As well as helping other companies identify and implement their corporate social responsibilities as effectively and efficiently as they can, we have set ourselves the target of doing everything possible to reduce environmental impact wherever feasible, taking social and societal aspects into account to achieve the broader aims of CSR.

Environment

The direct emissions of CO2 caused by the institute are rather low. CO2 emissions are caused, in particular by our business trips and the institute’s electricity and district heating consumption. We have no influence on the choice of energy supplier or type of electricity used, since these contracts are signed by our landlord. We work with Atmosfair to compensate for the CO2 emissions caused by our air travel.
We also pay particular attention to the energy efficiency of the electrical appliances used in our office and use paper that is manufactured in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible way and certified accordingly. Where possible, we use recycled paper and minimize the use of paper when printing.

Staff responsibility

Perhaps it seems strange to write about staff responsibility when there are only three of us, but we think it is important that it is mentioned in sustainability reports. As you can see, we also want to be transparent.
Flexible working hours enable our staff to achieve a good work-life balance, helping them to combine work and family life.
Our staff are appropriately remunerated and supported and motivated in gaining extra qualifications.
Companies that are (somewhat) larger than ours are able to offer their employees a company pension plan, workers’ council, company kindergarten etc. but this is out of the question for an organisation of our size. However, our employees do have direct and relatively easy access to the management :-).

Responsibility outside the core business

Our understanding of social responsibility means that we usually agree to participate in discussions and answer interview questions and questionnaires. We are more than happy to give lectures and share our knowledge but unfortunately due to time constraints we are not always able to answer all inquiries.
We are organisational stakeholders in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and support a range of organisations, including Germanwatch and Welthungerhilfe (World Hunger Relief) with donations.