Corporate Responsibility

For the 2018 reporting period, we offer infor­ma­tion for the first time on the economic, ecological and social impact of our business activities and explain how the TÜV NORD GROUP is integrating Corporate Responsibility into its corporate processes and managing those twin key elements.

The TÜV NORD GROUP has always considered sustainability and responsibility to be the driving force behind its entrepreneurial vision, and these qualities are for that reason firmly embedded in our DNA. On the basis of this keystone concept, two years ago we launched the development of a systematic and Group-wide Cor- porate Responsibility Management. We have amalgamated our previous activities, created organisational structures and developed a Corporate Responsibility Strategy and a related roadmap. In our Corporate Responsibility Roadmap our medium- and long-term objectives are laid down and backed up with actual measures. It is now providing guidance to 13,000 employees around the world, our business partners and other stakeholders. Here are three specific examples:

• We are pushing ahead with Responsibility and Sustainability Assessments for our innovations and developing a standardised rating system for this purpose.
• We are using the potential of digitalisation to bring about positive sustainability effects. For instance, remote inspection is significantly reducing the amount of travel on the part of our staff.
• Our employees will in the future be able to sign up for training at a time and place of their choosing. By 2020, we will be offering flexible digital learning formats.

The Corporate Responsibility chapter of this corporate report offers readers an abridged version of the first Corporate Responsibility Report drafted by the TÜV NORD GROUP. In it, we disclose where we currently stand, which processes we are developing for a structured implementation and the aims we aspire to fulfil. The chapter contains strategic information and statements on the topics which the TÜV NORD GROUP has identified as important. We provide information on our responsibility to act sustainably in respect of value creation, our staff, the environment and society, thereby throwing light on how closely interwoven our financial and non-financial services are. We defined these four fields of action and the associated topics in a process, which also involved key stakeholders, that ranked their relative materiality.

The publication of our 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report to which we refer in this chapter is an important milestone in the context of strategically-oriented Corporate Responsibility Management in our company. The content presented in this report is supplemented by other aspects and details in accordance with GRI Standards, Option: core. The principal focus of the report is on the German companies and sites of all the business units in the TÜV NORD GROUP.

“We see it as the responsibility of the TÜV NORD GROUP to conduct business with a view to long-term success. We take into account not only the impact of our decisions and actions on our company, but also their effects on society and the environment.”

It is an integral part of our corporate identity to take responsibility for the impacts of our business activities on people and the environment and to act in a sustainable manner. We see the imple- mentation of Corporate Responsibility as a long-term project that will lead us into the future. The destination has been set and the route planned, and the starting pistol has been fired. The challenge we face on this journey is to strive every day for balance between economic, ecological and social concerns in all that we do. The main coordinates for our Corporate Responsibility are our five guiding principles:

The focus is on our customers.

Our employees are the key to success.

Our integrity is the basis of everything we do.

Our diversity opens up new opportunities.

Our culture of innovation is trend-setting.

In 2018, we brought together the various different activities under the umbrella of acting sustainably and responsibly to form one single corporate responsibility strategy. Developed in close relation to our Corporate Strategy, this serves as our overarching route map. In terms of value creation, we consider Corporate Responsi­bility (CR) to be an important success factor for our company. After all, we need sustainable services for our customers, integrity in respect of the environment and society and dedicated employees to make our business fit for the future. Our CR Strategy includes our attitude toward responsibility and sustainability, decisions on the management of Corporate Responsibility, the four main fields of action and a CR Roadmap with objectives, measures and targets.

We identified the four main fields of action of our Corporate Respon- sibility Strategy in the context of a materiality analysis, taking into account our stakeholders (see the chapter entitled “Materiality of our CR Topics”). We are focusing our sustainable actions on the following four themes:

We have combined the route for each of these four fields of action in our Roadmap 2020: this includes goals, measures and implementation activities (see the chapter entitled “Roadmap 2020 for Guidance"). Overarching objectives, such as the reduction of CO₂ emissions, are broken down to the level of business units and Group companies and implemented at that level. On the journey we will remain in regular dialogue with our stakeholders. We will practise full disclosure in relation to our sustainability achievements, both within the Group and externally. In this way we will ensure that key expectations, including those imposed on the TÜV NORD GROUP from outside, are recognised in good time and, where appropriate, taken into account.

We will implement our long-term Corporate Responsibility Strategy in the context of our integrated management system. The focus of our Corporate Responsibility will be on the strategic and operational benefits for value creation in the TÜV NORD GROUP: covering the whole gamut of topics from attractiveness as an employer and the efficient use of resources through to pioneering innovations. We will work together at the highest management level and in the business units and Group companies to inject life into our Corporate Responsibility Strategy across a whole range of activities. At the same time, the business units and Group companies will set their own priorities for the implementation of the goals according to their specific activities and possibilities. In this way, individual mosaic tiles will combine to form one major work with which we will achieve the Group’s overall objectives.

