SUSTAINABILITY AS A SUCCESS FACTOR

For GIZ, this means treating the environment and our staff with care. Sustainability management is one of the key success factors for our company’s competitiveness and future viability.

At GIZ, corporate sustainability is the responsibility of the Chair of the Management Board. It is enshrined in our Corporate Principles and embedded in our Sustainability Programme and Corporate Strategy as measurable goals. We believe that corporate sustainability must encompass social responsibility, ecological balance and economic capability. We see political participation as a fundamental prerequisite for truly sustainable action.

Our approach goes well beyond what is required by law, and we have committed ourselves to voluntary national and international agreements. These include the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and Germany’s National Sustainable Development Strategy. Our intention is to play a pioneering role in sustainable corporate management.

Our governance structure for sustainability management

The Sustainability Board, the Director Corporate Sustainability and the Sustainability Office cooperate closely to systematically anchor and develop the issue of sustainability in the company.

At the highest level, the Sustainability Board, headed by the Chair of GIZ’s Management Board, lays down the long-term strategic orientation for corporate sustainability and analyses and evaluates how it is implemented. The Board meets four times a year.

The Director Corporate Sustainability is the central point of contact for matters relating to sustainability inside and outside the company and ensures that the future development of sustainability management is in step with GIZ’s corporate development.

The Sustainability Office is responsible for coordinating corporate sustainability at GIZ on the basis of the Sustainability Programme and the Environmental Programme. With this in mind, it works closely with other organisational units at GIZ and is responsible for setting its own objectives. The Sustainability Office also supports colleagues worldwide on matters relating to corporate sustainability.

Our sustainability management instruments

We draw on a number of diverse instruments to support us in implementing the decisions of the Sustainability Board worldwide. As a result, the relevance of corporate sustainability is growing from year to year.

With its clearly defined goals, measures and indicators, GIZ’s Sustainability Programme 2016-2020 provides orientation and serves as a key management tool for corporate sustainability at GIZ in equal measure. Elements of the Sustainability Programme also form part of GIZ’s Corporate Strategy – for example, sustainable business practices and sustainable procurement.

The Corporate Sustainability Handprint® (CSH) is a decentralised management tool that enables us to document our sustainability performance efficiently and systematically worldwide. The CSH also helps us advance our sustainability profile in our offices throughout the world.

The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) – these four letters are synonymous with the most exacting certification system for corporate environmental management. EMAS is based on the ISO 14001 standard. GIZ has voluntarily committed to observing this most stringent certification scheme. EMAS provides a solid base for promoting environmental management at our company locations in Germany. Our environmental management officer, who is TÜV-certified, is charged with initiating and following up on all steps necessary in the company to promote, operate and maintain this professional environmental management system. The primary objective here is to continuously reduce GIZ’s environmental impact and to back this up with corresponding evidence.

Various networks and initiatives provide a framework and platform for dialogue and discussion on corporate sustainability. This includes the German Environmental Management Association (B.A.U.M.), the German Global Compact Network (DGCN) and the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE).

The most important themes and concerns of internal and external stakeholders are identified within the framework of the Stakeholder Dialogue. The resulting Materiality Matrix is then used to steer our sustainability management activities and sustainability reporting.

We meet our transparency obligations through comprehensive sustainability reporting, which is aligned with recognised international standards and externally audited. We report regularly on how sustainability is implemented and strategically anchored within the company. With this report we are meeting the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative and the UN Global Compact. Furthermore, we produce a report every two years in compliance with the German Sustainability Code.

More on this topic

Film on sustainability management on the GIZ website: Sustainable! Sustainability management at GIZ

Information on corporate sustainability on the GIZ website: Corporate Sustainability

Basis of our sustainability management: GIZ’s sustainability guidelines

EU quality label for environmental management EMAS in a Nutshell