Panels and Organisation Chart

The strategic management of the SQS lies with the Board, the operational management with the Executive Management. The supreme body is the Members' General Meeting. The member organisations (currently 51) and the individual members (currently 9) are entitled to vote at this meeting. The members provide idealistic support for the mission and concerns of the SQS. New members are admitted by the Members' General Meeting at the request of the Board.

External persons and organisations can report their dissatisfaction with the activities and services of the SQS or an organisation certified by the SQS via the reporting portal on the SQS website. The Supervisory Committee is the highest decision-making panel in cases of dispute regarding the granting of SQS certificates.

SQS employees can submit complaints or other problems in accordance with the reporting procedure provided for in the Code of Business Ethics. The external neutral Supervisory Committee acts as the last point of contact if the other bodies - the line manager, the management and the HR department - are not suitable from the employee's point of view or do not handle the matter satisfactorily.

The advisory councils have an exclusively advisory function. The Economic Advisory Council promotes dialogue with the business community, but also with the scientific community and other areas of society. The Political Advisory Council promotes contact with decision-makers in administration and politics. It is therefore an important body that enables the SQS to fulfil its statutory mandate to represent its interests towards these stakeholder groups. The SQS acts independently of political parties, movements and associations. Responsibility for this representation of interests lies with the Public Affairs Committee, which is made up of two members of the Board and two members of the Executive Management.