Sustainability Report 2019 of ec4u expert consulting ag
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Sustainability Report 2019 of ec4u expert consulting ag
© ec4u expert consulting ag
Foreword
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Companies have a responsibility, not only to their customers, but also to partners, service providers,
employees and the society in which they operate. Guidelines and legislation ensure that certain
standards of this responsibility are met. However, we at ec4u feel that Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) is not just a duty, but a trait of our company that we have internalized as part of our corporate philosophy.
We therefore contribute with a combination of legal, voluntary and self-developed standards, specifications and
measures, which we would like to present in the following report. We have been publishing our sustainability report
in accordance with the GRI and UNGC standards since 2017.
In 2019, we were able to launch new initiatives and strengthen and elaborate on already established ones. In our
now annual fundraising campaign "Moments of Happiness", a total of € 2,500 was donated by the ec4u board at
Christmas 2019 and distributed to local associations and organizations at our various locations to support children
and families in need.
In addition to our Sustainability Weeks, which offer tips and advice twice a year on how to live a more environmen-
tally friendly life in the office and at home, we have been able to implement various measures at our locations to
reduce consumption in the offices. For example, all water dispensers are now filled with tap water and the majority
of our water bottles are made of recyclable plastic.
Our team is always motivated to find new solutions and ways to save resources and avoid waste. We are constantly
working on alternatives, for example, to reduce paper consumption or to switch to recyclable materials. It is always
striking how far even small changes can go when they are implemented throughout the entire company. You can
read about current successes and considerations for the future in this report.
In 2019, we were once again awarded Gold in the Eco Vadis CSR rating. For the second time, we were able to prove
ourselves in the top 1% of all evaluated companies and again improved our score by several points compared to
the previous year.
We are also proud of the fact that we've been awarded the title "Top Employer - Germany's most family-friendly
companies" by kununu and the media brand freundin for several years in a row. It shows that we can maintain the
quality we strive for in our dealings with our employees over the long term.
In 2019, we have increased the use of virtual measures for the further training of our employees as well as raising
awareness. In order to comply with corruption prevention, all new employees must participate in an online course
on the topic. Due to the flexibility of the online format, we were able to achieve 100% participation in 2019 and will
continue to uphold this standard in the future.
However, we also want to strengthen personal development through virtual means in order to offer employees the
same opportunities at all locations. In 2019, we provided a learning platform that offers a wide range of courses
(including language courses) and thus enables self-motivated, individual learning.
We want to continue to follow the specified standards of the UN Global Compact and set new standards to intro-
duce and comply with ecological guidelines and standards for our company. We also call on service providers and
partners to participate. We therefore require our key suppliers and business partners to sign the LGPE and comply
with its contents.
Sustainability Report 2019 1
© ec4u expert consulting ag For 2020, we are already planning to expand or relaunch measures in many different areas and are always listening to feedback from our employees. That is why we have decided, contrary to our initial assessment, to also use hybrid vehicles for company use in the future. With their economical consumption and top values in the area of CO2 emis- sions, they are a good alternative for journeys by car, which sometimes still are necessary for our business. We currently have three hybrid vehicles and two electric vehicles in our fleet. In addition, we found many areas in 2019, where we lack the necessary data and information to analyze the con- sumption of resources. For 2020, we therefore plan to work on optimizing the evaluations and information gathering in order to identify more areas where we can and want to make changes. 2019 will serve as a baseline year of some of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emission sources to establish the gross volume. This will then be used to track pro- gress towards a GHG target. The digital transformation is at the core of our business model, but it also influences how we interact with each other and the way we move, communicate and interact with our environment. As a digital transformation consul- tancy, we have been able to apply the benefits of virtual processes in collaboration, but also in resource conservation. Virtual meetings replace travel, digital documents save energy and paper. We also want to pass on this knowledge to our customers, partners and employees and accompany them on their way to becoming digital champions. However, we furthermore want to help society and the environment with our professional and social strengths. I am therefore proud that my colleagues on the Executive Board and all employees are so committed, show a wealth of ideas and are motivated to con- tribute. David D. Laux Chairman of the Board ec4u expert consulting ag Sustainability Report 2019 2
© ec4u expert consulting ag Current topics Fundraiser - ec4u Christmas Campaign 2019 After a very successful first Christmas campaign in 2018, ec4u has come up with a similar campaign for 2019 to bring joy to children and young people from socially disadvantaged families. This year's campaign kept the motto "Let's give moments of happiness". The ec4u board team provided donations totaling € 2,500, which were divided into € 500 each for the locations in Karlsruhe, Munich, Böblingen, Eisenstadt and Zurich. The local employees were able to decide together which institution or organization that supports socially disadvantaged children and/or young people should be supported with the donation. The institution or organization our employees have chosen in each case is shown below. We hope that some families were able to enjoy a better Christmas in 2019 thanks to our support. For next year, we are planning a similar campaign to bring a smile to the faces of more children and families. Sustainability Report 2019 3
