Combined Management Report
58
Non-financial Statement 2021
Non-financial Statement 2021 
Combined Non-financial Statement of the Beiersdorf Group 
and Beiersdorf AG
The application of the CSR Directive Implementation Act (CSR-RUG) formal-
ly requires us to complement our existing financial reporting with informa-
tion on material non-financial aspects of our business activity. In particular, 
these include aspects regarding the environment, employees, society, hu-
man rights, and anti-corruption. 
The following chapters constitute the Combined Non-financial Statement 
(NFS) for the Beiersdorf Group (Consumer and tesa Business Segments) and 
Beiersdorf AG, as defined respectively under § 315b and § 289b of the Ger-
man Commercial Code (HGB). For the second time, its contents will be pub-
lished in the Annual Report this year. 
Furthermore, both the Consumer and tesa Business Segments publish sep-
arate sustainability reports which provide further information on their respec-
tive sustainability activities and projects. 
Application of international reporting frameworks
No international reporting frameworks as defined under § 315c s.3 HGB in 
conjunction with § 289d HGB were applied in compiling the Beiersdorf 
Group and Beiersdorf AG Non-financial Statement. However, the Consumer 
business segment follows the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards in 
its broader sustainability reporting and publishes a separate GRI-Index.
Both Business Segments are United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) mem-
bers and report on their achievements and measures taken in the reporting 
period in order to implement the ten defined UNGC Principles in the areas 
of human rights, working conditions, environmental protection, and anti-cor-
ruption. This Non-financial Statement is submitted as a communication on 
progress by the Beiersdorf Group. 
Material non-financial topics for the business segments
The Consumer Business Segment conducted a materiality analysis in 2021 
to review and update the previous material non-financial topics. The follow-
ing material topics were identified during this process: Climate protection, 
circular economy, sustainable land use and biodiversity, sustainable use of 
water, diversity and inclusion, education and training, employer attractive-
ness, occupational health and safety, safeguarding human rights, communi-
ty engagement, compliance and business ethics and product safety. 
     
The tesa Business Segment last updated its materiality matrix in 2020 and 
validated it internally. The material non-financial topics identified are climate 
and energy, product sustainability, resource efficiency, water, employee 
­development, diversity and equal opportunities, occupational health and 
safety, human rights, prevention of anticompetitive behavior, and product 
safety.
You will find an overview of the material NFS topics for the Consumer and 
tesa Business Segments, as well as chapter and page indications, in our 
NFS-Index on page 59. 
Statement scope
Disclosures on the material NFS topics are mainly provided separately for 
the tesa and Consumer Business Segments. In principle, all information is re-
ported jointly for the Beiersdorf Group and Beiersdorf AG. Key indicators 
produced separately for Beiersdorf AG are provided in a table on page 62. 
Under Art. 8 EU Taxonomy Regulation, we are reporting for the first time in 
this Non-financial Statement on “environmentally sustainable” revenues, cap-
ital expenditures, and operating expenditures for the environmental goals 
“Climate change mitigation” and “Climate change adaptation.” The Consum-
er and tesa Business Segments report jointly in this area.  
The STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME! business acquired in 2020 is man-
aged as a separate business unit and is not included in the reported indica-
tors due to its comparatively low sales volume. Neither is our joint venture 
NIVEA-KAO in Japan, as this is managed independently with regard to non-­
financial topics.  
The Non-financial Statement has been subjected to a limited assurance 
­engagement by the auditing company Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschafts­
prüfungsgesellschaft based on the International Standard on Assurance 
­Engagements 3000 (Revised). 
In order to avoid redundancies, reference is made to passages in the 
­Combined Management Report that contain non-financial disclosures. 
This relates to the areas “Business and Strategy” and “People at Beiersdorf.” 
Some of the information in these chapters also forms part of the Non-finan-
cial Statement. The corresponding sections are marked with 
  in the 
Combined Management Report.

Combined Management Report
59
Non-financial Statement 2021
NFE Index
STATEMENT TO THE COMBINED NON-FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Strategy 
Description of Business Model
Material risks
NFS-Aspect
Material topics Consumer 
Material topics tesa
Environment 
 
 
Climate protection
p. 61
Climate and energy
p. 61
Circular economy
p. 65
Product sustainability
p. 67
Sustainable land use 
p. 68
Resource efficiency
p. 69
Water
p. 70
Water
p. 70
Employees 
 
 
Training and education
p. 71
Employee development
p. 71
Diversity and inclusion
p. 71
Diversity and equal opportunity
p. 72
Employer attractiveness
p. 71
 
Occupational health & safety
p. 73
Occupational health & safety
p. 73
Society
Community engagement
p. 75
 
Human Rights
Safeguarding human rights
p. 76
Safeguarding human rights
p. 76
Compliance
Compliance & business ethics
p. 78
Prevention of anticompetitive behavior
p. 78
Further matters
Product safety
p. 80
Product safety
p. 80
EU Taxonomy Reporting
Strategy
Sustainability is a core component of Beiersdorf corporate culture and of 
fundamental importance in our decision-making and business processes. 
We strive to reconcile environmental protection, social responsibility, and 
economic success, and we have further expanded our commitment and en-
gagement in all these areas since 2020. Since then, for example, we have 
had our climate targets verified by the Science Based Targets initiative, made 
new commitments in the area of circular economy, and introduced sustain-
ability targets for the Board of Management.
The Beiersdorf Group has two cross-functional management committees to 
oversee our approach to climate issues and other relevant sustainability top-
ics: In addition to the group-wide sustainability function, the Consumer Busi-
ness Segment has established a Sustainability Council and tesa a Sustaina-
bility Committee. The directors of all relevant business units are represent-
ed on these committees, each of which is chaired by an Executive Board 
Member. Both committees meet at least every quarter. 
We also maintain a regular dialog with our external stakeholders. This ex-
change ensures that we continuously review our sustainability activities and 
include current social and environmental developments in our planning.
Consumer 
To reaffirm how central the topic of sustainability is to our Corporate Purpose, 
we have defined sustainability as a cornerstone of our company in our 
C.A.R.E.+ business strategy, which we have pursued since 2019. 
Our “Care Beyond Skin” Sustainability Agenda has been an integral part of 
C.A.R.E.+ since 2020. It sets out our Corporate Purpose and comprises ­seven 
focus fields that concentrate on the impact of our activities throughout the 
entire value chain – from the climate impact of our products and processes, 
the circularity of the resources we use and their influence on land and water 
use, through to the health and safety of our employees and consumers, and 
our commitment to an inclusive society. 
In all these areas we have set ourselves ambitious targets that we want to 
achieve by 2025 and 2030 respectively. The Ten Principles of the United Na-
tions Global Compact (UNGC) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 
(SDGs) form the basis of our engagement and our Sustainability Agenda pays 
into 13 of the overall 17 SDGs.
2021 was characterized by the consistent implementation of our Sustaina-
bility Agenda “Care Beyond Skin”. We were able to both expand our social 
commitment and make significant progress on our environmental targets. 
Among other achievements, we reached the important milestone of launch-
ing the first climate-neutralized products for our global skin care brand 
NIVEA.

