Whistleblower Protection

A person who believes that any breaches of the law that pose a threat to or violate the public interest have been committed, are being committed or will be committed at ŽEMAITIJOS PIENAS, AB (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Company’) has the obligation to inform the Company accordingly.

The Company, following the requirements of the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Law’), has established a mechanism for the protection of persons who provide information on breaches in the Company with whom they are or were connected though an employment or contractual relationship.

The opportunity to submit reports is granted to any person who is or has been connected with the Company through an employment or contractual relationship (purchase and sale, consulting, contracting, subcontracting, internship, traineeship, etc.) or a pre-employment or other pre-contractual relationship, as well as to a person who has the status of a self-employed person, a shareholder or a person who is a member of the administrative, management or supervisory body of the Company, or any natural person working under the supervision and management of contractors, subcontractors and/or suppliers.

You can report to the Company regarding the following:

• a threat to public security or health, life or health of an individual;
• environmental hazards;
• an impediment to or unlawful interference with investigations carried out by law enforcement bodies or the administration of justice by courts;
• financing of illegal activities;
• an illegal or non-transparent use of public funds or assets;
• unlawfully acquired assets;
• a concealment of the effects of a committed breach and obstruction of the quantification of such effects;
• a criminal act that may be being planned/committed or has been committed;
• an administrative offence;
• an official misconduct or breach of job duties;
• a serious breach of mandatory standards of professional ethics; and
• any other breach of the law that poses a threat to or violates the public interest and of which you become aware in the course of your current or past employment or contractual relationship with the Company.

We ensure the confidentiality of the information and personal data provided

Any information provided will not be made public. Whistleblowers may also submit information anonymously, without providing their personal data and contact details. When submitting information anonymously, the whistleblower shall lose the opportunity to make use of the whistleblower status and receive feedback on the outcome of the investigation.

You may submit information about a breach through the internal channel for providing information on breaches as follows:

• By arriving directly to the Company (Sedos Str. 35, Telšiai, Lithuania) during the Company’s working hours;
• By sending the relevant information by mail to the following address: Sedos Str. 35, 87101 Telšiai, Lithuania; and
• At any time (both during and after working hours), by sending the relevant information to the Company’s e-mail address: pranesu@zpienas.lt or, if the information concerns the Production and Raw Material Procurement Department of the Company, to gamyba@zpienas.lt

Your report should indicate whether you wish to be granted the whistleblower status in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers of the Republic of Lithuania or not. The form for reporting a breach can be found here.

You can report directly to the competent authority, i.e. the Prosecutor General’s Office, by sending e-mail to: praneseju.apsauga@prokuraturos.lt, if you wish to be granted the whistleblower status and other guarantees provided for by the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers.

Examination of reports

Company’s employee registers all reports received and conducts their examination. If you provide your contact details, the employee responsible may contact you to clarify the circumstances and inform you about the outcome of the investigation. We will inform you after receiving the report and completing the investigation.

The personal data provided shall be processed in accordance with the Law on the Legal Protection of Personal Data of the Republic of Lithuania and the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers of the Republic of Lithuania, and information on breaches shall be stored for at least 5 years of the date of the final decision made concerning the examination of the relevant information.

The internal channel for providing information on breaches in the Company is administered by the Legal Department whose employees can consult you confidentially, where necessary.

The description of the procedure for remuneration of whistleblowers for valuable information and the description of the procedure for compensating whistleblowers for the adverse effect or potential consequences suffered due to the submitted report can be found here.

We invite you to be purposive and public-spirited

The laws of the Republic of Lithuania prohibit defamation or falsely accusing another person of committing a crime. Such actions are subject to criminal liability.

We hereby inform you that, as up to 25 March 2025, the Company had no breaches reported.