Responsibility in the Dussmann Group
Respect for people and the environment
Assuming holistic responsibility
As a family company, we bear special responsibility toward people and the environment. “Every successful company should give something back to the society,” as our founder, Peter Dussmann, said. Following his example, sustainable actions have been at the heart of our business activities ever since the Dussmann Group was founded. Our social engagement measures aimed at giving back encompass everything from respectful treatment of our employees to supporting innovation and processes that conserve resources.
The foundation of our corporate responsibility
At the Dussmann Group, we strive for continuous improvement, placing sustainable performance of services in the focus of our business activities. Integrity, environmental awareness, passion, social responsibility, and fairness are our corporate values, which form the foundation of our corporate responsibility.
Integrity
Our actions are characterized by uprightness and consistent compliance with laws and regulations.
Environmental awareness
Dussmann assumes responsibility for the protection of natural resources and pays attention to resource-saving and environmentally friendly products, processes and structures.
Passion
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Passion is the fuel of our corporate culture. It defines our attitude as a service provider and inspires our business.
Social responsibility
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At all our sites, we ensure respect for human rights, protection against discrimination, and respect for different cultures and religions. We support social cohesion and the community through our sponsorship projects.
Fairness
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We are committed to acting fairly and responsibly towards clients, employees, partners and society.
Sustainability is a key element of our corporate strategy, and it is something our employees put into practice every single day. From conserving valuable resources to strengthening employee engagement and striving for optimum quality and client satisfaction, the Dussmann Group stands for sustainability in all its dimensions: environmental, social, and governance.
We are not alone in this view. The European Union has also identified environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors as key criteria in comparing companies and defining the measures they take for greater sustainability. To learn more about the specific actions we take in individual areas, please see the according sub-pages and our Declaration of Conformity.
Our commitment to the UN Global Compact
Since 2023, the Dussmann Group has been participating in the UN Global Compact - the world's largest initiative for sustainable and responsible corporate governance. Based on the Sustainable Development Goals and the 10 universal principles, the UN Global Compact pursues the goal of an inclusive and sustainable economy, now and in the future. By supporting this global initiative, we assume a shared responsibility for respecting human rights and labor standards, for fighting corruption, and for the environment and climate.
Dussmann Group sustainability policy
Sustainable and responsible actions lie at the heart of our business activities. Through this approach, we aim to uphold our own quality standards, but that is not all. We also strive to support the efforts of our clients, suppliers, and subcontractors, thereby optimizing environmental, social, and governance aspects along the entire supply chain. Our drive to achieve continuous improvement is one of the underpinnings of our sustainability policy.
What does ESG mean to the Dussmann Group?
The Dussmann Group ESG strategy means more than just switching the corporate vehicle fleet to electric vehicles or using ecofriendly chemicals. ESG also means things like respecting human rights in the supply chain, ensuring gender equality in working conditions, and measuring and improving the social impact of our service portfolio on stakeholders, such as clients. We focus on the following areas as we move toward sustainable success:
Materiality: the basis of our ESG strategy
The materiality matrix is the core of our sustainability strategy. It is revised and updated annually. This matrix shows the importance of various sustainability aspects to the Dussmann Group, starting with surveys of internal and external stakeholders. It also indicates which aspects have the biggest impact on the environment, society, and economy. Although the matrix does reflect a certain weighting of factors, all of these topics are important, and all form the basis for our goals.
Sustainability goals of the Dussmann Group
Greater sustainability, step by step
We took various factors into account in mapping out our ESG strategy. Alongside the impact of our actions on the environment, society, and economy, we also focused on incorporating external influences on the Dussmann Group. Based on all these aspects and how they are prioritized within our materiality matrix, we established long-term and medium-term goals that shape our path toward responsible actions and greater sustainability:
Environment
Our goal: : Become climate neutral
To protect the climate, we have set climate neutrality of our business activities as a long-term goal. Achieving this objective efficiently and realistically requires detailed and complete collection of information on all of our emissions. Only then can we define quantitative goals and take specific actions to reduce emissions and shrink our carbon footprint.
Social
Our goal: be employer of choice
People are at the heart of everything we do, and our employees are both our most important resource and the basis for our success. With that in mind, we aim to live up to our role as an responsible employer, while identifying and supporting our employees potential. Alongside improving occupational health and safety, strengthening employee engagement is one of our primary objectives.
Governance
Our goal: be partner of choice
As a service partner, it is important to us to offer our clients holistic solutions with reliably high quality. We perform regular audits to boost quality levels. Our goal is to increase the frequency of these audits. Beyond that, we are on a mission to uphold environmental, social, and governance standards along our entire supply chain.
Integrated management system
The integrated management system (IMS) is our most important tool for monitoring the Dussmann Group and operationalizing our ESG strategy. It supports the QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety and Environment) & Sustainability unit in meeting various requirements, covering sustainability-related key indicators such as the number of audits performed along with indicators relating to education, training and the company’s environmental impact.
Our sustainability report of the Dussmann Group
Since 2018, all three dimensions of our responsibility have been integral parts of our strategy. Since then, we have been publishing our annual sustainability report, highlighting our achievements and measures as well as our concrete goals. Download the report to learn more about the progress we have made and our planned activities.
German Sustainability Award 2024
The Dussmann Group has won the German Sustainability Award 2024 (DNP) in the category “Business Services/Commercial Services,” taking on a pioneering role within its industry.
EcoVadis top rating: platinum
The Dussmann Group has been awarded the EcoVadis platinum medal, placing us among the top 1 percent of the more than 100,000 companies evaluated.
ESG Book rating: “Strong”
The Dussmann Group has also been listed in ESG Book since 2002, immediately earning a rating of “Strong” – a level that only 25 percent of all companies evaluated by ESG Book reaches.