular their compensation. The Supervisory Board at a partnership limited by shares is likewise not responsible for setting an age limit for members of the Executive Board of the personally liable partner or the term they are appointed to serve, succession planning, enacting bylaws for the Executive Board, or defining business transactions requiring its consent. These tasks are discharged by the Supervisory Board of KWS SE. However, if the German Corporate Governance Code contains recommendations on a Supervisory Board’s tasks that are discharged by the Supervisory Board of KWS SE due to its legal form, these recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code (recommendations B.1 to B.5 and G.1 to G.16) shall apply accordingly to the Supervisory Board of KWS SE.
The Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of a partnership limited by shares basically has the same rights as the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of a stock corporation or SE. It also adopts resolutions on whether to approve the company’s annual financial statements and ratify the acts of the personally liable partner. Certain resolutions adopted by the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of a partnership limited by shares also require the approval of the personally liable partner.
Einbeck, September 2024
The Supervisory Board, The Executive Board
Declaration of corporate governance
