The significant risks of the group’s business operations and environmental impacts habe already been reported on within Criteria 1-4. Several of the objectives formulated therein were of a qualitative nature and should rather be seen as strategic guidelines or are difficult to assess due to their lack of measuring systems with regard to the degree of implementation. Therefore, part of the implementation strategy described in Criteria 3 is to develop specific objectives and parameters for saving potentials and successively integrate them into the processes. For Germany, more consumption data with great reliability is available, which can serve as an anchor in order to determine approximate values for the global companies.

The sensitive utilization of resources is an important value. Quality in products and services, in consideration of the group’s portfolio, means sensibility and care towards property (value retention e.g. in facility management and in catering) and towards people (integrity in care and childcare). From this perspective, the use of the raw materials required for the rendering of services is also subject to special awareness.

Within the scope of the company vehicle guidelines, pollutant emission levels are taken into consideration and regulated; the use of emissions-friendly vehicles is linked with employee benefits. In recent years, the fleet’s emissions could be lowered. Within the operation of our own facilities, energy-saving LED technology was applied (e.g. at Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus).

Generally, the tracking of water consumption (in facility management) is not a component of the service provision contractually agreed upon with the client, which is why there are currently still no reliable evaluations of water consumption.