Ambition, strategy and program
Sustainability is a driver of innovation for Continental during the current transformation of mobility and industries, and is thus firmly anchored in its corporate strategy in the cornerstone of “turning change into opportunity.”
In the Continental Group's sustainability ambition, we describe how we want to shape this transformation in the relevant topic areas with respect to sustainability. Along with the relevant guidelines, this sustainability ambition brings together existing strategies, programs and processes, as well as their further development. The specific ambitions, strategies, programs and processes are presented in the following sections for the reporting topic areas of the combined non-financial statement. The entire ambition can be found at www.continental-sustainability.com.
Management, organization and responsibilities
Ultimate responsibility for sustainability lies with the Executive Board member for Group Human Relations and Group Sustainability, under whose supervision the Group Sustainability group function is responsible for sustainability management in the Continental Group. Sustainability organization is further supplemented by sustainability functions in the group sectors as well as coordinators in several business areas and countries.
The Group Sustainability Steering Committee is responsible for assessing interdepartmental issues, weighing up risks and opportunities and discussing relevant Executive Board decisions in advance. In fiscal 2021, it consisted of three members of the Executive Board (chairman of the Executive Board, Group Sustainability, Group Finance and Controlling) as well as the heads of the sustainability functions at corporate level and group sector level and the heads of other relevant group functions. The committee is chaired by the Executive Board member for Group Sustainability and managed by the head of the Group Sustainability group function. Some of the group sectors have their own interdepartmental sustainability committees, which are coordinated by the relevant sustainability functions.
The sustainability performance indicators are consolidated in the Continental Group’s sustainability scorecard, which is approved by the Executive Board on an annual basis. The scorecard is based on defined quality criteria for the indicators, is continuously developed further and establishes the formal basis for integrating sustainability into other corporate processes.
As of fiscal 2021, the topic of sustainability has also been an integral part of the Continental Group’s strategy development. Significant investments must be reviewed and assessed as to their contribution to sustainability as a standard part of the approval process. For the Automotive, Tires and ContiTech group sectors, detailed roadmaps for the implementation of sustainability ambitions in the relevant topic areas are currently being drawn up in stages.
Remuneration
The Executive Board and global managers are measured against the achievement of sustainability goals. Long-term remuneration components (long-term incentive – LTI) are thus linked to sustainability aspects. The LTI plans are updated on an annual basis. For more information, see the remuneration report on our website under Company/Executive Board.
Cultural change
In order to support cultural change in the organization, we stepped up internal communication with respect to sustainability in fiscal 2021, held numerous sustainability events – mostly virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and integrated the topic into key internal event formats for managers.