© ec4u expert consulting ag Sustainability Weeks The understanding of sustainable living has long since arrived in the lives of many people, but there is often a lack of knowledge, practice or even simple ideas on how to be actively sustainable. Sustainability is especially effective in companies when all employees join in and actively support it. Since 2018, we have established annual sustaina- bility weeks. During these weeks, we inform colleagues about currently relevant ecological, societal and social concerns and invite them to participate. We have continued this format of providing information and active partic- ipation in 2019. Zero Waste - Life without waste In spring 2019, we launched a sustainability week with cross-site activities on the topics of environment and con- sumption. We were inspired by Beá Johnson, the French inventor and pioneer of the Zero Waste movement. Zero Waste fights for the three goals of resource conservation, environmental protection and health. This goal achieve- ment is equally close to ec4u's heart, which is why we dedicated our internal sustainability week to this motto. With the aim of informing as many employees as possible and encouraging them to be more sustainable in their lives, we have established five motto days. For one week, information and actions around sustainable consumption were provided. Since the environmental impact of consumption results from a multitude of individual decisions, we developed a "step-by-step-plan" with respective measures. Day by day, we showed our employees how they can actively choose environmentally con- scious consumption and motivated them to get active. The third day of the sustainability week, for example, dealt with the topic of planning, because as everyone knows, the best waste is not created in the first place - and waste avoidance must be planned. Our ec4u drinking bottle travelled to our locations to show the easiest way to reduce packaging waste. On the fourth day, some of our colleagues became active against environmental pollution. As part of an internal "ec4u goes plogging" campaign during lunch break, ec4u colleagues ventured outside and picked litter off of the green spaces around our offices. The participating employees were rewarded for their commitment with a small give-away in the form of sustainable chewing gum. In addition, at the end of the sustainability week, we provided interested employees with a recyclable fruit and vegetable net that makes practical and environmentally conscious shopping easier. Sustainability Report 2019 4
© ec4u expert consulting ag Outlook Sustainability Week 2020 in cooperation with MGG In May 2019, we received a request from our cooperation school Markgrafen Gymnasium Karlsruhe-Durlach to accompany a student project, a so-called seminar course, as a client for the school year 2019/2020. The seminar course is an application project that replaces an oral "Abitur" examination as a special learning achievement. Over the course of the eleventh school year, a group of approx. three to five students work on a project together with a client from the private sector, which is then carried out, documented and presented. As the client, ec4u has decided to conduct the seminar course on the topic of "ec4u and sustainability". The objec- tive for the group of students is to ascertain the status quo of ec4u in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and to compare this with other technology companies in Karlsruhe in order to acquire basic knowledge on the topics of general corporate responsibility and sustainability in the context of CSR. The central point of the sem- inar course is to promote employee awareness of sustainability by developing concrete measures in the form of the Sustainability Week 2020. At the beginning of the school year, a group of pupils met in September 2019 for a first kick-off meeting. We will report on the collection of ideas and the implementation of the sustainability week in spring 2020 in the coming reporting year. Sustainability Report 2019 5
© ec4u expert consulting ag
Providing information to strengthen sustainable action
In order to raise awareness among our employees, we provide information on sustainable topics at regular inter-
vals and thus encourage reflection. In the reporting year 2019, we addressed the following topics:
Mobile Banking & Sustainability
World Earth Day "SOS - Save our species"
Fashion from plastic / sustainable consumption
Earth Overshoot Day under the motto #movethedate
Microplastics
We also like to inform our colleagues about local projects so that they can participate in
person if they want. For example, in the summer of 2019 we reported on the "RefillKA"
initiative, which is working to reduce plastic waste with the participation of around 40
shops and restaurants in Karlsruhe. Instead of buying water in plastic bottles, you can
have your tap water filled for free in many places. This not only saves resources by avoid-
ing plastic waste, but also saves money.
Source: https://refill-
deutschland.de/karlsruhe/
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
At the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, the participating states adopted a resolution entitled "Transforming
our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development". It is valid for all states of the world. The Agenda primarily
refers to the level of nation states, but the role of non-state actors from business, science and civil society in
achieving the goals is emphasized. Part of this agenda are the 17 global sustainable development goals, the so-
called Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Numerous goals and sub-goals are directly addressed to companies. The SDG are a call to all companies to con-
tribute to more sustainable development through their business practices and encourage companies to reduce
their negative impact and strengthen their active contribution to sustainable development.
In 2017, ec4u identified five SDG that are primarily within its sphere of action. In the past reporting year, the focus
was adjusted and a stronger strategy integration will take place for the coming reporting year. The respective goals
and measures will then be reported on.
Sustainability Report 2019 6
© ec4u expert consulting ag Awards For the fourth time in a row, kununu and the media In addition to the size of the company, the main se- brand freundin have named us "Top Employer - Ger- lection criteria were the kununu ratings. ec4u is thus many's most family-friendly companies" in 2019. one of the 1,000 best employers from a total of 22 in- The criteria for the award are, in particular, family- dustries. friendliness, work-life balance and benefits that sup- port employees and their families and create flexibility in everyday working life. Other kununu awards in 2019 that ec4u received were "Open Company", for authentic companies, "Top Company", for companies that have received partic- ularly good ratings, including from former employees, and "Top Employer in the SME sector", in cooperation with FOCUS-BUSINESS. For this award, the best employers were chosen from circa 13,000 companies. Sustainability Report 2019 7
© ec4u expert consulting ag
GRI 102-3
General Reporting Initiative - GRI Headquarters location
Standards The organization’s head office is located in Germany,
Karlsruhe, Zur Giesserei 19-27B. Main business loca-
tions are locations where more than ten employees
GRI 102 | General disclosures work and are regularly on site. In addition to Karls-
ruhe, these include the locations in Munich,
Böblingen (Stuttgart) and Eisenstadt in Austria. Zur-
ich in Switzerland is also a very important location for
Organizational profile us, but we do not currently include it among the main
business locations in the sustainability report ac-
cording to GRI, as the criterion of regular on-site
presence is not fulfilled here. This definition applies
GRI 102-1
to all subsequent content.
Name of the organization
ec4u expert consulting ag
GRI 102-4
Locations
GRI 102-2
In addition to the main business locations, we have
Activities, brands, products and services
further locations in Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria
Our vision: You are the digital champion of your cus-
and Spain. In total, we are represented at twelve
tomers.
locations in five European countries.
As a leading consulting firm in the field of customer
Headquarters in Karlsruhe
management, we support our clients in the digital
ec4u expert consulting ag
transformation of all business-critical processes in
Zur Giesserei 19-27B
the areas of marketing, sales and service throughout
D-76227 Karlsruhe
the entire life cycle (customer journey). In doing so,
we take the entire project lifecycle into account and
Office in Böblingen
offer consulting, implementation and support from
ec4u data experts gmbh
strategy and technical consulting to technological
Konrad-Zuse-Str. 10
implementation, support, service center and further
D-71034 Böblingen
development.
