Whistleblowing Policy

1. Introduction – what is whistleblowing, and why is it important?

Liquid Wind (the “Company”) strives to achieve transparency and a high level of business ethics. The Company’s employees should all live up to the Company’s values, and business ethical guidelines, described in its “Code of Conduct” and policies. We encourage all employees to report suspicions of irregularities or misconduct to their relevant manager or other relevant person within the organization. However, if there is any hesitation about reporting such an issue or fears of retaliation because of such a report, the below described whistleblower system is an alternative way to handle these serious issues.
There may be circumstances when persons closely associated with the Company suspect or experience serious violations of the Company’s Code of Conduct or acts of wrongdoing, misconduct, irregularities or criminal acts affecting individuals, employees, the Company, the environment or the public. Therefore, the Company offers a possibility to report confidentially and anonymously through so-called whistleblowing without fear of retaliation.
Whistleblowing is a way to reduce business risks and gives persons closely associated with the Company an opportunity to confidently report on things that can harm individuals, the Company, the environment or the public. It is an important tool for reducing risks and maintaining trust in the Company’s operations by enabling it to detect and act on possible misconduct at an early stage. Whistleblowing can be done openly or anonymously.

2. Who can report?

Persons can report and gain protection in accordance with the Act on the protection of Persons Reporting Irregularities (2021:890), also known as the Whistleblowing Act, if they are deemed a “reporting person”. A reporting person is an employee, a job applicant, an intern, a volunteer, a self-employed worker, or a person who otherwise work under the supervision and direction of the Company, a person who is part of the Company’s board of directors or management or supervisory functions or an active shareholder. The fact that a position has been applied for or that the relevant employment relationship with the Company has ended, or not yet started, does not restrict the possibilities to report an issue.

3. When to blow the whistle?

The Company’s whistleblowing function (the “Whistleblowing Function”) can be used, and the Company encourages its use, to alert the Company about serious risks of wrongdoing, misconduct, irregularities or criminal acts affecting individuals, employees, the Company, the environment or the public. The potential issues being reported must have been acquired in a work-related context.

Reported issues shall be serious and in the public interest in order to fall within the scope of the Whistleblowing Act, for instance:

• Corruption and/or other financial irregularities; for example, bribes, unfair competition, money laundering, fraud, conflict of interest
• Health and safety violations; for example, workplace health and safety, product safety, serious discrimination and harassments that are against the law
• Environmental violations; for example, illegal treatment of hazardous waste
• Privacy violations; for example, improper use of personal data

Please note that issues such as dissatisfaction in the workplace or personal matters are not deemed to be in the public interest and such issues should be reported to the relevant supervisor, manager or the HR department since such issues are not covered by the Whistleblowing Act.

A person who blows the whistle and reports (“Whistleblower”) does not need to have firm evidence for reporting on a suspicion. However, when reporting, it is crucial that the Whistleblower has reasonable grounds (reasonable cause) to believe that the information about the misconduct reported is true. In addition, it is also important that the reported misconduct can be considered as a violation covered by the Whistleblowing Act to give the Whistleblower protection. Deliberate reporting of false or malicious information is prohibited. Abuse of the Whistleblowing Function is a serious disciplinary offence.

Please observe that the Whistleblowing Act does not cover whistleblowing in relation to security classified information according to the Protective Security Act (2018:585). Consequently, a Whistleblower does not gain protection if the reporting pertains to information covered by said act.
A Whistleblower may not be held liable for breach of confidentiality, provided that the Whistleblower had reasonable grounds to believe that the reporting of the information was necessary to disclose the reported misconduct. However, the freedom from liability does not apply if the Whistleblower commits a criminal offence by reporting or obtaining the information.

Freedom from liability does not apply to:

• Intentional disregard of the duty of confidentiality which, according to the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400), restricts the right to communicate and publish information according to the Freedom of the Press Act or the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression; or
• Breach of confidentiality under the Defence Inventions Act (1971:1078). Freedom from liability also does not entail the right to disclose documents.

4. How to blow the whistle?

A Whistleblower who wishes to raise a concern can do it anonymously or confidentially through the Whistleblowing Function or, if preferred by the Whistleblower, by contacting a manager or the Head of HR within the Company. Whistleblowing through the Whistleblowing Function can be conducted in writing, orally or by scheduling a physical meeting with the Whistleblower Administrator. Instructions on how to schedule a physical meeting can be found in the Whistleblowing Function. The Whistleblower should describe what happened, or the suspicion, in as much detail as possible so that adequate measures can be applied. It is, therefore, also possible to attach additional evidence, for instance written documents, images or audio files.

Sensitive personal information about individuals should not be provided when reporting, provided that it is not necessary to describe the matter. Sensitive personal information is information about ethnical origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical belief, membership in a trade union, health, one person’s sex life or sexual orientation, genetic data, biometrical data used to uniquely identify a person.

The Whistleblower can be anonymous throughout the entire reporting process without it affecting their legal protection. However, a Whistleblower can also communicate with their real identity under strict confidentiality. Anonymity can sometimes make the case more difficult to follow up and to take the required actions. In such cases, the Whistleblowing Administrator may ask the Whistleblower to identify himself or herself under strict confidentiality. Yet, the Whistleblower is free to, in their sole discretion, determine whether to reveal their identity.

All reports received will be handled confidentially. The software behind the Whistleblowing Function is administrated by Whistleblower Software, an external service provider. All reports are encrypted. To ensure the anonymity of the person sending a report, Whistleblower Software deletes all meta data, including IP addresses. The Whistleblower also remains anonymous in the subsequent dialogue with the responsible receiver of the report.

