Requirements

Company activities in the areas of environmental, economic and social issues (cf. requirements II.1 - II.23) are systematically recorded and at least once a year evaluated for their topicality and relevance  

• at the corporate and / or site level and
• along the value chain.

Compliance options

• A materiality matrix comprising the key issues at the corporate level and along the value chain
• Individual review of key issues at the corporate level (e.g., ZNU Sustainability Check, relevance matrix, ABC analysis, risk assess-ment, risk matrix) in connection with an individual review of key issues along the value chain / at the product level (e.g., hot spot screening and / or analyses, LCA, risk assessments at the product level.

Requirements

The relevant stakeholders and their interests are systematically recorded, evaluated and at least once a year checked for their topicality.

Compliance options

• Stakeholder analysis, including assessment of the relevant stakeholders' interests
• Stakeholder survey / stakeholder dialogue / round table, including assessment of the relevant stakeholders' interests

Requirements

The corporate philosophy:

• includes ecological, economic and social aspects and reflects the following questions:  What do we (our products / services) stand for? What do we want to achieve? Which values are important to us?
• is made available to staff and conveyed in a comprehensible way
• is made available to external stakeholders

Compliance options

• Mission statement, company creed, corporate vision / mission, statements in the corporate policy, corporate principles, values, code of conduct
• Training courses, surveys, notifications, Intranet, etc., explaining how the corporate philosophy is made available and communicated in the company
• Internet, brochures, sustainability report, etc. as documentation for relevant external stakeholders

Requirements

The company discloses

• how it lives up to these values and
• how they are taken into consideration along the value chain.

Compliance options

• Documentation of projects / initiatives, etc. by means of notices, Intranet, Internet, company's own strategic documents, etc.
• Meetings, internal code of conduct, investment / employment criteria, value workshops, results from staff surveys, roadmap, strategy planning
• Procurement policies, supplier evaluation, code of conduct, code of ethics, corporate identity, etc.

Requirements

Reference is made to societal sustainability policies. Compliance with legal rights and obligations as well as with international codes of conduct is communicated to all relevant stakeholders.

Compliance options

• Documented mission statement / code of conduct / statement on sustainability related to programs like Agenda 21, Brundtland Definition, UN Sustainable Development Goals, ISO 26000, EU Definition, German Sustainable Development Strategy, the Sustainability Code, standards of conduct, including commitment to comply with legal requirements

Requirements

Appropriate and measurable targets have been developed and defined for the relevant fields of action from early detection for continuous improvement. The company provides a systematic presentation of how these targets shall be achieved, documenting the following items

• actual status in base year
• target status in target year
• indicators / key identifiers
• measures
• milestones / deadlines
• responsibilities
• status / degree of target achievement.

Compliance options

• Documentation of all sustainability targets (quantitative and / or qualitative) on the corporate / site level and product level or along the value chain
• Integrated documentation as part of the corporate strategy or explicit representation in form of a sustainability schedule / target program

Requirements

Stakeholders' opinions and interests are adequately considered in defining targets and setting milestones.

Compliance options

• Documented stakeholder dialogue on the development of objectives and on the implementation plan
• Reference to stakeholder analysis and stakeholder survey