We consider it important to reveal this mosaic and its objectives in a readily comprehensible way. Our first responsibility and sustainability report is a decisive step in this direction. In the future, we will report annually on the status quo in respect of the economic, eco- logical and social impacts of our business activities. In this context we will consider in detail how far we have already travelled and which obstacles may remain to be overcome. In terms of content, our reports will adhere to the following principles: involvement of stakeholders, sustainability context, materiality and degree of completion. We will report on the basis of clearly defined and implemented data sources which will at all times be freely available and verifiable.

The TÜV NORD GROUP has defined roles and responsibilities on three levels: the Group, the business units and the Group companies. This organisational structure will ensure the proper management of our Corporate Responsibility and the implementation of our objectives.

Which are the priority CR topics in the TÜV NORD GROUP? An in-depth answer to this question has been provided by the materiality analysis which we carried out 2018.

In the first step, we assessed the initial position. For this purpose we identified our previous CR activities and the expectations of our various stakeholders and arranged them thematically. With reference to the GRI Standards and the German Sustainability Code (DNK), additional CR topics were included in an overall list of possible topics.

In the second step, all the CR topics thus identified were put to the test: how relevant do our stakeholders consider the various topics to be? And how marked is the economic, environmental and social impact of our business in relation to the respective topics, such as, for example, “Employee health and safety” or “Resource economy and efficiency”?

We used the “materiality analysis” as a tool to precisely define the two factors, relevance and impact. The impact assessment was semi-quantitative. The CR Steering Committee of the TÜV NORD GROUP and the responsible internal experts rated the impact of the topics in accordance with a predetermined scale. We have also had intensive discussions with our stakeholders – for example with over 500 corporate employees – to determine the relevance of CR topics. The results were discussed in detail by the CR Steering Committee.

This has led to the emergence of a clear overall picture which maps our journey. Eleven key CR topics have emerged for the TÜV NORD GROUP which are also the focus of the present report. The other eight major topics are mentioned in passing for the sake of completeness.

The CR Roadmap 2020 offers us guidance on our journey to the systematic integration of responsibility and sustainability in all the business units. It contains an overarching long-term goal for each of the four fields of action. Objectives have also been defined for the key CR topics and the routes planned by which we aim to achieve these goals by 2020. Key performance indicators and measures have been set as guides. We aim to use specific targets to evaluate the degree of implementation.

The roadmap was developed by the CR Steering Committee. The kick-off event was a workshop held in July 2018 to define the roadmap, at which the long-term CR objectives were identified and discussed. Divided into working groups, representatives from the CR Steering Committee then discussed specific targets, indicators and measures in various workshops. Between October and November 2018, the CR Steering Committee carried out the last critical analyses before finally releasing the draft roadmap. The CR Roadmap 2020 was adopted by the Group Executive Committee at the end of 2018.

“Our achievement of economic success considers the interests of both people and nature.”

The TÜV NORD GROUP is perceived as a value-oriented and sustainable enterprise and will be officially recognised as such by 2020.

“Responsible Value Creation” is at the heart of our Corporate Responsibility, and all other fields of action arise from it. It is for this reason that the general control and management approaches (see the chapter entitled “Management of Corporate Responsibility”) apply also to this topic. It is in the context of the above that the CR Principals, CR Strategy and CR Roadmap set the overall direction. The business units and Group companies are free to implement all the overarching CR objectives according to their actual priorities; the same also applies to the “Responsible Value Creation” field of action. The implementation must in all cases feed in to the overall objective.

We are committed to meeting the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative and the German Sustainability Code (DNK). At the international level, we are aligned with the ILO Labour Standards, the UN Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Companies.

“Our employees are at the heart of our company and the key to our long-term success.”

The satisfaction of our employees, measured across the Group using the staff commitment index, was above average for the sector in Germany in 2017. The intention for 2020 is to keep this high score of over 70%.

The employees of the TÜV NORD GROUP are the key to our long-term business success. They are the face of our Group to the customer; they carry out inspections and announce successful certifications; they develop new products and innovations – in short: they are the crew that will steer the ship of TÜV NORD GROUP into the future. Without their raw power, no helmsman would ever make it to shore.

This is why it’s so critical for us to bring on board and retain highly trained, reliable, forward-thinking, motivated, team-oriented and innovative employees for the TÜV NORD GROUP. If we are going to succeed in this, we as an employer need to both support and challenge our staff: in a healthy and appealing work environment and under conditions that motivate them and communicate our appreciation of them.

It’s for this reason that we are focusing on the following six topics in the “Staff Orientation” field of action. The first four of these we have identified as essential. Other important topics include an “Appropriate working environment” and “Diversity and inclusion”.

How satisfied are our employees with the TÜV NORD GROUP as an employer? The employee engagement index in our employee survey provides us with an answer to this question. In 2017, this index was above average for the sector in Germany. We are proud of this, and our intention for 2020 is to maintain this high score of over 70%. It’s for this reason that we are not restricting ourselves to standalone measures but but are instead proceeding in a holistic fashion. We have developed a new, group-wide programme called HR4Business and revised our HR Strategy, taking into account the CR Strategy. Five focus projects are planned, starting in 2019.