5. The investigation process

The Whistleblowing Administrator
Access to reports received through the Whistleblowing Function is restricted to an external Swedish law firm who has the authority to handle whistleblowing cases and who is appointed by the Head of Legal at the Company from time to time (the “Whistleblowing Administrator”). For the avoidance of doubt, the Head of Legal will not have any knowledge of nor access to submitted whistleblower reports. The Whistleblower Administrator’s actions are logged, and the handling is confidential. When needed, other relevant stakeholders who can add expertise, information or guidance on reported issues may be asked to contribute to the investigation process. Consent will be required from the Whistleblower in case the identity of the Whistleblower is deemed appropriate. Any relevant stakeholder who access relevant data or information from the Whistleblower’s report, as provided by the Whistleblowing Administrator in its sole professional discretion to facilitate the investigation, are bound to strict confidentiality by a non-disclosure agreement.

Receiving a report
Upon receiving a report, the Whistleblowing Administrator decides whether to accept or decline the report. If the report is accepted, appropriate measures for investigation will be taken, please see Investigation below.

The Whistleblower will receive an acknowledgment of receipt of the report within seven (7) days.
The Whistleblowing Administrator may not investigate the reported misconduct if:

• the alleged conduct is not reportable conduct under this Whistleblowing Policy;
• the report has not been made in good faith or is malicious;
• there is insufficient information to allow for further investigation; or
• the subject of the report has already been solved.
  
  

If a report includes issues not covered by the scope of these Whistleblowing Policy, the Whistleblowing Administrator should provide the Whistleblower with appropriate instructions.
The Whistleblowing Administrator will send appropriate feedback to the Whistleblower within three (3) months upon the date of receiving the report.

Investigation
All reports are treated seriously and in accordance with this Whistleblowing Policy.

• The Whistleblowing Administrator, or anyone taking part in the investigation process, will not attempt to identify the Whistleblower.
• The Whistleblowing Administrator can, when needed, submit follow-up questions via the Whistleblowing Function for anonymous communication.
• A report will not be investigated by anyone who may be involved with or connected to the wrongdoing.
• Whistleblowing reports are handled confidentially by the parties involved.
• The Whistleblowing Administrator will report directly to the Board of the Company, where two board representatives will be responsible for informing the rest of the Board, excluding the CEO, as well as instruct the Whistleblowing Administrator on how to proceed in case of a reported misconduct in accordance with this Whistleblowing Policy.
• Corporate or external expertise may be included in the investigation.
  
  

All reports will be promptly investigated, and appropriate corrective action will be taken if warranted by the investigation.

6. Protection and privacy

Whistleblower protection
Protection against reprisals and preventive measures
In the case of whistleblowing under this Whistleblowing Policy, the Whistleblower is protected against negative consequences and a strict prohibition against retaliation applies. The protection against retaliation also applies in relevant cases to persons in the workplace who assist the Whistleblower, colleagues and relatives in the workplace, and legal entities that the Whistleblower owns, works for or are otherwise connected with. This means that all types of threats of retaliation and attempts at retaliation are strictly prohibited. Even if the Whistleblower were to face retaliation, the Whistleblower is still covered provided that she or he had reasonable grounds to believe that the misconduct reported was true and within the scope of the Whistleblower Act. Additionally, the Whistleblower may not be subject to retaliation for contacting her or his trade organisation for consultation regarding reporting.

Subject to considerations of the privacy of those against whom allegations have been made, and any other issues of confidentiality, a Whistleblower will be kept informed of the investigation into the allegations. In cases of alleged criminal offences, the non-anonymous Whistleblower will be informed that their identity may need to be disclosed during judicial proceedings.

Processing of personal data
This Whistleblowing Function may collect personal data on the person specified in a report, the Whistleblower (if not reported anonymously) and any third person involved, in order to investigate facts on the declared misdeeds and inappropriate behaviour eligible under the Company’s Code of Conduct or Company’s policies. This processing is based on statutory obligations and the legitimate interest of the Company to prevent reputational risks and to promote an ethical business activity. The provided description and facts under this processing are only reserved to the competent and authorized persons who handles this information confidentially, in this case the Whistleblower Administrator and the Company’s Board. You may exercise your rights of access, of rectification and of opposition, as well as of limited processing of your personal data in accordance with the local data protection legislation. These rights are subject to any overriding safeguarding measures required to prevent the destruction of evidence or other obstructions to the processing and investigation of the case. Data is stored within the EU. For any further questions or complaints please address your request to info@liquidwind.com.

Deletion of data
Personal data included in a whistleblowing report and investigation documentation is archived when the investigation is completed, with the exception of when personal data must be maintained according to other applicable laws. Personal data pertaining to an investigation will be deleted after two (2) years after completion of the investigation. Investigation documentation and whistleblower reports that are archived will be anonymised under GDPR; they will not include personal data through which persons can be directly or indirectly identified.

Personal data processor
Whistleblower Software ApS (Kannikegade 4, 1, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark) is responsible for the software of the Whistleblowing Function, including processing of encrypted data, such as whistleblowing reports. Neither Whistleblower Software nor any sub-suppliers can decrypt and read reports. As such, neither Whistleblower Software nor its sub-processors have access to readable content.

Other
Persons covered by this policy may also have the option of reporting serious irregularities or misconduct to an external whistleblowing function administered by certain Swedish authorities or EU institutions, bodies or agencies. These authorities are tasked with receiving, following up and providing feedback on reports of misconduct within their respective area of responsibility. In such case, a Whistleblower should turn to the authority responsible for the relevant issue. A list of the relevant Swedish institutions can be found here. Your constitutional rights are not affected by this policy in relation to the freedom to communicate and acquire information.