Combined Management Report
60
Non-financial Statement 2021
tesa
tesa defined a Sustainability Agenda as part of its “newhorizon” business 
strategy in 2020. It affects the Business Segment’s entire value chain, from 
raw materials and suppliers, through to production and employees, and cus-
tomers, and tesa’s worldwide support for social initiatives and projects. The 
Agenda is based on the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Com-
pact (UNGC) as well as on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 
(SDGs). 
The Sustainability Agenda consists of the three areas of Environment, Cus-
tomers, and Society, which in turn is broken down into seven fields of focus. 
Each of these sets out tesa’s mid- to long-term goals. Existing initiatives will 
also be continued within these fields. For each of the three Sustainability 
Agenda areas, objectives have already been or will be defined, and we con-
tinue to develop our sustainability strategy further.
We are continuously developing our sustainability strategy. In the coming 
years, we will regularly report on current developments and measures with-
in the framework of the Sustainability Agenda.
Description of the Business Model
Beiersdorf is one of the world’s leading companies in the consumer goods 
industry. Since its foundation in 1882, the company has become well-estab-
lished thanks to its strong brands and it now employs over 20,000 people. 
The Beiersdorf business is divided into two segments: The Consumer Busi-
ness Segment which focuses on skin care, and the tesa Business Segment 
which concentrates on developing high quality self-adhesive systems and 
product solutions. A detailed description of the business model is provided 
in the “Business and Strategy” chapter in the Group Management Report 
from page 37. 
Material Risks
Due to its size and reputation, a company like Beiersdorf has to set an exam-
ple and is of interest to the general public. Our actions regarding the envi-
ronment, labor, and society, how we combat corruption and bribery, and our 
respect for human rights therefore play an important role in the public’s per-
ception. If we do not act sustainably in these areas, this can give rise to non-fi-
nancial risks to our company. 
As part of our Group-wide integrated management system, we therefore reg-
ularly evaluate which non-financial risks are relevant to Beiersdorf and where 
we need to actively manage these. In 2021 for instance, we again identified 
inadequately disposed plastic packaging as a material risk. The use of plas-
tic packaging can lead to environmental pollution if it is not disposed of prop-
erly or if the disposal infrastructure in the country of sale is inadequate. It is 
therefore classified as a significant risk according to the CSR Directive. This 
risk is reflected in changing consumer behaviour regarding the use of cer-
tain materials. We counter these risks through our circular economy strate-
gy, which includes the reduction of fossil-based plastics and the increased 
use of recycled materials.  
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Combined Management Report
61
Non-financial Statement 2021
Environment
As a consumer goods manufacturer, we are highly aware of the impact of 
our business activities on the environment. We therefore work continuously 
to minimize the environmental consequences of our processes and prod-
ucts. We focus our efforts especially on the areas of climate protection, cir-
cular economy, sustainable land use, and water. 
Climate protection
We view climate change as one of the biggest challenges of our time. Risks 
and opportunities arising from climate change therefore influence our busi-
ness strategy and entrepreneurial actions.
Risks associated with climate change, for example, effects on raw material 
prices and material availability or the introduction of new fiscal instruments, 
are managed in the integrated risk management system as are the corre-
sponding risk minimization measures.
In addition, in the year under review, the Consumer Business Segment car-
ried out an analysis of climate-related physical and transitory risks as well as 
­opportunities in accordance with the recommendations of the Task Force on 
Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and produced a qualitative de-
scription of potential risks. For 2022, we plan to analyze these in greater depth 
and carry out a financial risk evaluation to integrate these risks into our exist-
ing risk management system in the next reporting cycle. A summary of TCFD 
relevant information is available in a separate document on our website. 
A detailed description of our risk management structure can be found in the 
“Risk Report” chapter of the Combined Management Report from page 99. 
Climate protection is a core field of action in the sustainability strategies of 
both; the Consumer and tesa Business Segments. Therefore, the actions 
­required to achieve our climate goals are integrated in our financial and 
­investment planning. The Sustainability Council in the Consumer Business 
Segment and the Sustainability Committee at tesa are responsible for over-
seeing their respective climate-related decisions: The objective here is to 
continuously develop these strategies, review progress towards our climate 
targets, and ensure the implementation of our climate protection measures.
In the reporting year, the Sustainability Council began to break down the 
­climate targets by individual corporate functions and product categories for 
the Consumer Business Segment, which will enable us to set internal bound-
aries at the function level and to foster climate action.
Our climate targets
Beiersdorf has committed to ambitious climate targets in 2020 that apply to 
both the Consumer and tesa Business Segments. By 2025 we plan to achieve 
an absolute reduction of 30% in energy-related Scope 1 and Scope 2 emis-
sions1 compared to the 2018 baseline figure. We have also committed to re-
duce our indirect GHG emissions along our value chain (Scope 3 emissions) 
by an absolute 10% by 2025 as compared to a 2018 baseline. These climate 
targets have been recognized by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) 
and correspond to the 1.5-degree scenario set out in the Paris Climate Ac-
cord. The Consumer Business Segment has set additional targets to reduce 
Scope 3 emissions by 30% in absolute terms by 2025 versus a 2018 base-
line and achieve climate-neutrality in all its production centers by 2030. 
Furthermore, both the Consumer and tesa Business Segments have signed 
a long-term voluntary commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 at 
the latest. 
We made considerable progress in the reporting year with regards to our 
climate targets: Absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions were reduced by 
26% versus the 2018 baseline in the Consumer Business Segment, and by 
16.5% in the tesa Business Segment. This led to an overall reduction of ab-
solute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions of 21%. The absolute Scope 3 emis-
sions2 of the Consumer Business Segment were reduced by 12% over the 
same period, bringing the total reduction across Scope 1 to 3 to 12.7%. 
We were also able to achieve our goal of obtaining electricity exclusively 
from renewable energy by 2020. As a result, all of our office and production 
sites worldwide, in the tesa and Consumer Business Segments, now pur-
chase 100% of their electricity from renewable energy sources.3
Climate metrics: Energy, Scope 1, and Scope 2 emissions 
We capture, consolidate, and analyze our energy consumption data to de-
termine our global GHG emissions. Progressively gathering this data contin-
uously helps us to verify the effectiveness of the measures we carry out and 
identify further potential for energy and emission savings. Through close co-
operation with data providers, a standardized working procedure has been 
introduced that covers processes from data collection to regular validation, 
thus further improving the quality of our Scope 1 and Scope 2 reporting.
We calculate our GHG emissions according to the requirements of the Green-
house Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol). The GHG Protocol specifies different 
­consolidation approaches for calculating Scope 1 and Scope 2 data. Scope 3 
emissions include the categories purchased goods and services, upstream 
transport and logistics, and business travel. The consolidation approach we 
choose for calculating our emissions is operational control.
These calculations are mainly based on emission factors from the Inter­
governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), along with emission factors 
of our energy suppliers and the International Energy Agency (IEA). Further 
emissions such as steam from district heating are calculated using the emis-
sion factors provided by the GaBi database, and the British Department for 
Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). 
1	Scope 1 includes all emissions that we create ourselves through the combustion of energy sources at our production sites, for example during power generation. Scope 2 emissions are caused by energy 
generation, e.g. electricity which we procure externally.
2	For Scope 3 emissions we have defined target boundary for purchased goods and services, upstream transport and logistics, and business travel.
3	Beiersdorf purchases green electricity directly from energy suppliers or acquires “International Renewable Energy Certificates” (I-RECs), European Guarantees of Origin, or country-specific certificates when 
purchasing electricity.

Combined Management Report
62
Non-financial Statement 2021
The Consumer Business Segment gathers energy consumption data at all its 
production sites, the warehouses we operate, as well as, offices with more 
than 50 full-time equivalent employees. tesa collects energy consumption 
data for all its ISO 14001-certified sites. That accounts for six production sites 
and the main headquarters. 
KEY FIGURES
 
Business Area
2018
2019
2020
2021
Scope 1 emissions (t CO2e) 
 
Beiersdorf Group
98,980
94,175
93,057
100,458
Consumer
43,341
43,854
38,929
42,085
tesa
55,639
50,321
54,128
58,373
Scope 2 emissions1 (t CO2e) 
 
Beiersdorf Group 
30,060
19,749
1,240
1,569
Consumer
15,809
6,628
1,228
1,569
tesa
14,251
13,121
 12
0
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (t CO2e)  
 
Beiersdorf Group
129,040
113,924
94,297
102,027
Consumer
59,151
50,482
40,157
43,654
tesa
69,890
63,442
54,140
58,373
Total energy consumption (GWh) 
 
Beiersdorf Group
668
650
631
687
Consumer
341
349
321
343
tesa
327
301
310
344
1	The Scope 2 emissions reported in this section are based on the market-based method. 
     
     
Identifying Scope 3 emissions 
Emissions also occur along our value chain, for example by purchasing goods 
and services, or transport activities. These are referred to as Scope 3 emis-
sions.
Since 2018, the tesa Business Segment has gathered data on material emis-
sions throughout the value chain. Through this, we identified raw materials, 
finished good suppliers, and product transport as material Scope 3 catego-
ries. In the future, we intend to expand our CO2 monitoring for Scope 3 emis-
sions.
Based on an input-output model, the Consumer Business Segment began 
by identifying the most relevant categories of Scope 3 emissions2. This ­model 
assesses the resource consumption and environmental impact throughout 
the entire supply chain, using internationally standardized statistics and data­
bases. The analysis identified the following material areas for the Consumer 
Business Segment: Packaging materials, raw materials for product formula-
tions, finished goods suppliers, externally purchased transportation and 
warehousing services, business travel, covers more than two-thirds of our 
­total Scope 3 emissions, which meets the requirements of SBTi. The key 
­figures regarding Scope  3 emissions can be found in the “Consumer” 
subchapter.
Consumer 
Improved Scope 3 calculations 
For all defined categories included in our target boundary, we have devel-
oped methods of calculation that rely on precise data as far as possible. This 
enables us to better monitor the progress of our reduction measures. The 
majority of our Scope 3 emissions are generated by the manufacturing pro-
cesses of the packaging3 and raw materials we need for our products The 
calculations of these GHG emissions are based primary data for material con-
sumption, and secondary emission factors derived from life cycle databas-
es.
We work together with service providers to consistently improve data on 
emissions factors for life cycle analyses (LCAs). We are also developing in-
ternal IT solutions to automate data analysis and reporting.
To calculate emissions originating from our outsourced production and stor-
age, we survey our suppliers of finished goods and storage4 providers for 
their energy consumption data and emission factors for purchased electric-
ity4. These data are based on the quantities of goods produced for us or on 
goods turnover. The calculation methodology is congruent with the Scope 1 
and Scope 2 calculations for our own sites. In 2021, the data we gathered 
in the survey covered 95% of our outsourced finished goods production 
and 94% of our warehousing activities. The values in the following table are 
extrapolated emission values to cover all our finished goods suppliers and 
warehousing.
2	In all the following remarks on our Scope 3 emissions, only the mass market and the dermocosmetics business of the Consumer Business Segment are included. The Scope 3 emissions of the premium 
segment with LA PRAIRIE are not in scope, as LA PRAIRIE’s sales volume represents a minor share of Beiersdorf’s total business.
3	We include consumer packaging and secondary packaging in our calculation. Packaging materials that are added as part of packaging processes or during preparation for transport are not included.
4	For outsourced production and storage, the data collection period (December 2020 to November 2021) differs from the reporting period.