In addition, we use customer analytics and business Office in Munich
intelligence methods and offer additional services ec4u marketing experts ag
such as the development of customer lifecycle man- Willy-Brandt-Allee 2
agement, the provision of demand centers or active D-81829 Munich
social media monitoring.
Office in Frankfurt
The aim of our offerings is to provide our customers ec4u expert consulting ag
with modern, digital, efficient customer management Reuterweg 49
through D-60323 Frankfurt am Main
a clear, customer-focused strategy,
Office in Düsseldorf
IT-supported business processes,
ec4u expert consulting ag
transparent KPI-based monitoring and control,
Monschauer Str. 1
and, last but not least, strength-oriented staff
D-40549 Düsseldorf
development and leadership.
Sustainability Report 2019 8
© ec4u expert consulting ag
Berlin office Our main project languages are German and English,
ec4u expert consulting ag but due to the multicultural diversity in our company,
Leipziger Platz 15 other languages are also quite common in everyday
D-10117 Berlin life.
Office in Hamburg (until 31.05.2019) Besides our headquarters in Karlsruhe, Germany, we
ec4u expert consulting ag have additional offices in Böblingen, Munich, Berlin,
Dike road 17 Frankfurt am Main, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and outside
D-20457 Hamburg Germany in Switzerland (with a head office in
Schindellegi), Austria, Bulgaria and Spain.
Office in Bulgaria / Sofia Our core industries are financial, telecommunica-
Mladost 4, Business park tion, life science and high-tech companies as well as
Building 1 B energy providers. However, we also have various
B-1766 Sofia projects in other industries and serve clients in both
the B2B and B2C segments.
Headquarters in Switzerland
ec4u expert consulting (switzerland) ag
Chaltenbodenstrasse 16 GRI 102-7
CH-8834 Schindellegi Scale of the organization
At the end of 2019, the ec4u Group had a total of 335
Zurich office employees at twelve locations. The ec4u Group gen-
ec4u expert consulting (switzerland) ag erated a total of € 39.6 million in revenue and carried
Nordstrasse 9 out 206 projects. Due to the fact that ec4u does not
CH-8006 Zurich prepare consolidated annual financial statements,
the information only refers to the parent company
Headquarters in Austria ec4u expert consulting ag. Borrowed capital in the
ec4u marketing experts (austria) gmbh reporting year amounted to € 5,373,000, equity to €
Main Street 43 - 45 7,990,000, and total assets to € 13,363,000.
A-7000 Eisenstadt
GRI 102-8
Office in Spain / Barcelona Information on employees and other
ec4u expert consulting (españa) s.l.u employees
World Trade Center ec4u has a total of 335 employees as of the reporting
Edificio Sur - 2a Planta Muelle de Barcelona date of December 31, 2019. The majority of our em-
E-08093 Barcelona ployees are in permanent employment. The following
are employed by us on a temporary basis
GRI 102-5 Young talents, including dual students, trainees, in-
Ownership and legal form terns, thesis writers and working students.
ec4u expert consulting ag is an unlisted employee thesis writers and student trainees. The total number
stock corporation under German law. The majority of of our employees by employment contract and gen-
shares are held by the founders of the company and der breaks down as follows:
the management.
Gender Female Male
The remaining shares are held in free float by man-
agement and employees. permanent 72 183
limited 20 37
GRI 102-6
Markets served permanent part-time 17 6
Our focus is on projects in the DACH region (Ger-
many, Switzerland and Austria), but within the scope
of our project activities we are active worldwide to-
gether with our clients.
Sustainability Report 2019 9© ec4u expert consulting ag
We employ staff in the consulting area as well as in
the area of corporate services (company administra- Gender Female Male limited
tion). The difference in the total number of permanent
employees (excluding fixed-term contracts) by type Böblingen 8 23 16
of employment below is due to the business purpose
of ec4u. Eisenstadt 12 15 0
Karlsruhe 58 129 26
Gender Female Male
Munich 19 22 7
Consulting 55 175
Switzerland 2 21 0
Corporate Services 34 14
Other 10 16 4
ec4u's business activities are increasingly carried
out by employees bound by instructions.
GRI 102-9
Gender Female Male
Supply chain
Management 5 27 As a service provider, ec4u's supply chain is rela-
tively short compared to a manufacturing business.
Employees (bound by In total, depending on the type of service provision,
104 199
instructions) approximately two to five parties are involved.
The following percentages of regional fixed-term Typically, the supply chain is limited to the allocation
of ec4u staff to deliver services for a client project.
contracts represent object-limited contracts rather
Service delivery typically involves the provision of
than time-limited contracts. Permanent employment
knowledge and expertise, e.g., technical or technol-
is the rule after completion of training or studies. The
ogy consulting.
fixed-term employment usually results from the train-
ing context, i.e., dual studies, training, internship,
thesis or working student.
Custo-
mer
Sustainability Report 2019 10© ec4u expert consulting ag
The ec4u service portfolio serves as an overview of the available consulting fields.
Should it happen that no internal capacities are available, a pool of highly qualified freelancers or partner compa-
nies can be used. In these cases, the supply chain looks like this:
Freelancer Agent/Agency Customer or Partner- Customer
Employees of the company
Partner
Within the scope of technology consulting, software is adapted and integrated on behalf of the customer. However,
the software is not purchased and charged for. Only the customization of the software is carried out. The supply
chain then looks as follows:
Technology Customer Customer
owner
Likewise, ec4u offers support in downstream processes, such as maintenance and execution of campaigns in cor-
responding demand centers.
Sustainability Report 2019 11© ec4u expert consulting ag
The type of suppliers used thus results from the sup- As a consulting firm for customer relationship man-
ply chains described which are typically: agement, ec4u has integrated the precautionary
principle as a risk management measure for antici-
ec4u's own employees patory and early hazard prevention.