In this way, we want to reset our sails and prepare our crew effectively for future challenges. For control purposes, we are build- ing on existing guidelines such as the Group Regulation “Personnel Development” and the Leadership Principles. Responsibility for issuing guidelines rests with TÜV NORD AG, whereas their implementation takes place in the decentralised HR divisions and the HR Shared Service unit. The Board of Management and the Group Executive Committee are the decision-making bodies, and the advisory committee consists of human resources managers. The effectiveness of the management approaches is evaluated within the framework of “Beruf und Familie” (“Work and Family”) certification as well as other HR audit programmes and the annual Group audit.

“Climate protection and the preservation of the natural basis of life are among the greatest challenges of our time, and we will either rise to them together or not at all.”

The TÜV NORD GROUP is committed to the 2-degree climate target and aspires to decarbonise as fully as possible by 2050.

Our daily aspiration and the aim of our work is to guarantee technical safety and reduce risks to people and the environment to the absolute minimum – and this goes for real estate, vehicles and industrial plant alike. We also apply the high standard of our audits and inspections to ourselves. We want to reduce to a minimum the negative impact that our business activities have on the environment. After all, although we neither operate production lines nor trade in goods around the world, our business still uses resources – especially energy. Which is why we are already using renewable energy and working with an environmental management system which is certified in accordance with ISO 14001.

We aim in the future to further reduce our energy consumption and increase our resource and energy efficiency. It’s for this reason that we scrutinise the environmental impact of our business activities very closely and also take the expectations of our stakeholders into account in the process. Our carbon footprint, which provides information on the carbon dioxide emissions we produce, is an essential indicator of the status quo. Our declared objective, which is also consistent with the expectations of our stakeholders, is to significantly reduce this carbon footprint from the 2018 baseline by 2050. This because CO₂ is having a significant impact on global warming and will in the long term destroy our ecological balance.

We have identified “eco-friendly travel patterns” as an effective lever to reduce the environmental impact of our business and recognise this as an essential topic. We also attach a high priority to our use of resources and energy efficiency in our buildings.

The TÜV NORD GROUP is voluntarily committed to the 2-degree climate target and aspires to the most comprehensive decarbonisation possible by 2050. To achieve this goal, we are following the principle of avoid, reduce, offset. Wherever possible, we are implementing measures for the complete avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, we are striving to reduce our CO₂ emissions. In this respect, digitalisation is opening up new opportunities. Only when the best possible balancing of ecological and commercial aspects means that emissions cannot be avoided or reduced do we then turn as an alternative to offsetting.

The overarching management system of the TÜV NORD GROUP includes sustainability management plus elements and objectives of environmental protection. The Group Executive Committee bears responsibility for this management system, which is controlled centrally. In the subsidiaries, the respective general managers are responsible for the implementation of the fundamental principles stipulated by the Group.

The Board of Management has appointed a management represen­tative for the substantive design and coordination of all superordinate quality-, environment- and energy-efficiency-related measures. At the individual company level, the general manager in turn appoints a management representative for the exercise of these functions.

The status of “corporate environmental conservation and the environmental performance of the organisation” is presented in the annual management review of TÜV NORD AG. This includes reports on both Group-wide results and the activities of the indi­vidual companies.

“To be truly meaningful, individual human development must take place in the context of society.”

Our innovations will demonstrably support the sustainable development of society in 2020 and beyond.

Whether we’re involved in mobility, energy or health, in all our business segments, we have one clear aim: we want to make life safer and more secure and develop technological solutions for the important global topics of the future. We use our services and pro- ducts accordingly to generate added value for our customers and society. Outside the immediate bounds of our own work, we’re working on security-related topics in various bodies and promoting future-oriented developments, including innovative IT security methods and climate-friendly transport concepts. We see security as a key prerequisite for sustainable development in our society.

So it follows that we relate “Societal orientation” to our work and the opportunities that arise from ensuring that it takes responsible forms: for our company, society and the environment. With the targeted management of sustainability topics in our company, we can identify possible undesirable developments and proactively address them. We’re demonstrating our commitment outside the company by supporting the voluntary work done by our employees.

In the “Societal orientation” field of action, we’re looking especially at four topics. We’ve identified our “Societal role in accordance with our vision and mission” as a key theme. This is also associated with three other important topics.

We want to avoid risks and exploit opportunities. To this end, we are systematically focusing on the societal impact of our business decisions. In our actions, we adhere to our vision and mission.

All business units and subsidiaries are contributing to the achievement of the Group-wide objectives in the “Social Orientation” field. They are acting within the framework of the integrated management system and following the overarching CR control instruments (see the chapter entitled  “Management of Corporate Responsibility”). We’re working in all our business units and subsidiaries to ensure that our innovations support the sustainable development of society.

Our guide on this journey is the Roadmap 2020, in which we have set the following objectives for the “Social Orientation” action field: