Strategy
Sustainability is a core component of Beiersdorf corporate culture and of fundamental importance in our decision-making and business processes. We strive to reconcile environmental protection, social responsibility and our economic success and are constantly refining and enhancing our commitment and engagement in these areas.
Our Group-wide Corporate Sustainability function is responsible for setting the strategic direction of our sustainability activities and regularly reports to the Executive Board on progress and the need for action. Since August 2022, this function has reported directly to the Chairman of the Executive Board of Beiersdorf AG, who is responsible for sustainability.
We have two cross-functional steering committees in place to oversee the management of key sustainability issues such as climate action: the Sustainability Council for the Consumer Business Segment and the Global Executive Committee for tesa. The directors of all relevant business units headed by the members of the Executive Board are represented on the Sustainability Council. This committee meets at least once every quarter. The Global Executive Committee at tesa is composed of the members of the Executive Board and other executives, such as the Chief Sustainability Officer. The committee meets every two weeks and regularly discusses the topic of sustainability alongside other aspects. In addition, the Chief Sustainability Officer reports directly to the Chairman of the Executive Board of tesa.
We also maintain a regular dialog with our external stakeholders. This exchange ensures that we continuously review our sustainability activities and include current social and environmental developments in our planning.
Sustainability Agenda
CARE BEYOND SKIN
(Business Segment Consumer)
Sustainability Agenda
(Business Segment tesa)
Consumer
Consumer
Sustainability is central to our Corporate Purpose, which is why we implemented it in the C.A.R.E.+ business strategy we defined in 2019 as an important cornerstone of our business activities.
Our CARE BEYOND SKIN Sustainability Agenda has been an integral part of C.A.R.E.+ since 2020. It comprises seven focus fields that concentrate on the impact of our activities throughout the entire value chain – from the climate impact of our products and processes, the circularity of the resources we use and their influence on land and water use, through to the health and safety of our employees and consumers, and our commitment to an inclusive society. We have set ourselves ambitious targets in all areas, which we aim to achieve by 2025 and 2030, respectively.
Our efforts are based on the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through the implementation of our sustainability agenda, we are contributing to 13 of the 17 SDGs.
During the reporting year, we worked to achieve further progress and move closer to our targets. To drive the issue of sustainability forward internally as well, we launched a special training and engagement program in 2022, our Corporate Sustainability Academy. Within this framework, we introduced an interactive e-learning course in September 2022, for example. This is available to all employees and is intended to familiarize them with our CARE BEYOND SKIN sustainability agenda.
tesa
tesa
At tesa, sustainability is firmly enshrined in the business strategy. During the reporting year, we revised the existing sustainability strategy and increased our previous level of ambition, such as through the adoption of new climate targets. Our ambition is now to use all our technological know-how and passion to develop more sustainable adhesive solutions and products.
The framework for this is formed by five strategic action areas for which tesa has defined long-term targets for the period through 2030. These fields extend across the Business Segment’s entire value chain and are: Reduction of Emissions, Responsible Sourcing, Use of Recycled and Bio-based Materials, Circularity and Reduction of Waste, and Enable Sustainability at our Customers.
The sustainability agenda, which is based on the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, continues to be a cornerstone of the strategy. We also made slight adjustments to the agenda in 2022. It now reflects our aspiration to view sustainability holistically and thus also includes topics that go beyond the strategic action areas – like occupational safety, for example.