Combined Management Report
63
Non-financial Statement 2021
To calculate global upstream and downstream GHG emissions from trans-
port activities, we use the EcoTransIT tool in accordance with the European 
DIN EN 16258 standard. Data on distances, loads, and the various modes of 
transport are obtained from our internal logistics network.
To quantify our emissions from business travel, information on distance and 
modes of transport is either exported from our travel management system 
or reported directly by our affiliates. For the data collected via our travel man-
agement system, we calculate emissions according to the methodology es-
tablished by German Association of Business Travel Agents (Verband 
Deutscher Geschäftsreiseveranstalter, VDR), taking into account a “radiative 
forcing index” (RFI) factor of 2 for business flights. In the case of business 
travel data, which is reported directly to us, we calculate emissions based on 
IEA data. The 2020 flight emissions of our German companies were offset in 
the reporting year 2021 retroactively, and we will do the same for our flight 
emissions in the upcoming reporting year. Compared to our 2018 baseline, 
our business travel emissions declined by 84%. This development can be 
­attributed, among other things, to the continuing impact of the COVID 19 
pandemic.
In addition to the Non-financial Statement, we disclose our management ap-
proaches and data on climate topics as part of the annual CDP survey. We 
received an “A-” rating in 2021 for the “Climate Change program”.
SCOPE 3 GHG EMISSIONS CONSUMER (UNIT: T CO2E)1
 
Areas
2018
2019
2020
2021
Category 1: Purchased goods and services2 
 
Packaging
443,082
429,849
385,261
388,305
Raw materials
556,601
533,541
507,479
530,213
Finished goods manufacturing
36,706
22,052
25,700
10,316
Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution3 
Finished goods transport
118,594
120,863
115,979
107,909
Warehousing 
11,705
11,879
9,729
2,283
Category 6: Business travel 
Business travel
17,046
18,750
3,693
2,677
Total Scope 3 GHG emissions
 
1,183,734
1,136,934
1,047,841
1,041,703
1	The categories are defined by the GHG Protocol.
2	The emission data for packaging and raw materials 2018, 2019 and 2020 have been adjusted due to updated emission factors. COPPERTONE is not included in this category.
3	Transport emissions for 2018, 2019 and 2020 have been recalculated due to methodological changes. Warehousing data is extrapolated based on stored pallets. 
     
     
Transition towards climate neutralization
We have created a climate neutralization plan which will drive forward our 
transition to net-zero. Our “Climate Neutralization Framework” transparent-
ly describes the entire neutralization process for our brands and products. It 
was developed based on the principles and requirements of the internation-
ally recognized PAS 2060 standard. 
Our climate neutralization process consists of three steps. The first step is 
“Measure”. All GHG emissions are quantified in accordance with the GHG 
­Protocol. The second step is “Reduce”. This is reflected in our ambitious cli-
mate targets, which are based on scientific findings to limit global warming 
to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We focus our activities and resources mainly on 
achieving these reduction targets. The third step is “Neutralize”. In order to 
leverage additional CO2 storage potentials in the transition phase to our 
“net-zero” target, we invest in certified climate projects to neutralize remain-
ing GHG emissions. 
As our GHG emissions and the accounting methods have been detailed in 
the previous sections, we will elaborate on the second and third steps ­below. 
Reducing operating emissions
At our production sites especially, energy-related emissions can be reduced 
to increase their energy efficiency. Our goal is to ensure all of our produc-
tion facilities are climate neutral by 2030. To achieve this, we rely on various 
measures:
In addition to purchasing 100% green electricity, we have installed photo-
voltaic systems at twelve of our production sites and offices, through which 
we cover part of our own electricity needs. In the reporting year, these sys-
tems produced 3,117 MWh of electricity worldwide. In 2020, we also 
launched the “Sustainability in Manufacturing” initiative. The initiative involves 
all 15 production sites worldwide and supports target achievement in the ar-
eas of climate, waste, and water by 2025. The responsible project breaks 
down the overarching company’s goals by production site, analyzes energy 
consumption, waste and water usage, and derives necessary reduction meas-
ures from them. Locally gained knowledge is exchanged in the form of best 
practice examples within our international network and, where it makes 
sense, also applied to other locations.

Combined Management Report
64
Non-financial Statement 2021
Modern energy-efficient buildings and production facilities also make a ma-
jor contribution to reaching our climate targets. When we construct a new 
building or redesign an existing one, we examine its full life cycle and imple-
ment sustainable energy concepts. In our new construction and expansion 
projects, we continually strive to achieve certification to the Leadership in En-
ergy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard. This includes our new 
Group headquarters and Research Center in Hamburg’s Eimsbüttel neigh-
borhood, scheduled for completion in 2023. In addition to the LEED stand-
ard, we aim to achieve the “WELL Building Standard” for this project, which 
will extend to over 100,000 square meters.
We are also aiming for CO2-neutral operations in our upcoming hub in Leip-
zig, along with relevant sustainability certification. In addition to energy-effi-
cient processes, there will be green facades and roofs and photovoltaic mod-
ules will be installed.
Moreover, we are retrofitting our existing plants: Our site in Berlin will be the 
first Beiersdorf plant to purchase 100% biomethane in 2022, cutting the 
plant’s GHG emissions by 99%. The biogas is produced in Denmark from or-
ganic waste and fed into the European gas grid1.
Reducing emissions along the value chain 
Cutting our Scope 3 emissions is a greater challenge than Scope 1 and 
Scope 2, as their origin is beyond our direct operational control. For this 
­reason, we work cross-functionally, as well as with our suppliers to identify 
innovative measures to reduce our carbon footprint. In the reporting year we 
also developed a roadmap to reduce emissions within our most important 
Scope 3 categories, which are listed below:
Packaging 
Most of the emissions from packaging are caused by using plastics and alu-
minum. We are therefore working on innovative solutions to prevent, reduce, 
reuse and recycle our product packaging by 2025. Furthermore, we strive to 
increase the proportion of recycled aluminum in our aluminum packaging, 
and to source aluminum with a lower carbon footprint (see chapter “­Circular 
Economy”, p. 65).
Product formulations
We also plan to make our product formulations more environmentally 
­friendly. To achieve this, we developed an action plan in the reporting year 
that comprises of the following measures:
•	 Increasing plant-based ingredients with a lower carbon footprint,
•	 Increasing the use of materials from renewable carbon sources, e.g. bio-
based materials, materials made from chemical recycling, and materials 
derived from carbon capture and utilization,   
•	 Cooperating closely with our main suppliers to introduce renewable 
­energy at their production sites, thus reducing the carbon footprint of our 
raw materials,
•	 Sourcing further renewable raw materials from sustainable and deforest-
ation-free cultivation. To ensure this we have entered various partnerships, 
such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) (see chapter 
“­Sustainable Land Use”, p. 68).
Finished goods manufacturing and third-party warehousing
A key driving force for the reduction of GHG emissions from our products 
and packaging is to switch over to renewable electricity at our suppliers too. 
To achieve this goal, we are leading intensive discussions with suppliers and 
third-party manufacturers to find mutual solutions for switching to renewa-
ble energy. In the reporting year we formulated a step-by-step plan for the 
gradual implementation of such measures. In 2021, all third-party manufac-
turers and third-party warehouse operators included in our data query pur-
chased electricity from renewable energies or their electricity purchases were 
covered by corresponding energy certificates. 
Transport
Along with our packaging and formulation emission, we are exploring ways 
to reduce and prevent emissions in transport. Wherever possible, we plan to 
shift the transportation of our goods to rail. This applies in Europe and North 
America especially, where our largest markets are located. For our global sea 
freight transports, we have largely been purchasing mass-balanced biofuels 
from waste and residues via certificates. Since April 2021, our truck transport 
service providers started to use biofuels for our products outbound trans­
portation from Hub Nordics to Scandinavian countries. In addition, we are 
investigating possibilities for the use of other alternative fuels, such as the 
use of trucks powered by electricity. We are working closely with our logis-
tics providers to achieve this goal.
In our drive to understand and implement new transport technologies, 
we are in close dialogue with external consultants and scientific experts. 
One ­example is our cooperation with EcoTransIT to calculate our transport 
­emissions. We share this knowledge with our logistics providers worldwide.
Neutralizing remaining emissions
In addition to its efforts to reduce GHG emissions in the value chain, 
Beiersdorf invests specifically in climate protection projects. We only select 
high-quality projects that are in line with the Paris Agreement and are certi-
fied by internationally recognized organizations such as Verra or the Gold 
Standard. We focus on projects that store carbon from the atmosphere – for 
example through reforestation, afforestation, and soil management – and at 
the same time provide additional benefits for biodiversity or local commu-
nities. With these projects, we offset the remaining GHG emissions of select-
ed products.   
1	The consumer business segment acquires biogas certificates. The certificates prove that a corresponding amount of biogas has been produced and fed into the natural gas grid.
2	tesa SE sold its subsidiary tesa scribos in 2021.