Freelancers
Direct known persons
Indirect agencies/partner companies GRI 102-12
Employees of partner companies External initiatives
Technology owner or customer ec4u joined the UN Global Compact initiative in July
2015 and has committed to integrating its ten princi-
The total number of suppliers, especially freelancers, ples into our corporate strategy and culture as well
used by the organization is approximately 115. as into our day-to-day business. We pursue this com-
mitment at all our locations in Germany, Switzerland
The geographical location of our freelancers is
and Austria and the principles are supported by all
spread over the countries Germany, Switzerland,
our employees.
Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland and Greece. The
estimated monetary value of payments made to free-
lancers (excluding other suppliers) is approximately GRI 102-13
7.1 million euros, rounded. Membership in associations
ec4u is not active in any associations, neither na-
Overall, the sector-specific supply chain is very la- tional nor international at the organizational level. It
bor-intensive, which is due to the service industry. doesn't occupy a management level, it does not par-
The service is developed by ec4u employees and the ticipate in any working groups, it does not pay out
work performance is sold to the customers. This in- significant financial resources beyond the usual
cludes in particular knowledge, expertise and skills membership fees and does not consider these mem-
at project and process level. berships to be strategic.
GRI 102-10
Significant changes in the organization and its sup-
ply chain Strategy
There were no significant changes in structure
(changes in location including opening and closing
of facilities), ownership (changes in share capital GRI 102-14
structure and other asset formation) or supply chain Statement/byword by the Chairman of the Board of
(changes in location of suppliers, structure/relation- Directors
ships) in the organization in 2019. See foreword on page 1.
GRI 102-11
Precautionary principle and precautionary
measures
The precautionary principle was introduced by Prin-
ciple 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development at the United Nations Conference in
1992. It states that a lack of complete scientific cer-
tainty with regard to imminent serious or lasting
damage must not be a reason for postponing cost-
effective measures to prevent environmental degra-
dation, among other things. The precautionary
principle is a guiding principle at EU and German
level and is a central component here, since it is al-
ready contained in the Treaty establishing the
European Community. The business community is
thus also assigned a key role.
Sustainability Report 2019 12© ec4u expert consulting ag
Ethics and integrity E | Ethics
Ethical principles form the basis of our actions. We
GRI 102-16 are confronted with ethical questions every day,
ec4u values, guidelines, standards and norms of consciously or unconsciously. This also includes
conduct clarifying grievances and openly addressing miscon-
The Code of Conduct serves as a binding code of duct. Our corporate guidelines provide orientation
conduct for our employees, business partners and for decisions and daily actions.
suppliers to orient themselves and develop a holistic
awareness. It accompanies us in our daily activities. C | Compliance
Compliance - the observance of laws and guidelines
The Code of Conduct was published internally and in the company, but also of voluntary codes - encom-
externally for the first time in 2014. It will be reviewed passes all activities in the company that we must
annually, and any changes will be made if necessary. consider together. This includes, among other things,
The Code of Conduct is valid for ec4u expert consult- ensuring data protection, truthful statements in mar-
ing ag as well as for all companies associated with keting and the prevention of corruption.
it. It is carried by the board of directors down to the
individual employees. It is handed out with further in- 4 | Social
formation for a successful start in the company every
time an employee is onboarded or joins the company. Our employees are a central component of our suc-
cess. For this reason, this component deals with
At present, we do not consider explicit training and
employee promotion, anti-discrimination, health &
written signatures to be necessary, but trust in the
safety, work-life balance and compliance with social
cooperation of all participants.
standards, among others.
In addition to the substantive standards of conduct,
the Code of Conduct regulates the scope of applica- U | Environment
tion, compliance, how to deal with violations and
contact persons. If a party becomes aware of a pos- In addition to the three building blocks already men-
sible violation of our Code of Conduct, we encourage tioned, the Code of Conduct concludes with an
them to report it. As a rule, this is done via the direct awareness of the environmental resources we use
superior. For topic-specific questions or sugges- on a daily basis. We take our responsibility for the
tions, we have appointed contact persons who deal environment very seriously and have therefore de-
with concerns confidentially. fined measures and goals.
The Code of Conduct is made up of four components:
1) Ethics; 2) Compliance; 3) Social and 4) Environmen-
tal.
Sustainability Report 2019 13© ec4u expert consulting ag Governance GRI 102-18 Management structure The management structure of ec4u, including the committees of the highest governance body, is shown below. Supervisory Board Elmar Buschlinger Michael Diemer Tönnies-Hilmar von Donop Chairman of the Supervisory Supervisory Board Supervisory Board Board Michael Diemer has been a member Tönnies-Hilmar von Donop has been Elmar Buschlinger has been a mem- of the supervisory board of ec4u ex- a member of the Supervisory Board ber of the Supervisory Board of ec4u pert consulting ag since 2015. of ec4u expert consulting ag since expert consulting ag since 2007 and 2015. Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2009. Board of Directors David D. Laux Steffen Deufel Jens Rehwinkel CEO CPO CFO/CHRO David D. Laux is Steffen Deufel is co-founder and Jens Rehwinkel is co-founder and Chairman of the Board of ec4u ex- board member of ec4u expert con- board member of ec4u expert con- pert consulting ag. He is sulting ag. As Chief Product sulting ag. As Chief Financial responsible for the overall strategy Officer, he is responsible for ec4u's Officer, he is responsible for the ar- and further development of ec4u as portfolio and its further develop- eas of Finance and Controlling as well as the areas of Corporate ment. well as Human Resources & Or- Communications, Legal & Govern- ganization. ance and Corporate Finance. Sustainability Report 2019 14
© ec4u expert consulting ag
Mario A. Pufahl Dr Peer Stehling
CSO COO
Mario A. Pufahl is a board member Dr Peer Stehling was a member of
of ec4u expert consulting ag and, the Management Board of ec4u ex-
as Chief Sales Officer, is responsi- pert consulting ag until the end of
ble for Sales and Business 2019 and, as Chief Operating Of-
Development. ficer, was responsible for ec4u's
service provision.
