“The
pandemic has fundamentally changed our lives and has unsparingly revealed the
weaknesses in our social, economic and ecological systems. To generate value responsibly,
we need to create a sustainable future and harmonize the interests of people
with the preservation of our planet. Decarbonization is an important milestone as
we move toward this goal,” said Roland Busch, Deputy CEO of Siemens AG. “Right
now, we have a huge opportunity to create a better world. We’re helping our
customers reshape key areas within the backbone of our economies to make the lives
of billions of people a little bit better every day,” he added.
To embed the
topic of sustainability even more solidly within the company, environmental, social
and governance (ESG) criteria have also been introduced into the compensation
system for the Managing Board. This Siemens-internal ESG/Sustainability index features
three equally weighted key performance indicators (KPIs). For the company’s 2020
Stock Awards tranche, these KPIs are: reduction of CO2 emissions
(environmental), learning hours per employee (social), and Net Promoter Score for
measuring customer satisfaction (governance). In a form similar to the system
used with the Managing Board, the ESG criteria also apply to all senior
managers worldwide who are eligible to receive the company’s Stock Awards.
“Our recently achieved successes prove that sustainability and
profitable business go hand in hand. In this way, we’re creating long-term
value – for our customers, our employees and society as a whole,” said Judith
Wiese, Chief Human Resources Officer of Siemens AG, where she is also a
Managing Board member and responsible,
among other things, for sustainability. “Siemens’ innovative and digital
solutions enable us and our customers to boost energy efficiency, automate
processes and drive decarbonization. Together with our partners, we’re working
hard to realize further potential to make the systems used for industry and
infrastructure even more sustainable and more environmentally friendly,” she added.
In addition, to take potential environmental and social risks into
account earlier and more comprehensively, an innovative digital advance-warning
system for making sales-related business decisions was introduced on October 1.
The ESG Due Diligence Tool was developed in cooperation with external experts –
including human rights experts – and can be employed in all sales units at
Siemens. The tool covers the identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring
of risks and combines internal information with external data.
For years
now, Siemens’ sustainability commitment has also been garnering outstanding
external recognition. In the well-known global Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the
company again captured top ratings with the maximum number of points in numerous
areas, including innovation, the environment – more specifically operational
eco-efficiency and product stewardship – and the newly created cybersecurity
category.
Siemens
also received a rating of “AAA” for the fifth time in a row in the extensive MSCI ESG
Ratings. MSCI is the world’s largest provider of environmental, social and governance
(ESG) indices.