Combined Management Report
65
Non-financial Statement 2021
tesa
Company management systems for environmental 
protection 
The tesa Business Segment uses ISO 14001 certified environmental manage-
ment systems at seven sites2 for the continuous management and planning 
of our corporate environmental protection. The ISO 14001 standard is an in-
ternationally recognized approach to managing the direct and long-term en-
vironmental impacts of products, services, and processes within a company. 
As part of the matrix certification of ISO 14001 sites, external environmental 
audits are also carried out annually. In addition, the environmental manage-
ment systems at selected ISO 14001 sites are reviewed during internal au-
dits by specialists at the headquarters.  
In addition to the environmental management system, the two largest pro-
duction facilities with the highest GHG emissions (Hamburg and Offenburg) 
are certified to ISO 50001:2018 standard. These two factories account for al-
most 70% of GHG emissions of all ISO 14001 certified sites. tesa’s headquar-
ters are also certified to ISO 50001, as it is the site with the largest workforce 
and has the largest research and development division. The energy manage-
ment systems set the stage for increasing energy efficiency at each of plants.  
Through our internal planning and reporting activities we identify, assess, 
and monitor risks and measures that target a reduction in GHG emissions. 
We review the effectiveness of our activities for reducing these emissions by 
recording monthly energy consumption at each site. We lowered our Scope 1 
and Scope 2 emissions in absolute terms by 16% between 2018 and 2021. 
We achieved a reduction in specific emissions of 15.5% per metric ton of end 
product over the same period.
Identify energy-saving opportunities and increase 
efficiency
Energy consumption is an important management driver for reducing our 
environmental impact. Within the framework of a continuous improvement 
process, and based on the environmental program and the environmental 
audits, we identify energy-saving opportunities and optimize energy-inten-
sive processes, while simultaneously reducing our CO2 emissions and relat-
ed costs. tesa corporate management conducts a management review every 
year as part of this process. The environmental and energy experts at each 
site bear operational responsibility. 
A further strategic approach for increasing energy efficiency is the use of en-
ergy- and resource-saving technologies. This includes generating our own 
energy efficiently. At several production sites, we utilize combined cooling, 
heat and power (CCHP) or combined heat and power (CHP) systems for cli-
mate-friendly cogeneration. We not only use the electricity generated but 
also harness the heat produced in these systems for our production process-
es and heating. In the reporting year, we purchased biogas certificates for our 
CHP plant at Group headquarters for the first time. The biogas is ­produced 
in England and fed into the European gas grid.1 This means we continue to 
benefit from the high generation efficiencies of the CHP plant. By using 
­biomethane instead of natural gas we can also rely on renewable, cli-
mate-friendly sources of energy. Overall, in 2021 we were able to produce 
over 50% of our electricity needs ourselves via energy-efficient CHP systems.  
In addition, we increasingly rely on electricity production through photo­
voltaics. During the reporting period, a photovoltaic generator with a total 
capacity of 964 MWh annually brought onstream at our production site in 
Suzhou. In contrast to conventional electricity, we save around 900 metric 
tons of CO2 per year with this system. At our site in Italy, we have launched a 
study on the installation of a photovoltaic system.
Circular Economy 
Consumer
The products of the Consumer Business Segment stand for high quality and 
effective skin care worldwide. We aspire to meet our own high quality stand-
ards, our stakeholders’ increased sustainability demands, and to maintain 
the trust of consumers in our products. This trust also includes being respon-
sible for continually optimizing the environmental compatibility of our prod-
ucts, consciously using resources to mitigate impact on the environment, and 
protecting nature.
The Executive Board is responsible for integrating product sustainability into 
our C.A.R.E.+ corporate strategy and at brand level. Our Sustainability Coun-
cil (see chapter “Strategy”, p. 59) is in regular contact with senior manage-
ment in Marketing and Research & Development and reports on ongoing 
projects and the status of targets, for example in the area of emissions re-
duction. We also leverage the expertise of various departments and exter-
nal stakeholders such as suppliers and institutes to implement cross-func-
tional and cross value-chain projects.
Holistic perspective on products 
It is important to us that we evaluate our products holistically according to 
their environmental and social impact. By means of life cycle assessments 
(LCAs), all the impacts from our procurement of raw materials through the 
disposal of the final product are listed and summarized. A life cycle assess-
ment is a comprehensive analysis that shows the impact of a product on the 
environment – and where there is still room for improvement. Beyond the 
use phase, the environmental impact of our products depends above all on 
the raw materials and the resource efficiency of our packaging. This is why 
we focus our sustainability efforts on these areas.
In the year under review, we successfully developed our own system that 
­enables us to calculate the CO2 footprint of a product as early as the prod-
uct development phase. This transparency enables us to subsequently make 
formula changes that result in a lower carbon footprint.
1	tesa acquires biogas certificates. The certificates prove that a corresponding amount of biogas has been produced and fed into the natural gas grid.

Combined Management Report
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Non-financial Statement 2021
Sustainable packaging
The consumption of natural resources has increased continuously worldwide 
over the past decades. Negative environmental impacts as well as waste pro-
duction are steadily increasing and causing lasting damage to the environ-
ment. To counteract this, Beiersdorf is committed to strengthening the circu-
lar economy: The recyclability of our packaging and ingredients is significant 
to us. 
Our packaging consists of plastics to a large extent, as this material has many 
positive characteristics such as low weight and high stability combined with 
flexibility. Unfortunately, the volume of these crude oil-based materials con-
tinues to increase worldwide, and plastic packaging is often not recycled. So, 
we work intensively to optimize our plastic packaging in accordance with the 
four sustainability principles of “avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle” to contrib-
ute toward a fully functional circular economy. 
To make our initiatives in this area measurable, we have set ourselves the fol-
lowing global packaging targets by 2025: 
•	 We aim to use 50% less petroleum-based virgin plastic in our packaging 
in comparison to 2019
•	 and integrate at least 30% recyclate (i.e. recycled material) in our plastic 
packaging. 
•	 100% of our packaging should be refillable, reusable or recyclable.
For the reporting year we can report the following progress towards our cir-
cular economy targets:  
•	 9% reduction in petroleum-based virgin plastics in our packaging
•	 7% recycled material in our plastic packaging. 
Our third objective in the area of plastic packaging focuses on the end of the 
life cycle. In the year under review, we developed and introduced a method-
ology measure the recyclability of our plastic packaging. At first, we analyze 
plastic bottles, which are the most widely used packaging format at 
Beiersdorf. The analysis includes the total weight of all plastic bottles for 
which data is available. The brand Coppertone and bottles bought in out-
sourced production are excluded. 
Taking the definition of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, packaging or pack-
aging components are recyclable if their successful post-consumer collec-
tion, sorting, and recycling is proven to work in practice and on a large scale. 
We assess the recyclability of each type of packaging using a standardized 
digital application published by an independent certifier. Based on these in-
dividual analyses, we then make projections for the overall portfolio.
Using a standardized digital application published by an independent cer-
tification body, we assess the recyclability of individual packaging. Based on 
these individual analyses, projections are then made for the entire portfolio.
In the year under review, 81% (by weight) of all our plastic bottles was recy-
clable. Compared to the total weight of all our plastics, this equates to a re-
cyclability percentage of 41%.
In the coming year we want to include other packaging formats in our anal-
ysis and a further parameter in our reporting: Design for Recycling. This way 
we will be able to report holistically on all the relevant parameters: The use 
of materials, design to enable future recycling, and ultimately the actual re-
cyclability percentage.
In addition to plastic, we use other materials such as paper, aluminum, and 
glass in our packaging. For the use of these materials, we also continuously 
evaluate more sustainable solutions and review how we can implement the 
principles of “avoid, reduce, reuse and recycle” here as well. In the reporting 
year, for example, we launched our first aerosol cans made from 100% recy-
cled aluminum. Through these measures, we aim to reduce the risk of neg-
ative impacts of our packaging on the environment. In close collaboration 
with our suppliers, our teams work across different departments to develop 
optimal solutions for sustainable, safe and appealing packaging for our pack-
aging materials. 
Environmentally friendly product formulations
We also optimize the circularity of our product formulations by setting our-
selves ambitious goals, both for eliminating microplastics as defined by the 
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)1, and for the use of bio-de-
gradable polymers. 
At the end of the reporting year 2021, the production of all NIVEA products 
was switched to microplastic-free formulas (according to UNEP). This means 
that the set target was achieved. For Eucerin, we aim to achieve this target 
for all cosmetic formulas by the end of 2023. Between 2016 and 2021, we 
have already reduced the use of microplastics at Eucerin by 45% in terms of 
raw material volume. At the end of the reporting year, 19 Eucerin products 
still contained microplastics. These are currently being revised and should 
also be microplastic-free by the end of 2023.
We also aim to use exclusively biodegradable polymers in our European 
product formulas by the end of 2025. A polymer is a molecule consisting of 
many repeating subunits and is widely used in cosmetics. Biodegradability 
refers to the degradability of molecules through the action of microorgan-
isms such as bacteria or fungi, thereby avoiding environmental pollution. By 
implementing environmentally friendly and alternative bio-degradable raw 
materials, we are striving to improve the environmental compatibility of our 
overall product portfolio.
1	The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) defines microplastics as solid plastic particles that are smaller than 5mm, not biodegradable, and water­insoluble.

