Sustainability as the key to success

© Patrick Desbrosses

We have a clear vision when it comes to sustainability in the energy industry and for our customers in the industrial and real estate segments. Companies need to reinvent and reposition themselves. Not only is the communication of sustainability evolving year after year – moving from separate reporting of environmental and social matters to an integrated management report – it is inevitable that the content must evolve as well.

It is a positive sign that our ESG department has grown in size and professionalism.

This development is based on regulatory requirements for greater process depth, transparent and verifiable communication and reporting, and in-depth exploration of the company’s material sustainability topics. The department supports us in our ambition to sharpen the focus on our sustainability measures and manage them using measurable indicators. We aim to be faster, to invest in both internal improvements and external opportunities, and to pursue a clearer strategy in the future. In response to this challenge, we have reorganized our ESG team this year. It now unites more specialist knowledge, people power and communication expertise – key factors for future reporting and strategic measures.

However, even with a clear commitment from the Group Executive Committee, one department in a company of 2,400 employees would have little impact if its members were not motivated and just as passionate about sustainability as we are. That is why our second focus has been to continue expanding our internal sustainability and reporting network worldwide. One thing that helped here was the fact that sustainability has long been an integral part of the GETEC business model, therefore we have met with a lot of understanding. The articles in this report will provide you with an insight into the way our experts think. For example, the Procurement team answers questions about complying with Germany’s Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtsgesetz, LkSG) – what a mouthful – while the platforms’ engineers talk about their decarbonization projects and Human Resources outlines its philosophy for the advancement of women.

The third focus, which is also one of the most important, is to explore valid KPIs and establish functioning reporting processes in line with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This regulatory framework is complex. It asks the right questions and GETEC now has to find the right answers. In a fast-growing international company, this is a challenge – but also an enormous opportunity to build and modify processes and structures so that they serve our goal of achieving success through sustainability. The will to operate more sustainably is our common ground and motivation.

We address the concrete questions on a daily basis and this report shows how far we have already come in finding the answers. In the years ahead, you will be able to follow our further progress. One of the things that characterizes our company is our willingness to take on challenges. Our mission is to support our customers on their path to net zero and good sustainability management – for us and our customers – will be crucial. We aim to be at the forefront of this cutting-edge field as well.