Sustainability
at Bilfinger
Sustainability is a significant part of our corporate strategy. To determine the essential fields of action for our own behavior, we have for years regularly conducted materiality analyses in dialog with our stakeholders. The resulting materiality matrix defines the sustainability topics of Bilfinger.
We have firmly anchored the concept of sustainability in our corporate structures. It is defined as a goal in our Mission Statement and is an integral part of our Code of Conduct as well as a number of internal Group Policies. We have been reporting on our sustainability activities annually in sustainability reports since 2011, in particular in the areas of HSEQ, Compliance, Procurement and Human Resources.
Bilfinger has published an externally audited non-financial Group declaration since 2018, the company is a member of the UN Global Compact initiative, supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals and issues an annual declaration of conformity with the German Sustainability Code.
With regard to sustainability, Bilfinger is evaluated by several external institutions; we are in regular active contact with MSCI-ESG, ISS-ESG, Sustainalytics, CDP and Ecovadis, among others.
The Executive Board is responsible for sustainability. Sustainability management at Group level is coordinated and aligned within the SustaiNet sustainability network, which is coordinated by Corporate Treasury & Investor Relations under the responsibility of Executive Board member Matti Jäkel (Chief Financial Officer).
Members of SustaiNet are heads of selected corporate departments whose areas of responsibility relate to sustainability issues (including Strategy, Compliance, Human Resources, Procurement, Communications, Accounting & Controlling), heads of other functional units with a Group-wide governance function (HSEQ, Business Development) as well as managing directors of operational regional and divisional management teams.
SustaiNet meets at least twice a year as scheduled; in addition, meetings are convened on an ad-hoc and project-related basis. In addition to the formal exchange in the sustainability network, the members as well as employees in their functional areas are in regular contact on individual sustainability topics.
In 2020, Bilfinger SustaiNet conducted a new materiality analysis with the involvement of the Group’s stakeholders. The results of the survey were reviewed again by SustaiNet and the Board of Directors in the 2021 reporting year. To review the content of our Non-Financial Group Declaration, we looked at these areas of activity both in terms of their business relevance and in terms of their impact on the materiality of the economic, environmental and social consequences listed in the HGB. In particular, we looked at the costs and risks associated with the topics, the extent to which they affect our business and our environment, and the degree to which we are able to influence each aspect.
The principal sustainability topics were confirmed. The dialog with the Group’s stakeholders – employees, customers, suppliers and capital market representatives as well as social institutions – did not result in any new topic clusters.
The relationship of the topics to each other and the absolute positioning in the matrix were updated for selected points as compared to the previous year.
The result of the 2021 materiality analysis is presented in our current materiality matrix.
The Bilfinger Sustainability Commitment
Occupational safety
Zero is possible
Supply Chain
Broader scope of code of conduct and its Enforcement
Energy & emissions
Become “net zero” in GHG Scopes 1 and 2 by 2030 at the latest
Sustainable industrial services
Target revenue of €1 bn by 2024
Compliance
Never compromise on integrity
The identification and evaluation of risks that arise from the company’s business operations and that affect the reportable aspects are the responsibility of risk management. The focus is on the question of which risks arise from our business activities and relationships or from our products and services that have an impact on these aspects. Significant risks that are likely to have or will have serious negative impacts on them must be reported.
We have not identified any reportable risks related to the relevant topics.
Our Group-wide risk management system is described in the management report of the Annual Report. Corporate Accounting, Controlling & Tax, is responsible for Bilfinger’s Group-wide risk management system and conducted a survey of the Group’s sustainability risks at the end of the 2021 financial year. In order to identify and assess these risks, the operating units and the heads of the corporate departments concerned were surveyed about them and they were assessed at the regular meeting of the Bilfinger Risk Committee. The assessment of risks was based on the probability of occurrence and the possible extent of damage.