Combined Management Report
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Non-financial Statement 2021
By gradually eliminating non-biodegradable polymers, we pursue the goal 
of reducing harmful effects on the environment. We evaluate all raw materi-
als with regard to their biodegradability. For this assessment, we apply ­Annex 
XIII of the REACH regulation and the corresponding guidelines on informa-
tion requirements (Chapter R. 11), which also contain the criteria for persis-
tence. These criteria describe the non-biodegradable properties of a mole-
cule over a specific period. The Annex and the guidelines on information 
­requirements are used to identify polymers that are not biodegradable and 
are therefore to be avoided in our European product formulations by the 
end of 2025. To achieve this goal, we not only replace these ingredients 
­directly, we also develop completely new polymer technologies.
We already achieved a 52% reduction in the use of non-biodegradable 
­polymers in our European product formulations compared to the 2016 base-
line.
In addition, we are increasingly using non-fossil renewable materials. Our 
goal is to increase the use of natural and renewable raw materials while 
­assuring sustainable sourcing to prevent environmental impact from an 
­increased demand for certain raw materials (see chapter “Sustainable Land 
Use”, p. 68). 
Partnerships to achieve our product goals
Alongside decarbonization, the transition to new carbon sources is also im-
portant. Beiersdorf co-founded the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) to pre-
vent and replace the use of fossil carbon as a material basis for raw materi-
als and packaging. The aim of this initiative is to support and accelerate the 
transition to renewable carbon for all organic chemicals and materials. Re-
newable carbon is all carbon sources that prevent or replace additional fos-
sil carbon.
A specific example of this is our collaboration with Sabic in the development 
of recyclable plastic tubs for NIVEA Naturally Good face care products. The 
raw material used for ISCC PLUS certified, renewable polypropylene (PP) is 
tall oil – a forestry by-product that replaces crude oil in Sabic’s plastic pro-
duction. This renewable carbon source is seamlessly integrated into the man-
ufacturing process and aligned with the principle of mass balance. This meas-
ure contributes to our goal of reducing the use of oil-based plastics.
To reduce its carbon footprint in the aluminum sector, Beiersdorf has teamed 
up with Swiss packaging specialist Nussbaum to develop an aluminum can 
that is made of 100% recycled aluminum. This innovative aerosol packaging 
is made entirely from old beverage cans, demonstrating new opportunities 
in the circular economy.
Beiersdorf joined the Eco Beauty Score Consortium to meet its stakehold-
ers’ demand for greater transparency on the environmental impact of cos-
metic products – in terms of formulas, packaging, and application. The ob-
jective of this initiative is to develop an assessment scheme that makes the 
environmental impact of a cosmetic product transparent. In this way, we want 
to make our consumers aware of our commitment not only at company lev-
el, but also at brand and product level.
Product Sustainability
tesa
Innovative solutions for greater sustainability  
With our innovative product solutions, we strive to offer our customers tech-
nological progress combined with an active contribution to sustainability. 
We want to increasingly use recycled and renewable raw materials in our 
products and packaging. Our understanding of product sustainability includes 
not only product development, but also the use phase by our customers.
With our “Project Sustainability Assessment”, we have established an instru-
ment in 2020 for evaluating projects in the area of product and technology 
development at an early stage regarding their contribution to sustainabili-
ty. Development and larger investment projects have to undergo the as-
sessment. Quantitative and qualitative statements on specific sustainability 
aspects must be made for the assessment. The structure of the assessment 
is based on our sustainability agenda and the Sustainable Development 
Goals of the United Nations.
Since as early as 2010 we have provided adhesive rollers, adhesive films, 
packing tape, glue sticks and correction rollers, among other products, un-
der the “tesa ecoLogo” sub-brand. We manufacture these articles primari-
ly from recycled or natural materials. The tesa ecoLogo product range dis-
penses completely with solvents in production and uses primarily bio-based 
materials and recycled packaging. 
It is our goal to increase the share of sustainable products in our overall 
portfolio by 2025. For us this means we want to use more renewable or re-
cycled raw materials for our products and pay even more attention to the 
end-phase of product life in future. The development of appropriate met-
rics will help us to be transparent about progress in this area in the coming 
years.
The entire life cycle in focus
The fundamental concept of the circular economy includes reduced con-
sumption of materials, increased reuse of the same, and recycling at the end 
of a product’s useful life. If the product or individual components can be re-
cycled or reused, resources can in turn be saved elsewhere. To achieve this, 
we consider the end of the product life cycle at an early development stage 
and are investing in further research on this topic. One focus here is on re-
movable adhesive bonds.
At the moment, our main focus is on understanding the CO2 footprint of each 
of our products. To this end, during the reporting period we assigned emis-
sion factors to many of our most used raw materials and determined the es-
timated carbon footprint of roughly 25 products. We also regularly discuss 
this topic with our suppliers to improve the accuracy of our calculations 
through primary data.

Combined Management Report
68
Non-financial Statement 2021
We use the results of our analyses to identify relevant emission sources 
throughout the value chain and to be able to reduce our emissions in a tar-
geted manner through suitable measures. Alongside this, we are working to 
further standardize our methodology and produce more advanced life cy-
cle analyses (LCAs) that integrate additional environmental impacts such as 
acidification or eutrophication. We also plan to further reduce our use of sol-
vents in production
Our understanding of product sustainability goes further, however. Across 
the manufacturing industry, the electronics sector, and wind and solar ener-
gy, selected products can help our customers to operate efficiently and drive 
sustainable technologies. For example, our adhesive solutions help save re-
sources and energy while enabling the repair or recycling of products. This 
allows our customers to potentially reduce waste and cut GHG emissions. 
Sustainable paper products
Since we use large quantities of paper for our products and packaging, we 
also pay great attention to sustainable paper and increasingly source “Forest 
Stewardship Council” (FSC)-certified paper. Since 2019 FSC® certification of 
tesa SE has given us a significant boost. In this context, we also launched the 
first two FSC-certified products on the market in the reporting year. Our pro-
duction plants in Offenburg, Suzhou, Concagno and Hamburg are also 
FSC-certified. For the future, we are striving for further certifications of our 
plants as well as increasing the development of FSC-certified products.
Sustainable packaging
We intend to make our packaging sustainable beyond the Scope of regular 
optimizations. To achieve this goal, in 2021 we set up a project team to de-
termine the current status of our packaging and analyze potential improve-
ment. We see paper and plastics as the greatest opportunities for optimiza-
tion. Our goals are thus: For fiber-based raw materials such as paper and 
cardboard, we will rely primarily on FSC quality and aim to achieve a share 
of 80% by 2025. Regarding plastic, our objective is to use at least 30% recy-
cled materials by 2025.
Sustainable Land Use
Consumer
Sustainable cultivation of raw materials 
Natural raw materials are a key element in the development of our product 
formulas. We work hard to avoid environmental pollution or damage caused 
either by our sourcing or the use of these raw materials. Our objective is 
therefore to procure our key renewable raw materials only from sustainable 
sources by 2025. Furthermore, we plan to source our main raw materials such 
as palm (kernel) oil derivatives, soy, tallow and paper completely deforesta-
tion-free by 2025. To support this objective, “Sustainable Land Use” is firmly 
anchored in our Sustainability Agenda as a focus field. We have been imple-
menting robust sustainability programs for palm-based raw materials and 
paper-based packaging for many years now. Similar programs for soy and 
tallow are currently in the design phase.
Within Beiersdorf we cooperate with colleagues from various specialist de-
partments including Procurement, Research & Development (R&D), and Sup-
ply Chain to implement our programs for sustainably certified raw materials 
and packaging worldwide. In addition, the Sustainability Council is regular-
ly updated on progress and involved in strategy workshops. Its input is im-
portant in continuously developing our programs and reviewing the achieve-
ment of our goals.
Palm (kernel) oil derivates
Palm (kernel) oil derivatives are fundamental raw materials in our cosmetic 
and body care products. Essential ingredients such as emulsifiers and sur-
factants are obtained from both mineral and vegetable oils such as palm (ker-
nel) oil and its suitable derivatives. Beiersdorf does not source the oil direct-
ly, but uses its derivatives – that is, processed substances based on palm (ker-
nel) oil. Our total procurement volume in 2021 was around 30,000 tons. 
Palm (kernel) oil is a renewable raw material with high cultivation efficiency: 
The oil palm delivers almost five times the yield1 per cultivated land area 
compared to other crops such as coconut, rapeseed or sunflower. This is what 
makes oil palm cultivation so attractive – and leads to the progressive de-
struction of rainforests. Our goal is to avoid the deforestation of rainforests 
worldwide. 
By pushing for certification, transparency and transformation, we work to 
identify and minimize the environmental and social risks throughout the sup-
ply chains of palm (kernel) oil-based raw materials. Our “Palm Sustainability 
Roadmap” and “Sustainable Palm Policy” guide our worldwide commitment 
toward achieving sustainable raw materials procurement while also improv-
ing the working conditions of local smallholder farmers, for instance. To 
achieve our goals, we pursue various approaches:
Sustainable certification 
We have achieved our goal of using 100% sustainably certified palm (kernel) 
oil and its derivatives by the end of 20202. This means that in our products 
we only use raw materials from sustainable sources according to the 
mass-balance model established by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil 
(RSPO).
According to the mass-balance model, products containing RSPO-certified 
and non-certified palm oil can be certified. Here, it must be ensured that the 
processed quantity of RSPO-certified palm oil corresponds to the purchased 
quantity of certified palm oil. This option is particularly relevant to the use of 
palm (kernel) oil-based derivatives, as derivatives production is extremely in-
tricate and complex, and there is no infrastructure for an RSPO segregated 
supply chain.
Our goal is to procure our palm (kernel) oil derivatives completely deforest-
ation-free by 2025. 
Supply chain transparency 
Unlike the crude palm (kernel) oil supply chain, the derivatives supply chain 
is highly complex and involves a great number of different actors. We source 
palm (kernel) oil-based raw materials from external suppliers and can there-
fore only have a limited impact on this upstream supply chain. 
1	FONAP: https://www.forumpalmoel.org/home
2	Including LA PRAIRIE and STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME!

