The company discloses what qualitative and/or quantitative as well as temporally defined sustainability goals have been set and operationalised and how their level of achievement is monitored.
Preliminary remark: The Dussmann Group continues to align itself internationally. The markets of the individual international subsidiaries, however, exhibit great differences with respect to market development, market structure, customer needs, and employee potential. The primary sustainability aspects should therefore not only be understood as safeguards and a compass for all associated companies of the Dussmann Group but, most of all, as an approach for sustainable development, especially with regard to the fulfillment of customer demands. The individual Dussmann Group companies operationalize the objectives for their areas of activity in such a way that allows them to generate the maximum benefits in the markets they serve and to pursue the stipulated Dussmann Group development trajectory.
Some of the Dussmann Group's national companies are still small in size and have limited turnover. The development of management structures for the management of environmental and social performance indicators takes place in these countries in sync with the business growth and consequently also corresponds with the significance of the effects and the adequacy of the effort required for data management. It is our intention to reduce the "white spots" in our sustainability management step by step and always in balance with economic considerations.
Our goal for 2020 and the following years is to define and develop precise performance indicators.
Implementation strategy
Due to the described heterogeneity of the markets and customers and an inconsistent basis of data, up to now, no consolidated sustainability objectives have existed at the Group level. Developing and implementing these is the primary objective looking forward to the next reporting year. In a first step, a set of sustainability indicators will be defined in 2020 and then evaluated with regard to their relevance. For the next years, starting in the 2020 reporting year, the Dussmann Group plans to collect the relevant data in a complete and exhaustive manner and to construct an appropriate database structure.
This is a basic prerequisite for authoritative sustainability management and reporting by the Dussmann Group. Here, the use of a centralized software solution for the acquisition and consolidation of sustainability indicators is essential. In this way, the interlocking of the developed target parameters should follow with the integrated management system (quality, environment and energy, job security and health protection).
Here, the sustainable development goals of the United Nations (SDGs – Sustainable Development Goals) serve as the guiding framework. The Agenda 2030 for sustainable development was developed with broad participation around the world and adopted in 2015 at a United Nations summit by all member states. The centerpiece of the agenda is an ambitious catalog of 17 objectives for sustainable development that take into equal account all three dimensions of sustainability – economy, social and environmental issues. It is our intention, to make a positive contribution towards the implementation of the SDGs through our values and target figures.
Sustainability and guidance values
Economy
It is our declared objective to become next-level service partners to our customers. In an economic sense, "next level" means increasing value creation, making meaningful additions to our service portfolio, and tapping into new market segments. Dussmann Service therefore wants to develop itself from a multi-service provider into a "solution provider" capable of providing integrated solutions.
As a family enterprise, we have the opportunity to align our strategies for the long term and are not forced to pursue short-term profit maximization. This makes it easier for us to implement the economic, social, and environmental requirements on our company in a balanced manner.
Social
The social values at the Dussmann Group are centered around the promotion of community, social cohesion, and participation.
As a large employer with a societal influence, we have a special responsibility towards our employees. We enable many people of different ages and a wide array of qualifications to begin or continue their professional lives and strive for their continued education. In addition, our German company alone employs staff from more than 100 nations.
We strive to be a first-class employer that recognizes the potential of its employees and management and that develops their skills and competencies in a targeted manner. In this way, we hope to contribute towards the attainment of SDG 8 "Humane work and economic growth," which aims at protecting labor laws and safe working conditions, humane employment, as well as higher economic productivity through diversification and technological modernization and innovation.
Our social responsibility includes respect towards different religions and cultures, as well as the exclusion of discrimination in any form. Also part of our sustainability policy is the promotion of cultural education of children and adolescents. The Dussmann Group operates bilingual daycare centers with a special cultural pedagogical approach.
Our understanding of the social sustainability dimension includes, for example, the Bücher Box initiative, in which books are donated to the children’s ward in hospitals, as well as facilities for sick children. The support of young musicians is a key interest of the Dussmann Group. As a symbol of this commitment, every year the Dussmann Music Competition takes place with the students of Musikgymnasium Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in Berlin. In line with SDG 4 "Quality Education," we support educational institutions that are suitable for children, the handicapped, and all genders and that offer a safe, inclusive, and effective learning environment.
Through the development of supportive automation (e.g. autonomously driving cleaning robots), we are able to create attractive working conditions. Through the qualification and training of our employees, we want to carefully design the transition to changing demands and minimize negative effects (also see Criteria 2).
Environmental
The following makes up our environmental approach: We act sustainably within the scope of our internal processes, as well as in the rendering of services for our customers. We focus on the minimization of resource consumption and pay special attention to the use of environmentally friendly products, as well as the reduction of packaging materials. This applies both to our own equipment and the resources of our customers. Our consumption primarily includes plastics, chemicals, water, energy and foodstuffs. We pay special attention to the sensitive handling of raw materials and actively press ahead with environmentally friendly as well as resource and energy-efficient innovations. We strive to promote product developments and concepts for cooperation that are compatible with our environmental (and social) values and objectives.
Our services (especially our facility services) have a large positive impact, as an example, with a view to resource-saving cleaning procedures, energy-saving building technology, and overall sustainable facility management. During the reporting period, we made a contribution towards the development and implementation of autonomous floor cleaning by completing two successful projects (e.g. a modular system for costefficient, modular cleaning robots and cleaning robot "Sparky" from Adlatus Robotics) and are actively involved in shaping this future.
We want to achieve environmental savings potential with efficient services and innovative offerings. With a view to consumption within our own business operations, we see promising potential in improved waste management. To this end, we joined the "United Against Waste" initiative to promote the responsible use of food.
It is difficult to review and control the sustainability criteria and quality standards at the links of our supply chain where services are rendered by third parties (especially by subcontractors). This is especially crucial because (by law) we are a food company. Our aspiration is also to minimize negative environmental impacts along our supply chain and to assert quality standards. Therefore, with the conclusion of a contract, we oblige our business partners and suppliers to adhere to environmental standards.
We maintain a cooperative relationship with our suppliers and service providers. The selection process is a social issue and, if possible, each process is attended to centrally by the purchasing department, which merges the requirements of the departments (also see Criteria 4).