Glossary

A

AIZ

Academy for International Cooperation

B

BMZ

German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

Business partner screening (BPS)

An integral and mandatory element of GIZ’s risk management system. Its purpose is to identify possible risks before the start of a project. To this end, we screen all the companies and public-benefit organisations with which we collaborate or which provide third-party funding.

C

Central Staff Council

The role of the Central Staff Council is to represent the interests of employees at company level. It is made up of six delegates from the three staff councils in Berlin, Bonn and Eschborn.

Clown performances

Performances that make use of clown figures and typical clowning games to teach audiences about the rights of children and young people

CO₂

Carbon dioxide

CO₂e

CO₂ equivalents

Cofinancing

In the financial sphere, the joint financing of an investment or project by at least two lending institutions

CSH

Corporate Sustainability Handprint^®

D

Digital literacy

Digital knowledge and skills. The Digital Literacy Action Plan is one of GIZ’s annual objectives at corporate level. It is scheduled to run up to the end of 2022 and includes a range of measures designed to help staff develop the required skills in this area.

E

EMAS

Eco-Management and Audit Scheme

EU

European Union

European Federation of Financial Analysts’ Societies (EFFAS)

A pan-European grouping of national associations of financial analysts

F

Field staff

GIZ staff who are seconded to development cooperation projects and GIZ offices in partner countries. Their employment contracts are drawn up and signed in Germany.

Field structure

GIZ locations outside Germany (excluding the Brussels Representation)

G

German Council for Sustainable Development

German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE) was first convened by the German Government in April 2001. The Council consists of 15 public figures. It is tasked with generating contributions to the German Sustainable Development Strategy, specifying concrete fields of action and projects and making sustainability a public issue of vital importance.

German Sustainability Action Days

Launched in 2012 by the German Council for Sustainable Development, this initiative aims to highlight examples of outstanding commitment, raise public awareness and inspire people to act sustainably.

Germany-based staff

GIZ staff who work at any of the company’s sites in Germany

GHG

Greenhouse gas (emissions)

H

Human resources (HR) hubs

Two human resources (HR) hubs were set up in 2020. They advise GIZ offices in 33 English-speaking countries on personnel issues affecting national staff. The hub teams consist of experts from GIZ’s HR Department in Germany and from the GIZ country offices in the partner countries.

I

ILO

International Labour Organization

Integrated experts

German and EU experts recruited by the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) for assignments with local employers in developing countries and emerging economies. Integrated experts have an employment contract with their local employer and are therefore not GIZ employees.

Intranet

GIZ’s internal information and communication platform

ISO 14001

Environmental management standard

L

Legionella regulation

The drinking water regulation sets out water quality standards and prescribes drinking water tests for numerous installations. Legionella is one of the parameters that must be tested in certain cases.

LGBTI

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex

N

NAP

National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights

The German Government adopted the National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights (NAP) at a cabinet meeting at the end of 2016. In this plan, for the first time, the German Government provides a fixed framework setting out German companies’ responsibility to respect human rights and also expresses its clear expectation that companies adhere to their human rights obligations and respect human rights along supply and value chains. The aim of the Action Plan is to implement the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights that were adopted unanimously by the United Nations in 2011.

National staff

National staff working in development cooperation projects and at GIZ offices. Their main place of residence is in the partner country, where they are recruited and given a contract.

O

Onboarding

The induction and integration of new members of the workforce

P

Project staff

GIZ staff working in a project and based in Germany or another country. They may be Germany-based staff, field staff or national staff.

S

Single point of contact

A central (in other words, the only possible) point of contact within an organisation for a particular topic, problem or a defined activity.

STEP procedure

A component of GIZ’s staff and career development programme. Its purpose is to identify employees with leadership potential and to recruit staff for management roles.

Sustainability Office

The Sustainability Office is responsible for all aspects of corporate sustainability, ranging from human rights to environmental and climate management.

U

UN

United Nations

A

AIZ

B

BMZ