GRI 102-32
Decision-making bodies on economic, environmental and social issues
Within the company, we have formed a CSR Circle with corresponding responsibilities (roles). Each role is taken
on by a specialist expert and is dealt with in terms of content.
The role of the highest governance body in sustainability reporting
The sustainability report and all associated topics are processed across all departments within ec4u. For this pur-
pose, different roles have been defined according to the technical expertise, which ensures that all essential
aspects are taken into account. The final approval of the sustainability report is given by the Executive Board.
Sustainability Report 2019 15© ec4u expert consulting ag
Stakeholder engagement With its help, we were able to make an assessment
of the importance of the report's content.
GRI 102-40 In addition to the activities related to the sustainabil-
Listing of stakeholder groups ity report, customer satisfaction surveys are carried
In 2017, ec4u recorded and differentiated internal out in the stakeholder group "customers". Every ec4u
and external stakeholder groups as relevant stake- customer is asked once a year about their satisfac-
holders. The internal stakeholders are employees tion with the service and advice provided by ec4u
and shareholders as well as the Executive Board and staff, provided it is reasonable within the course of
Supervisory Board. The external stakeholder groups the project. After the completion of a project at the
include technology and consulting partners, custom- latest, the survey is sent to the clients for their re-
ers, suppliers and NGOs. In the current reporting sponse.
year, these stakeholder groups continue to be con-
sidered as the relevant stakeholders of ec4u. ec4u is also in regular dialogue with its employees,
who, along with customers, are one of ec4u's rele-
vant stakeholder groups. An annual employee survey
GRI 102-41 is carried out on the areas of working atmos-
Collective agreements phere/environment and own tasks/responsibilities,
In this reporting year, as is the rule in the industry, leadership at ec4u and ec4u corporate guidelines,
ec4u does not belong to any collective agreement employee development and ec4u as an employer.
and is therefore not subject to any regulated obliga- The results are made available to the employees and
tion to fulfil requirements. The percentage of the total appropriate measures for optimization are derived
workforce covered by collective agreements is and implemented.
therefore 0%.
In the course of strengthening the dialogue with
stakeholders, it was defined that all stakeholders
GRI 102-42
identified as relevant should be informed about pro-
Identifying and selecting stakeholders
gress in the context of the sustainability report at
In the course of ec4u's first sustainability report 2017,
two-year intervals.
the corporate environment was analyzed in connec-
tion with ec4u's business activities to determine The goal formulated in 2018 of sending out the sus-
relevant stakeholder groups. The selection within a tainability report by post for the first time was
stakeholder group was made using an ABC analysis. successfully implemented in the reporting year. In
According to this, the individual stakeholder groups accordance with our two-year interval, we will again
were divided into A, B and C classes. Depending on inform our stakeholders about goals, measures and
the stakeholder group, different classifying charac- progress in the context of our sustainable business
teristics were defined. For external stakeholders, activities in the reporting year 2020.
with the exception of NGOs, the characteristic of
turnover was defined for classification. No delimita-
GRI 102-44
tion was made for internal stakeholders. All
Key topics and concerns
employees are given the opportunity to actively par-
ec4u conducts a company-wide employee survey
ticipate.
once a year on an anonymous basis. The results and
the open dialogue with employees lead to topics
GRI 102-43
where our employees would like to see a change. We
Approach to stakeholder engagement
are constantly working on these.
Stakeholder engagement is an important component
of the GRI reporting principles, including the princi- From the 2018 staff survey, three major areas were
ple of materiality. A stakeholder analysis was identified where our staff would like to see optimiza-
therefore carried out in the 2017 reporting year, tion. These were broken down into various
which was incorporated into a materiality analysis. measures, which were continuously worked on dur-
The identified stakeholders were involved. The ing 2019. The results of our staff survey in 2019 have
stakeholder analysis itself served to identify the in- produced some significant improvements in the ap-
terest groups and for a direct dialogue. proval ratings in these areas.
Sustainability Report 2019 16© ec4u expert consulting ag
For example, our training offer was supplemented by GRI 102-47
an internal online learning management platform, the List of the main contents of the report
content of which is gradually being expanded. In ad- The following topics and concerns related to the GRI
dition, the flow of information within the organization Guidelines were identified as material in the stake-
was expanded. Since the fourth quarter, company- holder survey that was conducted.
wide calls on current topics, figures and develop-
ments have been held on a monthly basis to create 1. Customer data protection
transparency. 2. Education and training
3. Diversity and equal opportunities
With regard to our customers, ec4u regularly con- 4. Fighting corruption
ducts customer surveys to analyze customer 5. Employment
satisfaction and the quality of our own services. The
customer survey serves to consistently improve and The five most important aspects identified will con-
further develop the advisory and service perfor- tinue to be worked on and communicated more
mance. intensively. Specifically, we would first like to exam-
ine where we as a company see opportunities for
action in these aspects and specifically seek dia-
logue.
Reporting Through joint development with stakeholders, the
following material aspects were identified in the 2017
reporting year, which ec4u also considers material
GRI 102-45 this year. In order to review the materiality of the as-
Entities included in the consolidated financial state- pects, ec4u would like to renew the stakeholder
ments survey at five-year intervals and thus identify any
ec4u does not include this sustainability report in the changes.
management report of the annual financial state-
ments and does not currently provide consolidated
annual financial statements due to the size of the Key GRI aspects of ec4u:
company. The report covers ec4u as a whole, includ-
ing all subsidiaries, whereby the reporting Education & Training
characteristics must be taken into account in each Fighting corruption
case. Employment
Customer data protection
Diversity and equal opportunities
GRI 102-46
Anti-competitive behavior
Provisions of the report content and topic delimita-
Employee-employer relationship
tion
Equal treatment
The report content and the identification of material Emissions
sustainability aspects within the ec4u value chain Energy
were defined using a materiality matrix. By compar- Socio-economic compliance
ing the company's expectations with those of the
Occupational safety & health protection
stakeholders, it was possible to identify the material
Procurement practices
report content and to distinguish it from less material
Evaluation of suppliers in terms of labor prac-
information. Topics that were classified as relevant
tices
by ec4u from an economic, ecological and social
Freedom of association
perspective, as well as with regard to their im-
Evaluation of suppliers with regard to ecologi-
portance for the business success, are also
cal aspects
presented as comprehensively as possible in the
Water
2019 Sustainability Report with regard to the GRI re-
Environmental protection
quirements.
