Strategic integration of CSR
Breadcrumb
Strategic integration of CR
Strategic integration of Corporate Responsibility
Our sustainable action in economic and social contexts derives not only from our own objectives, traditions and innovations but also from overarching aspirations. The core fields are sustainable business, corporate responsibility, our customers and the markets in which we operate, environmental and climate protection, safety, employees and society. We have set measurable objectives in a wide range of business areas, in order to document improvements and growth. We are publishing those objectives in the present Sustainability Report for the financial year 2019. The key indicators are transparent and comparable, thereby enabling our stakeholders to follow our development. In so doing, we help our customers verify their own activities and supply chains and ensure their sustainability.
Sustainable commitments
“We fulfill our social responsibility to our employees and to society in a number of different areas. Among other things, we are committed to environmental and climate protection through the continuous improvement of our own processes. Moreover, we also focus on developing technologies that make our customers’ production methods more efficient and eco-friendly. Messer is represented in major markets of the world: We respect the cultural differences and laws of the regions where we do business, contributing to communities and education systems there through a wide range of support activities. Mutual trust and respect for the diversity of people, open communication in collaboration, and the development of our employees are steadfast values that form the unalterable basis of our interaction with one another.”
“We undertake to follow sustainable business practices and safeguard our autonomy and independence through, among other things, far-sighted investment. In so doing, we provide long-term security to our employees and our business and financial partners in our collaboration with them. Vis-à-vis our stakeholders, we act with the utmost transparency. We view corporate responsibility as a business obligation with strategic utility, whereby we establish well-defined key indicators for control purposes, have implemented them in our management organization, and follow GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standards in our sustainability reporting. We comply with a specified Code of Cooperation and Conduct toward all of our stakeholders.”
“Our goal is to become one of the best organized companies in our industry. Capital and financial resources are important, but people, knowledge, leadership quality and passion are the ingredients of long-term success. With that in mind, our activities are focused on the safety of our customers, employees and partner companies as well as the safety of the equipment we install and that of our distribution channels. Our continuous efforts to achieve sustainable improvements in the efficiency of our equipment and logistics processes and the resulting conservation of resources are no less part of our core brand identity than reliable product supply at fair prices and our collaborative relationship with our clientele. Product purity and a documented supply chain are second nature to Messer. In our markets, we act mindfully of a sustainable future, in order to ensure further growth together with our customers over the long term. Compliance with all applicable laws and regulations is a matter of course for us worldwide, as is protection of the personal data of our employees and business partners.”
“As the majority shareholder of Messer Group GmbH, the Messer family recognizes and accepts its social responsibility. The aim is to conduct responsible and sustainable business operations at all times, in order to ensure growth within the framework of our social integration in society. In this regard, I would particularly like to highlight the respectful and responsible way in which we deal with our employees, the non-negotiable nature of our open-mindedness and tolerance, the importance of continuity in our tradition and our independence, full compliance with applicable laws and regulations as a minimum precondition of any action, and the responsible and sustainable treatment of the environment, as well as integrity and loyalty.
Many of our employees have been with us for many years or even decades and rightly have a feeling of security in a family-like environment. The success of our company is based, to a large extent, on their loyalty over many years. In our family-run company, respect for the employees and their safety are of paramount importance.
As a member of the fourth generation, I am particularly committed to open-mindedness, diversity, tolerance and respect for cultural differences – without limitation or exception. Intolerance, racism and sexism are completely at odds with the values of our family and our family business. Our culture offers space for everyone – regardless of nationality, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation – to develop on a free and equal basis. Diversity enriches us.
I also declare my support for the tradition and continuity of our history spanning more than 120 years. Our customers and our employees can rely on the family’s continued influence on our corporate culture and strategy. As a value-oriented, family-run company, this is how we lay a foundation for reliability, mutual trust, loyalty and integrity.”
Materiality matrix
The key elements of our strategic sustainability process are the product of our daily and long-term actions and activities. When evaluating these topics, we consider it important to include representatives of all stakeholder groups. For this reason, we have compiled a transparent list of twelve core topics. In order to differentiate the priorities of our internal stakeholder groups, 36 senior managers and 534 employees voluntarily completed an anonymous online survey where they ranked the topics on a scale of one to ten, with one being important and ten extremely important. Selected journalists and followers of our social media channels also participated in the anonymous online survey. As in previous years, the safety of our customers and employees is of utmost importance to our company. Our decisions can affect all key issues and also have potential impacts on stakeholders outside the organization as well. For this reason, all major projects, both in-house and external to the organization, are relevant.
Customer and employee orientation, responsible action, corporate responsibility, open communication, trust and respect: all of these are embedded in Messer’s mission statement.
In order to make those values – along with the developments relative to sustainable action – measurable and comparable, Messer first introduced sustainability Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in 2014. Because sustainability and the associated topics are not static, however, the KPIs were revised this year.
The present Sustainability Report outlines the activities and CSR key indicators of the Messer Group GmbH (Central and Southeast Europe as well as Asia), the Western European companies of Messer Industries, and the American companies of Messer Industries. Except where stated otherwise below, the information relates to all of Messer as a Group.
This report is based on the UN Sustainability Goals and follows the G4 guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). At our customers’ request, we also report on third-party agents, such as EcoVadis and the Carbon Disclosure Project, as well as on the worldwide “Responsible Care” initiative of the chemical industry.