Who we are | Integrated Company Report GIZ

As a worldwide service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education, GIZ works with partners to deliver effective solutions that offer people better prospects and sustainably improve their living conditions. A public-benefit federal enterprise, GIZ supports the German Government and many other public and private sector commissioning parties and clients in achieving their objectives in the field of international cooperation. GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment, energy and the environment, and peace and security.

Photo: board with the inscription giz in front of several large, glassed-in buildings. — © GIZ

Photo: Four people sitting or standing in front of an opened laptop. In the background a pin board with rectangular and round information cards. — © GIZ / Markus Matzel

Our vision:

We work to shape a future worth living around the world.

Below you will find information about the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) sustainability standards:

GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021

GRI			UNGC	SDG	DNK
2-1-a	Legal name	Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
2-1-b	Nature of ownership and legal form	Shareholder Legal information
2-1-c	Location of headquarters	Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 32 + 36 53113 Bonn Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg 1–5 65760 Eschborn Germany
2-1-d	Location of operations	GIZ has two registered offices in Germany, one in Bonn and one in Eschborn. The company also operates at nine other locations in Germany and in over 120 countries around the globe. Worldwide
2-9	Governance structure and composition	The Supervisory Board has put the following committees in place: Audit Committee, Standing Committee, Urgent Matters Committee. Composition of the Supervisory Board: Executive/non-executive members, their positions/responsibilities and skills: Supervisory Board (giz.de) Stakeholders: The representatives of the Shareholder currently comprise four members of the Budget Committee of the German Federal Parliament, five representatives of the German Government (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Foreign Office, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection) as well as one representative of the Deutsche Stiftung für internationale Entwicklung (DSE) from the Bavarian State Chancellery. Independence: The rules of procedure of the Supervisory Board stipulate that members are required to act in the best interests of the company. Their decisions may not be swayed by personal interests or by any efforts to exploit business opportunities to which the company is entitled for their own benefit. Conflicts of interest, particularly such that might arise as a result of advising or sitting on an official body of clients, suppliers, lenders or any other business partners, must be disclosed to the Supervisory Board. Term of office: Generally, the members of the Supervisory Board are appointed for the period ending with the conclusion of the Shareholder’s meeting that decides on the granting of formal approval of activities for the fourth financial year after the beginning of the term of office. The financial year in which the term of office begins is not included. The Supervisory Board has achieved gender parity. No information on social groups is recorded with respect to the Supervisory Board.	7, 8, 9	1–17	3, 5
2-10	Nomination and selection of the highest governance body	The GIZ Supervisory Board consists of 10 Shareholder representatives and 10 workforce representatives (thus a total of 20 members). The members of the Supervisory Board representing the Shareholder are appointed and dismissed by the Shareholder. The workforce representatives are elected by GIZ staff in line with the provisions of the German Co-determination Act (Mitbestimmungsgesetz). The most recent election was held in August 2022. The 10 workforce representatives consist of three trade union representatives, one executive manager and six employees.		16	5
2-12	Role of the highest governance body in overseeing the management of impacts	Values, strategies and objectives are set by the Management Board, the Management Committee, the Strategy Committee and the Sustainability Board. Strategic leadership is not the role of the Supervisory Board.		16	5
2-13	Delegation of responsibility for managing impacts	The foundation for the decentralised implementation of our Sustainability Programme is a well-functioning governance structure to steer the process. This structure consists of the Sustainability Office, the Sustainability Board and the Director Corporate Sustainability. Together, they continue to hone GIZ’s sustainability management. The staff of the Sustainability Office also advise and support the organisational units and the field structure on sustainability matters and ensure that knowledge is shared within GIZ. The overarching responsibility for sustainability is vested in the Chair of the Management Board, who also chairs the Sustainability Board comprising the directors and directors general of various units and departments. This underscores the paramount importance that GIZ attaches to sustainability management.	1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9	7, 12, 13, 15, 16	1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 17
2-15	Conflicts of interest	The rules of procedure of the Supervisory Board stipulate that members are required to act in the best interests of the company. Their decisions may not be swayed by personal interests or by any efforts to exploit business opportunities to which the company is entitled for their own benefit. Conflicts of interest, particularly such that might arise as a result of advising or sitting on an official body of clients, suppliers, lenders or any other business partners, must be disclosed to the Supervisory Board. Should a Supervisory Board member declare a conflict of interests, a discussion of how to address this issue should be held without delay and a decision taken on how to proceed. In the spirit of the German Government’s Public Corporate Governance Code (PCGK), GIZ ensures that members can meet their responsibilities as part of the Supervisory Board. Accordingly, members are not supposed to hold more than three posts simultaneously in supervisory bodies.		16	5
2-16	Communication of critical concerns	Where critical concerns arise within the sphere of responsibility of the Supervisory Board, these concerns are addressed in the form of regular or special reports or through business transactions subject to approval.	10	16	5, 20
2-17	Collective knowledge of the highest governance body	Under the provisions of the German Government’s Public Corporate Governance Code (PCGK), GIZ is required to issue a non-financial declaration and submit it to the Supervisory Board for scrutiny. In 2022, this took the form of the Declaration of Conformity with the German Sustainability Code, including the non-financial declaration. Reports are published once a year.		16, 17	9, 14
2-18	Evaluation of the performance of the highest governance body	The performance of the Supervisory Board is not evaluated by any third party.		16	5

Additional information about the GRI, the German Sustainability Code and the Global Compact can be found here.

Learn more about our business model
here.

Get to know us better:
Our organisation chart
Our official bodies

Below you will find information about the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) sustainability standards:

GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021

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