Market presence
Wastewater and waste
Sustainability Report 2019 17© ec4u expert consulting ag GRI 102-48 / GRI 102- 49 Reformulation of information / change in reporting This sustainability report was prepared in accord- ance with the GRI guidelines. There are no changes with regard to the reporting period. GRI 102-50 Reporting period The reporting period covers one financial year of ec4u and relates to the calendar year 2019. GRI 102-51 Date of the most recent report The most recent previous report was prepared and published in July 2019. It covers the reporting period 01.01.2018 - 31.12.2018 or the entire calendar year 2018. GRI 102-52 Reporting cycle Reporting takes place in an annual cycle. GRI 102-53 Contact details for questions regarding the sustain- ability report Contact for questions regarding the report or its con- tents: Anja M. Benesch as CSR Officer E-mail: anja.benesch@ec4u.com Phone: +49 (0) 174 1880 536 GRI 102-54 Statements on reporting in accordance with the GRI standards ec4u reports in accordance with current and recog- nized standards of sustainability reporting, both in terms of content and structure. In particular, the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the standard of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) were used. It was prepared in accordance with the Sus- tainability Reporting Standards in the "core" option and also serves as a Communication on Progress (COP), which reports on goals, progress and measures within the framework of the UNGC mem- bership. An external report review for the Sustainability Report was waived. Sustainability Report 2019 18
© ec4u expert consulting ag
GRI 102-55
GRI Content Index
GRI 102 | General disclosures
Organizational profile Page Comment
GRI 102-1
8
Name of the organization
GRI 102-2
8
Activities, brands, products and services
GRI 102-3
8
Headquarters location
GRI 102-4
8
Locations
GRI 102-5
9
Ownership and legal form
GRI 102-6
9
Markets served
GRI 102-7
9
Scale of the organization
GRI 102-8
9
Information on employees and other employees
GRI 102-9
10
Supply Chain
GRI 102-10
12
Significant changes in the organization and its supply chain
GRI 102-11
12
Precautionary principle and precautionary measures
GRI 102-12
12
External initiatives
GRI 102-13
12
Membership in associations
Strategy
GRI 102-14 See foreword of the Sus-
12
Statement/ Byword by the Chairman of the Board of Directors tainability Report
Ethics and integrity
GRI 102-16
13
ec4u values, guidelines, standards and norms of conduct
Governance
GRI 102-18
Management structure 14
Sustainability Report 2019 19© ec4u expert consulting ag
Page Comment
GRI 102-32
15
Decision-making bodies on economic, environmental and social issues
Stakeholder engagement
GRI 102-40
16
Listing of stakeholder groups n
GRI 102-41
16
Collective agreements
GRI 102-42
16
Identifying and selecting stakeholders
GRI 102-43
16
Approach to stakeholder engagement
GRI 102-44
16
Key topics and concerns
Reporting
GRI 102-45
17
Entities included in the consolidated financial statements
GRI 102-46
17
Provisions of the report content and topic delimitation
GRI 102-47
17
List of the main contents of the report
GRI 102-48 / GRI 102- 49
18
Reformulation of information / change in reporting
GRI 102-50
18
Reporting period
GRI 102-51
18
Date of the most recent report
GRI 102-52
18
Reporting cycle
GRI 102-53
18
Contact details for questions regarding the sustainability report
GRI 102-54
18
Statements on reporting in accordance with the GRI standards
GRI 102-55
19
GRI Content Index
GRI 102-56
25
External audit
Sustainability Report 2019 20© ec4u expert consulting ag
Specific data Page Comment
GRI 200 | Economic
GRI 202 | Market presence as
Employer
GRI 103
Management approach 27
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 202-1
Ratio of standard entry level wages by gender to local minimum 27
wage
GRI 202-2
27
Proportion of managers hired from the local community
GRI 204 | Procurement practices
GRI 103
Management approach 27
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 204-1
28
Proportion of spending on local suppliers
GRI 205 | Fight against corruption
GRI 103
Management approach 28
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 205-2
29
Information and training on anti-corruption policies and measures
GRI 205-3
29
Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken
GRI 206 | Anti-competitive behavior
GRI 103
Management approach 29
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 206-1
30
Lawsuits for anti-competitive, cartel and monopoly behavior
GRI 300 | Ecology
GRI 302 | Energy
GRI 103
Management approach 32
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 302-1
32
Energy consumption within the organization
Sustainability Report 2019 21© ec4u expert consulting ag
Page Comment
GRI 302-3
33
Energy intensity
GRI 305 | Emissions
GRI 103
Management approach 34
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 305-1
35
Direct greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1)
GRI 305-3
37
Other indirect (Scope 3) greenhouse gas emissions
GRI 306 | Wastewater and waste
GRI 103
Management approach 41
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 306-3
41
Significant leakage of harmful substances
GRI 306-5
42
Water bodies affected by discharge and/or runoff
GRI 307 | Environmental Compliance
GRI 103
Management approach 45
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 307-1
45
Non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations
GRI 308 | Assessment of suppliers with regard to ecological aspects For details see GRI 204 |
Procurement practices
GRI 308-2
Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain and measures 28
taken
GRI 400 | Social
GRI 401 | Employment
GRI 103
Management approach 47
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 401-1
47
Newly hired employees and employee turnover
GRI 401-2
Benefits provided to full-time employees other than temporary or 48
part-time employees
GRI 401-3
48
Parental leave
Sustainability Report 2019 22© ec4u expert consulting ag
Page Comment
GRI 402 | Employee-employer relationship
GRI 103
Management approach 49
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 402-1
49
Reporting deadlines for operational changes
GRI 403 | Occupational health and safety
GRI 103
Management approach 49
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 403-1
49
Occupational health and safety management system
GRI 403-2
49
Hazard identification, risk assessment and incident investigation
GRI 404 | Education and training
GRI 103
Management approach 52
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 404-1
Average number of hours of education and training per year per em- 52
ployee
GRI 404-2
52
Employee skills enhancement and transition assistance programs
GRI 404-3
Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career 53
development reviews during the reporting period.