Combined Management Report
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Non-financial Statement 2021
To trace the origin of our raw materials back to the level of the refinery, mill 
and plantation, we are founding members of the cross-industry initiative “Ac-
tion for Sustainable Derivatives” since 2019. The ASD’s aim is to increase the 
transparency and sustainability of derivative supply chains. To do this, the in-
itiative contacts our direct suppliers and requests information on their own 
upstream supply chains and palm oil volumes, among other data. This way, 
the ASD works steadily upwards through the entire palm oil supply chain. 
The objective of the annual tracing of our raw materials sourcing is to maxi-
mize transparency in our palm (kernel) oil supply chain, to identify “hot spots”, 
and provide targeted support for projects locally.
Sustainable transformation in cultivation regions  
We engage for sustainability directly in palm oil cultivating regions to help 
improve the fundamental local working and living conditions of smallhold-
er farmers in the long term, and to protect the environment. Our goal is to 
convince the smallholders and their cooperatives that transitioning to sus-
tainable oil palm cultivation without further deforestation will improve both 
their income and their living conditions. 
Since 2018 we have cooperated with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) 
in a smallholder farmer project in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. We support 
a total of three villages with a combined population of around 4,500 inhab-
itants, including 240 smallholder farmers. In the 2021 reporting year, we suc-
ceeded in bringing the smallholder farmers together to form a cooperative 
and in legalizing their plantations’ land-use rights. In addition, the WWF car-
ried out numerous training courses on sustainable palm oil and rubber cul-
tivation and gave smallholder farms access to oil palm seedlings. This has 
helped the smallholders to diversify their sources of income, which also ben-
efits the inhabitants of the three project villages.
In 2020, together with the WWF and our supplier Evonik, a specialty chemi-
cals company, we also initiated a landscape project in Sabah, Malaysia. The 
goal of the project is to make the production of palm oil more sustainable 
and to halt deforestation. By 2025, small and medium-sized palm oil farms 
with a total area of 20,000 hectares are to be certified to the RSPO standard. 
Besides this we also supported a project initiated by the Forum for Sustain-
able Palm Oil (FONAP) in Perak, Malaysia. These projects form an important 
building block in the continued development of our “Palm Sustainability 
Roadmap”. 
Shea 
Sheabutter is another key ingredient in many of our products; therefore, 
Beiersdorf has been a member of the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) since 2019. 
In cooperation with the GSA and our shea suppliers, Beiersdorf is support-
ing women shea collectors in some of the poorest rural regions of the “Shea 
Belt”, the main cultivation region in Africa. For instance, we support shea col-
lectors in Ghana und Burkina Faso and train them over five years in the are-
as of health, occupational safety, product quality, and fundamental econom-
ic know-how. In addition, as part of the “Clean Cookstoves” project, female 
shea collectors learn how to make cookstoves from local materials such as 
termite sand. Furthermore, we intend on planting 10,000 shea trees locally 
by 2024, thus contributing to fighting climate change, as the trees bind CO2 
and can counteract desertification. 
Paper
We use paper and cardboard in many of our product packages. We also want 
to procure this natural resource sustainably, and for this purpose we have im-
plemented a “Sustainable Paper and Cardboard Policy” with the goal of us-
ing exclusively paper and cardboard materials worldwide that are recycled, 
or certified sustainable according to the “Forest Stewardship Council” (FSC) 
standard.) by the end of 2020.
100% of our folding boxes, used in the outer packaging of our face creams 
for instance, are already sourced from FSC-certified material. However, we 
did not reach our target by the end of 2020 in all regions for other pa-
per-based packaging such as shipping boxes and other retailing materials; 
we are therefore currently working intensively on swapping further pa-
per-based materials to FSC-certified or recycled paper. 
Resource Efficiency
tesa
Using resources efficiently is fundamental for tesa. We want to promote the 
circular economy and utilize materials that can remain in the cycle at the end 
of their useful lives or can be used in other ways. At present, waste cannot 
be completely avoided in our goods production. However, we are commit-
ted to reducing it effectively in order to preserve precious natural resources. 
We therefore work continually to raise all stakeholders’ awareness of the 
need to avoid unnecessary waste and ensure professional recycling.
Measures to protect resources are an integral part of our corporate environ-
mental protection. In addition to statutory regulations, we continuously de-
velop our environmental management systems and also exchange informa-
tion with external experts for this purpose.
Avoidance and recycling
We base our waste and raw material management on the “waste pyramid”: 
Avoiding and reducing waste takes highest priority, followed by various op-
tions for recycling. Waste is sent for disposal only when it is unavoidable. Our 
production plants pursue the objective of “zero waste to landfill” by 2025, 
i.e., eliminating the disposal of waste via landfill sites. We have already 
achieved this status for over 70% of our production plants.
In order to use materials efficiently and recycle wherever possible, our pro-
duction plants constantly work on minimizing production-related losses of 
the raw materials we use. This applies equally to adhesives production as 
well as to coating tapes and cutting rolls.
We are also reducing our waste volumes through ongoing improvements to 
our machinery and production processes. In the reporting period, for exam-
ple, we were able to optimize the delivery of raw materials in mass produc-
tion and thus save 12 tons of material per year.

Combined Management Report
70
Non-financial Statement 2021
Production waste is collected separately on a site-specific basis according to 
various waste categories and then the materials are recycled to the greatest 
extent possible. Waste is summarized by categories, based on whether it is 
non-hazardous or hazardous, and whether it is for disposal or recycling and 
published in our annual sustainability report. tesa recycles almost all non-haz-
ardous waste as well as hazardous waste containing solvents.
High recycling rate for packaging 
The reduction of packaging materials also helps minimize waste and there-
fore its negative impact on the environment. In our production, our constant 
goal is to reduce the amount of packaging materials as far as possible and 
avoid all packaging that is not absolutely necessary – without impacting the 
quality, performance, or protection of our products in any way.
For packaging, we seek to maximize the recyclability of the materials used. 
For example, we prioritize cardboard packaging and reusable pallets, and 
use single-source plastic as far as possible.
In the area of sustainable packaging we worked on new goals in 2021 as 
part of our Sustainability Agenda. Going forward we plan to use even ­fewer 
raw materials for our packaging and increasingly use alternative and/or 
­recycled raw materials. The development of specific key indicators will help 
us make our progress in this area transparent in the following year.
Active involvement of employees 
At tesa we leverage our employees’ expertise in further developing 
waste-reduction measures. In 2021 we therefore continued the successful 
“Great Ideas – Not Waste” campaign at our plant in Offenburg. Driving 
this campaign is a long-term project through which we intend to continu-
ously reduce energy and resource consumption, with the participation of 
employees from the production, process development, and technology 
­areas.
Regular intra- and interdepartmental discussions form a cornerstone of this 
project. The purpose of these discussions is to agree specific steps for the 
implementation of potential improvement measures and to exchange 
best-practice solutions. Moreover, the project includes communication 
measures designed to raise awareness of the issue among employees. In 
2021 we implemented 28 projects targeting resource efficiency. To date 
these have resulted in savings of € 277,000.
Water
Water is the basis for all life forms. However, our planet’s water resources are 
unequally distributed and threatened by a range of factors such as climate 
change, population increase, pollution, and overuse. Many regions are par-
ticularly affected by drought and in parallel, clean drinking water resources 
are becoming scarcer worldwide. In light of this situation, we consider it vi-
tal to use water responsibly. We strive to keep water consumption as low as 
possible and to minimize our wastewater generation in all business divisions 
and processes throughout our supply chain.
Managing water risks
The “Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas” is a data tool provided by the World Re-
sources Institute (WRI). We use this to assess the water risk annually for all 
our Consumer Business Segment production sites as well as for all tesa Busi-
ness Segment production sites and its headquarters. This tool takes a range 
of factors into account, including the type of water withdrawal, water quali-
ty and how water consumption is managed. In addition, we identify locations 
with an elevated risk of water scarcity or water stress. 
Going forward, our objective is to handle water as a precious resource even 
more carefully and to drive our comprehensive water management forward. 
To support us in achieving this we are in dialogue with the WWF to expand 
our risk analyses with their “Water Risk Filter.” 
Our Consumer and tesa Business Segments submit water management data 
annually as part of the CDP “Water Security Program.” With regard to their 
statements on “Water Security,” the Consumer Business Segment received 
a “B” assessment in the reporting period, and the tesa Business Segment a 
“C. We strive to work more intensively on further improving this rating in the 
coming year.
Consumer 
The Consumer Business Segment uses water in a broad variety of ways. It is 
needed to manufacture our products and it is a core ingredient in our prod-
uct formulas. Naturally, it is also used by our consumers when they apply our 
products. We are therefore fully committed to handling this vital resource re-
sponsibly and to consistently promote the sustainable use of water. 
We work continually on minimizing water consumption in our production 
processes, for instance. By 2025 we want to reduce our water consumption 
per manufactured product by 25% (vs. base year 2018). In 2021, water con-
sumption per manufactured product increased by 9% compared to the base 
year. Compared to the previous year, this represents a reduction of 3%. 
Focus on sustainable water management
The importance of sustainable water management is also a key factor in plan-
ning expansions to our production sites: Under our global initiative “Sustain-
ability in Manufacturing,” we are working intensively to integrate innovative 
ideas into our production processes. Here we are focused on developing in-
creasingly effective solutions to reduce water loss, determine water consump-
tion at relevant production plants, and implement innovative approaches to 
treating wastewater for reuse in production processes. 
We rely on state-of-the-art equipment and leading technologies, especially 
for high-consumption cleaning processes. We harness efficient technical pro-
cesses to purify wastewater for reuse in cooling, irrigation and sanitation, for 
example. These measures are frequently implemented at our production 
sites as part of their “LEED” certification (see chapter “Climate protection”, 
p. 61). Even apparently minor improvements such as modernizing sanitary 
facilities, or targeted consumption measurements in production areas, all 
contribute to sustainable water management.

