The Ethical Codex of the MVOSZ Energy Efficiency Service Providers and ESCO Platform

 The main goal of the Energy Efficiency Service Providers and ESCO Platform (HUNESCO) is to contribute to the sustainable development of our society, to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and to ensure the efficient use of natural resources.

In line with this, the Platform aims to bring together the energy efficiency service providers, support the development of the sector and the energy efficiency value chain, enhance service quality, and build trust among customers and financiers towards energy efficiency service providers.

Platform members commit to conducting their business in a professional and ethical manner, complying with applicable laws and regulations. Furthermore, they strive for transparency, excellence, the reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions, and energy savings. Accordingly, their operations comply with the highest ethical standards, and with the following Ethical Codex of the Platform:

  1. The Member complies with all applicable laws related to its activities, including regulations governing tendering processes, procurement procedures, requests for proposals, agreements, and pricing.
  2. The Member does not participate in procurements or enter into agreements where the Member knows or reasonably should know that the procurement process is inconsistent with laws and regulations governing the procurement and contracting authority of the respective procurement client.
  3. The Member shall not mislead prospective clients through significantly exaggerated or false representations of the legally and technically achievable results of the development or service provided.
  4. The Member shall not falsely represent the savings and/or costs of any development, equipment, or service it provides.
  5. The Member maintains an effective ethical compliance policy and program, including regular training of employees and procedures for reporting perceived violations. Subcontractors are also informed of ethical policies and are required to comply with them.
  6. The Member employs only appropriately trained personnel in the execution of developments and service provision.
  7. The Member installs all equipment as agreed upon in operational condition.
  8. The Member ensures that all services and equipment provided meet relevant regulations, requirements, and standards.
  9. The Member applies only financing arrangements that comply with applicable laws.
  10. The Member uses measuring instruments and procedures that accurately measure and evaluate the performance of equipment, energy savings, and other benefits.
  11. The member accurately represents the capabilities and capacities of the Member for the execution of developments and services, as well as ensuring factual, complete, and accurate disclosure in financing.
  12. The Member doesn’t make statements about competitors’ capabilities or positions that are factually incomplete or intentionally misleading to clients.

A court-issued final judgment adversely affecting the member’s activities is considered to be a breach of the Ethical Codex.

The term “agreement” referred to in the Ethical Codex applies to any agreement that provides energy or operational savings as part of the completed development or services, including but not exclusively limited to energy performance-based contracts.

Procedure for Exclusion Related to Violation of the Ethical Codex

By adopting the Ethical Codex, Platform members acknowledge the exclusion procedure detailed below for a violation of the Ethical Codex.

The exclusion procedure for a Platform member who violates any article of the Ethical Codex involves the following steps:

  1. Any member of the Platform can initiate an exclusion procedure by sending a registered postal letter with acknowledgment of receipt via special service to the President, Secretary, or Ethics Committee of the MVOSZ, specifying the Platform member that, in their opinion, should be excluded from the Platform, and presenting the objective reasons based on which this decision is proposed.
  2. The Ethics Committee decides within 30 working days on the initiation or dismissal of the exclusion procedure.
  3. If the Ethics Committee initiates the exclusion procedure, in that case, the Platform member affected by the exclusion procedure receives notification via registered postal letter with acknowledgment of receipt via special service from the President of the Ethics Committee, providing information about the procedure affecting them and its reasons.
  4. Within 15 working days from the receipt of the letter about the procedure, the Platform member has the opportunity to substantiate with facts why their exclusion is not justified. The evidence must be sent to the Ethics Committee via registered postal letter with acknowledgment of receipt via special service, addressed to the Ethics Committee.
  5. The Ethics Committee must make a decision within 30 working days from the receipt of the evidence on whether to exclude the Platform member or to accept their evidence and dismiss the procedure. The Platform member affected by the procedure receives notification in writing via registered postal letter with acknowledgment of receipt via special service from the President of the Ethics Committee.
  6. If the Platform member is excluded, in that case, they are not entitled to any financial reimbursement.

Platform members agree and accept that a violation of any article of the Ethical Codex may result in their exclusion, following the procedure outlined in this document.