GRI 405 | Diversity and equal opportunities
GRI 103
Management approach 53
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 405-1
54
Diversity in governance processes and employees
GRI 406 | Anti-discrimination
GRI 103
Management approach 54
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 406-1
54
Incidents of discrimination and remedial actions taken
Sustainability Report 2019 23© ec4u expert consulting ag
Page Comment
GRI 407 | Freedom of association and Right to collective bargaining
GRI 103
Management approach 54
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 407-1
Operations and suppliers where the right to exercise freedom of as- 54
sociation and collective bargaining may be at risk
GRI 414 | Social assessment of suppliers For details see GRI 204 |
Procurement practices
GRI 414-2
28
Negative social impacts in the supply chain and actions taken
GRI 418 | Customer Privacy
GRI 103
Management approach 55
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 418-1
Substantiated complaints about breaches of customer privacy and 56
loss of customer data
GRI 419 | Compliance
GRI 103
Management approach 56
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
GRI 419-1
Non-compliance with laws and regulations in the social and eco- 56
nomic sphere
Sustainability Report 2019 24© ec4u expert consulting ag GRI 102-56 External audit ec4u does not currently plan of having the sustainability report audited externally. Independently of an external report audit, ec4u has participated in an annual CSR assessment since 2014, which also includes the provision of this sustainability report. We receive feedback on this as well as a corresponding rating. In addition, the report is audited internally by several bodies, see also GRI 102-18 and GRI 102-46. The assessment is divided into 21 criteria across four areas (environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sus- tainable procurement). These are based on international CSR standards, such as the principles of the Global Compact, the internationality of the Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI standard), the ISO 26000 standard and the CERES principles. The results of the assessment help us to reflect on our measures and objectives and - where necessary - to make appropriate adjustments. The most recent assessment took place in November 2019. We achieved 75 out of 100 points and received the "Gold Award" for the fifth time in a row. We are still among the top 1% of companies assessed by EcoVadis. EcoVadis certified us as having Advanced CSR Activity/Performance. The individual potentials for improvement can be found in the following report. Sustainability Report 2019 25
© ec4u expert consulting ag
Specific data
GRI 200 | Economic
Corporate principle
For our customers and partners, we are the guarantor of excellent customer management
through the highest quality and passion. We create a perfect balance of demanding successful
results with efficient and economical project realization at the same time. Regarding both our
service and our procurement practices, our stakeholders can rely on fair and transparent coop-
eration.
Sustainability Report 2019 26© ec4u expert consulting ag
GRI 202 | Market presence as GRI 204 | Procurement practices
Employer
GRI 103 GRI 103
Management approach Management approach
(including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3) (including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
As far as possible, we look for and recruit employees Sustainable procurement is an important part of
locally and also within a regional radius of our vari- ec4u's procurement process. We have set ourselves
ous locations. Due to our main business activity, the goal of continuous development as well as creat-
employees in the consulting sector must be willing to ing and raising awareness.
travel to a certain extent, therefore, a more distant Our principles for avoiding negative impacts and
place of residence is also conceivable. Salaries risks in relation to supplier selection include the fol-
within our company are, as is customary in the indus- lowing guidelines:
try, well above the respective national averages.
Consideration of our Code of Conduct and the
principles laid down therein
GRI 202-1
Compliance with the ten principles of the UN
Ratio of standard entry level wages by gender to lo-
Global Compact
cal minimum wage
Classification of supplier and business partners
In principle, legal provisions on minimum wages are
according to information in a questionnaire
relevant at the individual ec4u locations. We comply
Prevention & reduction of environmental pollu-
with these and pay above the minimum wage, de-
tion and damage
pending on qualifications and irrespective of gender.
Consideration of identifiable consequences of
The work regularly requires at least an apprentice-
climate change and use of potentials for adap-
ship, so we do not have any unskilled workers on the
tation to climate change
job, which is reflected in the pay.
Promoting health protection at the workplace
and occupational safety for employees
GRI 202-2 Attention to negative impacts and risks in the
Proportion of managers hired from the local com- supply chain
munity Supplier locality
No local managers were hired in the 2019 reporting Preference for recycled products
year. Executives generally belong to the manage-
ment; team leaders are not included here. Local in By signing our supplier
this case refers to the respective country of the main and business partner
business location. The largest proportion of manag- declarations (LGPE),
ers are distributed among the main business we want to continu-
locations, which are largely represented in Germany. ously expand, ensure
For this reason, we have decided against a separate and raise their aware-
overall overview of the ACTUAL situation of local ness of human rights, decent work practices,
managers. Previous settings can be found in the Sus- environmental protection and corruption prevention.
tainability Report 2018. Our suppliers and business partners are requested to
observe our principles and to pass them on to those
involved in the supply chain. In accordance with the
mission statement, award decisions should increas-
ingly include criteria of corporate social
responsibility in a supplier evaluation.
Sustainability Report 2019 27© ec4u expert consulting ag
Since the introduction of the LGPE in 2015, a total of GRI 414-2
80 suppliers have been approached and committed Negative social impacts in the supply chain and ac-
to compliance. 84% of these suppliers have recog- tions taken
nized our LGPE. We did not identify any suppliers in our supply chain
who caused any significant and potential negative
On the basis of the evaluation and extended consid- impact. As a result, no remedial measures had to be
erations, supplier management is to be further agreed upon and/or no business relationship had to
professionalized successively in the following years. be terminated.