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In order to continuously improve our water management, we are also in di-
alogue with water suppliers, local authorities and neighboring companies. 
Additionally, we regularly review our production sites for opportunities for 
optimization to reduce water consumption and facilitate wastewater clean-
ing processes. 
tesa 
Guidelines and preventive measures
In the reporting year we strengthened our environmental guidelines with re-
gard to water. We are committed to efficient water use, water resource con-
servation, and appropriate wastewater treatment. We collect water-related 
data at our production sites annually, such as on water consumption and 
wastewater volumes. We withdraw water mainly from the public drinking-wa-
ter supply and from groundwater. Water is reused several times in our cool-
ing cycles. Most of the water used is discharged as wastewater into the sew-
age system or as surface water.  
We plan to continue to reduce water-source risks that result from our pro-
duction requirements as far as possible. We therefore take preventive meas-
ures against all conceivable accidents. For example, liquids that pose a threat 
to water are emptied, refilled, and stored only in areas that are equipped 
with appropriate retention tanks. Equipment to measure turbidity and sol-
vent concentration should ensure that no contaminated surface water is chan-
neled into the drain system. If there is a leak or spill of a relevant quantity of 
water-endangering substances, emergency plans governing the precise pro-
cedure are immediately executed. All these measures are regularly reviewed 
in our external ISO 14001 audits and are the prerequisite for a successful au-
dit result.
Employees
Our employees make a major contribution to the sustainable development 
of our company. Their expertise, skills, and commitment ensure our compet-
itiveness and power to innovate. Our goal is to create an attractive working 
environment that recognizes individual performance and actively promotes 
the potential of a diverse workforce.
Consumer
Training and education
The changes in our working world require an agile, dynamic working ap-
proach and therefore high willingness to learn. This makes it even more im-
portant to promote our employees’ personal strengths and to invest in their 
long-term development. To secure this, we provide comprehensive training 
and development opportunities that also support lifelong learning.
Further information on the topic of training and education as well as on 
knowledge and learning can be found in the “People at Beiersdorf” section 
in the Combined Management Report, starting on page 49.
Employer attractiveness
We want to be the first-choice employer for our staff and to offer them a se-
cure, attractive, and inclusive working environment where everyone feels 
they belong and has the same opportunities to succeed and give their best 
performance. For us, this includes open dialogue across all hierarchical lev-
els in the sense of participation and involvement, achieving the goals we set 
ourselves together and a responsible leadership culture. Our employees’ 
emotional engagement is an issue particularly close to our heart and is reg-
ularly reviewed using global employee surveys.
Further information on the results of these surveys can be found in the “Peo-
ple at Beiersdorf” section of the Combined Management Report, starting on 
page 49.
Diversity and inclusion
We are convinced that a diverse workforce enriches our teamwork enormous-
ly. Different perspectives not only strengthen our ability to innovate but also 
boost our competitiveness, make us more creative, and help us to better un-
derstand the needs of our consumers. Diversity and inclusion are thus not 
only actively promoted but form a core component of our business strategy. 
The new D&I Strategy Roadmap is helping us create a culture built on diver-
sity and inclusion. It consists of three strategic priorities, which are introduced 
in more detail in the “People at Beiersdorf” section of the Combined Man-
agement Report, starting on page 49. You will also find the corresponding 
key figures in this chapter, such as the proportion of women in management 
positions and the internal filling of management vacancies.
tesa
Employee development 
Competition for employees with scientific and technical backgrounds is con-
stantly on the rise within our industry. The advance of digitization and inter-
nationalization is also changing work requirements and methods. We are 
meeting these challenges with comprehensive education and further train-
ing programs, as highly qualified, committed, and performance-oriented 
employees represent a decisive competitive advantage for tesa. In addition, 
a diverse range of training and further education opportunities enhance our 
attractiveness as an employer and contribute to employee satisfaction and 
motivation to work for us long term. 
To meet the challenges of the labor market and a competitive environment, 
we have developed a tesa-specific training course that helps young people 
gain access to working life. It also gives us the opportunity to train employ-
ees in those areas that are relevant to our business. For example, we teach 
our trainees our understanding of quality and service from the outset, as 
well as the key competencies that are important at tesa.

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To secure our long-term success we also need to offer our employees at-
tractive development opportunities – both professionally and personally, at 
all levels and in all areas. To identify and fully leverage the potential of our 
employees we have established target group and competency-oriented 
training programs. These include basic qualifications for new employees as 
well as special formats tailored to the requirements of individual business 
areas. In addition to face-to-face courses and training, tesa also offers its 
employees a wide range of online further training courses. These topics ar-
eas such as compliance, occupational safety, sales, and management and 
leadership. We significantly expanded these in recent years to be able to 
offer our employees a wide range of further training opportunities – despite 
the requirement to increasingly work from home due to the COVID-19 pan-
demic. 
Training
In the tesa Group, independent training is offered at the production sites in 
Hamburg-Hausbruch and Offenburg. Trainees can choose from five differ-
ent technical apprenticeships: chemicals technician, electronics technician 
for industrial engineering, industrial mechanic, machine and plant operator, 
and mechatronics technician. We also offer dual degree programs in safety 
engineering and plastics and elastomer technology. 
By the end of 2021, the tesa plant in Hausbruch, Hamburg, employed 
36 trainees and one dual student. Machine and plant operators formed 
the largest group with 13 trainees. The tesa plant in Offenburg employed 
35 trainees, eight of whom are completing a dual degree program. 
The trainee retention rates show that we want to keep our trainees for the 
long term: In Hamburg-Hausbruch, 66% of the trainees who completed their 
training in 2021 were retained, while in Offenburg the retention rate was 75%, 
25 percentage points higher than in the previous year. 
Given the existing demographic developments and the resulting increase in 
competition for young talent, especially in the technical and scientific fields, 
the recruitment of new trainees and dual students is increasingly a challenge. 
For this reason, among other initiatives the tesa Offenburg plant has spon-
sored the South Baden regional competition “Jugend forscht” (Youth Does 
Research). 
Further training programs and open course program 
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, we digitized our continuing education 
program to the greatest extent possible and across all divisions in 2021. This 
means the courses can be taken anywhere in the world. In-person training 
only took place rarely and under special hygiene regulations in certain re-
gions, e.g., China. A total of 284 training and qualification measures (virtual 
classroom training, and face-to-face training) were carried out with a total 
number of 4,015 participants. Training opportunities were used by employees 
on all continents.  
For the first time, the qualification program for new managers was also of-
fered in an online format in the reporting year. In total, three international 
courses with 14 participants on average place in 2021. In addition, a digital 
qualification program for middle management executives was developed 
and the first module was piloted in November 2021. 
From the start of Q3, there was a higher demand for in-person training cours-
es, which took place to a limited extent while adhering to distancing rules 
and hygiene measures. By the end of the year, two in-person training cours-
es with a total number of twelve participants had taken place.
Online training opportunities 
Our qualification programs are enhanced by the integrated digital LinkedIn 
Learning platform. With 1,562 active licenses worldwide and an average 
learning duration of 30 to 60 minutes per week per tesa employee (in the 
period from January to December 2021), the platform and its Learning Jour-
neys are now well established and in regular use. 
We also expanded our existing E-Learning courses in 2021, for example, by 
adding a new Sustainability E-Learning module. tesa registered a total of 
3,858 people taking part in e-learning worldwide in 2021. 
Since introducing the Learning Hub Learning Management System (LMS) in 
2018, the tool has been used as an information and registration platform for 
all training courses at tesa. At the same time, the platform serves to automate 
and harmonize the administration and organization of face-to-face training, 
e-learning programs, and blended learning internationally. At present we are 
looking into deeply integrating LinkedIn Learning into the Learning Hub in 
order to further simplify access to LinkedIn Learning options for our users.
Diversity and equal opportunity
A diverse workforce is not only a constant goal for us but also a key compet-
itive factor: Different perspectives help us to understand the needs of our 
customers better and enrich our ideas for innovations. We are therefore ac-
tively committed to achieving greater diversity in our workforce and ensur-
ing equal opportunities for all our employees. We strive continually to cre-
ate a working environment in which all employees are valued and individu-
al performance is recognized. In this we focus on two main areas: Designing 
an international working environment and promoting women in manage-
ment positions. We also raise awareness among our HR departments and 
managers worldwide to prevent discrimination of any kind in the recruitment 
process.     
International workforce 
When filling new positions, we attach great importance to hiring new em-
ployees with different cultural backgrounds. We want to promote an inter-
national workforce, particularly at our Norderstedt headquarters. This increas-
es our ability to better understand and serve the diverse requirements and 
market conditions of our international customer base. We are pleased to