The future goal should be to continuously oblige all
major suppliers and business partners to comply
with our LGPE and its contents. Another goal is to fur-
ther expand supplier evaluation and sharpen its
focus. Unfortunately, the goal set for 2018 - to expand GRI 205 | Fight against corruption
supplier assessment and sharpen its focus - could
not be achieved in the past reporting year. No further
suppliers could be won over to sign the LPGE. In the GRI 103
course of the introduction of a supplier management Management approach
tool, the procurement practices as well as further ob- (including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
ligations to comply with and sign our supplier and - ec4u has dealt intensively with the prevention of cor-
business partner declarations will be re-evaluated ruption. As corruption offences are violations in the
and adjusted in 2020. sense of the Criminal Code (StGB), we reject any cor-
rupt and illegal behavior. In particular, the
exploitation of a position of power for personal gain
GRI 204-1 in disregard of moral norms and laws is strictly pro-
Proportion of spending on local suppliers hibited throughout ec4u. It is fundamental for us to
ec4u's purchasing is covered by a budget that is prevent corruption as an exchange of advantageous
managed at the organization’s headquarters (Karls- services. Our Compliance Department is always
ruhe office, Zur Gießerei). available for consultation. It also takes over the in-
In its geographic definition of "local", ec4u includes a vestigation and initiates appropriate measures in
surrounding area with a radius of 30 km from the case of violations.
main business location and at least the adjacent In the context of anti-corruptionec4u does not dis-
county. According to this geographic definition, ec4u tribute donations that are related to our business
supports 53 local suppliers and service providers. On activities or that could provide an advantage to ec4u
average, the local suppliers are located within a ra- and/or ec4u employees. The communication of ap-
dius of 9.47 km from the respective main business propriate guidelines is part of the fight against
locations. With the help of local suppliers, ec4u corruption.
mainly carries out operational business activities.
The guidelines are presented during the onboarding
We are currently unable to provide a presentation of of new employees and provide clarification.
the percentage of spending with local suppliers. We
have set ourselves the goal of expanding our supplier As a participant in the UN Global Compact, we ad-
management and paying more attention to sustaina- here to Principle Ten and work towards its
ble procurement in the future. implementation.
GRI 205-1
GRI 308-2 Audit of operations for corruption risks
Negative environmental impacts in the supply chain Feedback from EcoVadis to date has indicated that
and measures taken there is potential for improvement in the area of eth-
We did not identify any suppliers in our supply chain ics, as supporting documentation for corruption and
who caused any significant and potential negative bribery risk analysis as well as for third party anti-
impact. As a result, no remedial measures had to be corruption and bribery audits has not yet been pro-
agreed upon and/or no business relationship had to duced.
be terminated.
Sustainability Report 2019 28© ec4u expert consulting ag
An external audit of the operating sites for corrup- competences and expertise of the purchased free-
tion risks has not yet been carried out. lancers are necessary for ec4u's project success
and we prefer to raise awareness.
Due to the fact that there are no incidents of corrup-
tion in the company's history and that our employees
have also been trained in this regard and receive on- GRI 205-3
going training, we are currently refraining from an Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken
audit. We are not aware of any incidents of corruption. Nei-
ther in our own company, by employees, nor by
business partners. Furthermore, there are no legal
GRI 205-2 disputes pending in this regard. In order to
Information and training on anti-corruption policies strengthen the corruption awareness of employees
and measures and managers, we published a survey in the form of
Following the publication of the Group-wide Anti- a knowledge quiz throughout the entire corporate
Corruption Policy in 2017, we implemented its binding group in Q3/2019. Participants can apply, deepen and
nature as a further measure in 2018. For this purpose, check their knowledge from online training courses
an additional annex was added to the policy to con- on corruption prevention. The aim is also to identify
firm compliance and acknowledgement. We were any gaps in awareness and to preventively close
able to achieve 100% employee participation. them.
In order to further expand the area of corruption pre-
vention, we established a webinar "Corruption
Prevention" as an online training course in the sec-
ond half of 2019, which is mandatory for all GRI 206 | Anti-competitive behavior
employees to complete. At the end of 2019, participa-
tion was 77%. We aim to achieve 100% participation
by the end of 2020. We have also added a "corruption GRI 103
prevention quiz" to our repertoire, which can be Management approach
solved by all employees on our internal learning plat- (including GRI 103-1; 103-2; 103-3)
form. In order for a free and fair market to develop, clear
regulations are needed that prevent distortions of
Moreover, since the training is to be completed
competition and prohibit anti-competitive practices.
online, there is no need for a separate listing of
breakdowns by region. For this reason, ec4u is guided by the legal require-
ments of the law on unfair competition (UWG) and
Since the 2019 financial year, the anti-corruption
against restraints of competition (antitrust law). It is
guideline has been sent as a standard annex to the
important to us to observe and comply with the legal
service contract when new contracts are concluded
regulations in order to prevent distortions of compe-
with contracting business partners. We will continue
tition and to ensure fair competition. Our employees
to do this on an ongoing basis. In the 2019 reporting
are regularly informed about new regulations and
year, we were unable to identify any rejections of our
guidelines. We try to convey to our employees what
anti-corruption guideline. However, should this oc-
responsibility they themselves bear regarding the
cur, we will question the outstanding feedback.
prevention of anti-competitive behavior and rely on
Should it become apparent after personal discus-
their feedback.
sions that a business partner does not represent the
values set out in the anti-corruption guideline, it will Should anti-competitive cases become known, we
be discussed together with the respective project will investigate them and take action. In order to
managers whether the business relationship should raise our employees' awareness even more, we
be terminated or whether the content can be have decided in 2019 to establish a training course
adapted to the project and customer. on antitrust law in 2020.
We consider it detrimental to business to terminate When selecting business partners, we are guided by
business partnerships with immediate effect, as the whether they conform to our compliance guidelines.
Sustainability Report 2019 29You can also read