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Non-financial Statement 2021
­report our initial successes: The ratio of non-German employees increased 
by 1.8 percentage points to 7.2% within nine months (December 2020 to 
December 2021). We want to consolidate and grow this trend further, e. g. 
by advertising all vacancies above a certain level exclusively in English.
With our worldwide X-perience career path model we promote internation-
al and cross-functional exchanges, as well as the career mobility of our em-
ployees. In 2021 we also continued to pursue our “x-perience the tesa world” 
concept, in particular through internal employment vacancy advertisements 
that allow both international and cross-functional applications. 
Women in management 
We want to fill more management positions with women in the future. Our 
goal is to create a culture in which equal opportunity is actively lived out. At 
the beginning of 2020, Angela Cackovich became the first woman in tesa 
history to be elected to the Executive Board, and we see this as a sign of 
positive change. Over the next few years, we wwant to step up our efforts 
to promote gender equality within the workforce and in leadership roles. 
To do so, we set up a corresponding reporting system in 2021 that will be 
completed and evaluated on a quarterly basis. The proportion of women 
among our international executives has now risen to over 15%. 
Occupational Health and Safety
Safety at work and the health of our employees are top priorities for 
Beiersdorf. We view occupational health and safety as a comprehensive, ho-
listic, and preventive management task. Our strategic objective is therefore 
to reduce the number of accidents at work to zero, avoid work-related illness-
es, and undue physical and psychological stress factors. To achieve this goal, 
we regularly check to see how we can make our workplaces even safer and 
healthier.
Our “Accident Frequency Rate” (AFR) documents all accidents at work that 
result in at least one day’s absence from work. In the Consumer Business 
­Segment our AFR sank in 2021 to 1.0 accidents per million hours worked 
(38% lower than in 2020). We are particularly pleased to report that 73% of 
our production centers operated completely accident-free throughout 
the whole of 2021. At tesa, the AFR of documented accidents resulting in at 
least one day of absence was was 4.1 per million working hours worldwide 
in the reporting year (2020: 3.5).
COVID-19 pandemic  
The global COVID-19 pandemic remains a threat from which we need to pro-
tect all our employees’ health worldwide. At the beginning of 2020 we set 
up crisis teams at all our sites and plants that work to avoid infections and 
health risks. Specific measures were developed under top management lead-
ership to combat COVID-19 and these continue to require further effort from 
our teams.
Consumer 
Driven by our Care Beyond Skin Purpose and guided by our Core Values, we 
are committed to the continuous reduction of potential health and safety 
risks and incidents. Our global Occupational Safety department is responsi-
ble for managing workplace safety, but here we also count on the involve-
ment of all employees at our sites.
Our occupational health and safety strategy applies worldwide. It compris-
es our most important current measures and programs and serves as a ba-
sis for our sites to develop their own local implementation plans and meas-
ures. We monitor the progress of these measures using indicators at a glob-
al level.
Within our continuous improvement efforts we focus on minimizing the core 
risks in terms of slips, stumbles, falls, as well as the safe operation of forklifts 
and further machinery.
We also carry out behavior-based safety training at our sites, in which our 
managers learn to recognize safe and unsafe behavior. In addition, they are 
trained to conduct positive dialogues with employees on the topic of safe-
ty.
Management systems
In 2021 we introduced our new “Corporate Health & Safety Policy,” which de-
fines the basis for health and safety management at Consumer. This demon-
strates our leadership’s commitment to integrating health and safety into our 
corporate strategy and day-to-day work. 
To ensure a robust occupational health and safety management system that 
enables continuous improvement, we conduct external audits every three 
years at all our sites in accordance with our Internal Environmental and Safe-
ty Management Audit System (ESMAS) (see chapter “Upholding Human 
Rights”, p. 76). ESMAS is based on the two internationally recognized stand-
ards ISO 14001 (environmental management systems) and ISO 45001 (occu-
pational health and safety management systems).
What’s next?
We are pursuing the implementation of our strategy and continue to expand 
the programs that strengthen our health and safety management system. In 
2022 we will continue to focus on reducing the number of accidents related 
to the main risks in our operations, while introducing new best practices and 
programs that should lead to improvements in work permit procedures, ma-
chine safety and movement of materials.

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Non-financial Statement 2021
tesa 
Occupational health and safety management are firmly anchored in the tesa 
organization. In addition to statutory requirements, our Group-wide Occu-
pational Safety Guidelines form the basis of our internal occupational safe-
ty management system. 
The guidelines are complemented by company regulations and specific di-
rectives at each site. These stipulate that employees are regularly informed 
and made aware of security risks and potential hazards via specific training. 
The objective is to enable employees to prevent accidents and avoid health 
hazards through correct, responsible behavior. 
The guidelines also apply to subcontractors carrying out work at our sites. In 
the respective occupational health and safety committees and annual Man-
agement Review, the Executive Board evaluates incidents each year togeth-
er with the Occupational Safety department. On this basis, management in-
itiates new measures to improve employee safety and reduce work-related 
health risks. 
Systematic approach to occupational safety 
Our occupational safety management focuses on our ISO 14001 certified 
production sites, as these represent a greater risk for accidents and increased 
health impairments compared to our administrative offices. In our Sustaina-
bility Agenda we set out an ambitious roadmap: By 2025, all tesa sites that 
already have an environmental management system in accordance with 
ISO 14001 should also achieve ISO 45001 certification in occupational safety.
By achieving ISO 45001 certification in 2021 at our plant in Suzhou, China, 
we reached a further important milestone in occupational safety at tesa. This 
certification demonstrates that occupational health and safety has been sys-
tematically integrated into the Business Segment’s management and organ-
ization. 
We employ our own occupational safety specialists at all ISO 14001 certified 
sites. At the same time, we specifically promote international dialogue be-
tween these specialists. They discuss material occupational safety and health 
risks at annual in-person meetings as well as regular virtual conferences. In 
addition, they initiate joint projects, set standards, and share their experienc-
es. This approach contributes to the continuous improvement of accident 
prevention at tesa.  
Ad hoc risk assessments are carried out at tesa. These form the basis for se-
lecting or designing work equipment, work materials, work methods, work-
places, and work processes in such a way that technical and organizational 
deficiencies are avoided and employees can behave in a safe and healthy 
way. But changes in machinery, systems, or working premises, new purchas-
es and process adjustments can all have an impact on our employees’ health 
and safety. Through the involvement of expert employees, safety testing and 
acceptance as well as systematic hazard identification and risk assessment, 
are carried out at the time of procurement and commissioning of equipment.  
If we identify a security risk in this context, we take appropriate preventive or 
corrective action. On occupational safety committees, safety experts, em-
ployee representatives as well as management discuss the material results 
of risk assessments and define satisfactory measures. Furthermore, regular 
inspections and evaluations take place, and we carefully incorporate the in-
sights gained from these. Further preventive measures are rapidly imple-
mented as required, while our relevant health and safety documentation is 
regularly updated.  
The handling of hazardous materials is also regulated in detail. Together with 
the Corporate Regulatory Affairs department as well as Research & Develop-
ment and Production managers, the Occupational Safety department de-
signs tesa-specific processes for the handling, labeling, storage, and trans-
portation of hazardous materials. Employees who work with certain hazard-
ous substances undergo routine health examinations. In addition, equipment 
and tasks are checked at regular intervals for their safety and emissions. Ac-
tion to be taken in the event of an accident with hazardous materials is gov-
erned by our emergency management procedures. 
Preventive measures 
The “SafetyTour-App” developed by the IT department was introduced at 
all tesa production sites worldwide in 2021. CIP (Continuous Improvement 
Process) safety insights and the required measures identified during gov-
ernmental safety inspections can also be integrated in the backend of the 
app, in addition to the findings and measures during routine tesa-internal 
safety inspections. The easy data and image logging system enables these 
measures to be prioritized, selected, tracked and better archived using a 
traffic-light system. An integrated checklist ensures that no aspect is over-
looked during the tour.  
The “Safe Travels - avoid commuting accidents” campaign carried out at the 
headquarter in 2021 aimed to raise awareness among employees by pro-
viding tips and advice on how to get to and from their workplace safely. 
Fire protection was once again a focus in the 2021 reporting year. Fire ex-
tinguishing training, for example, was held for fire safety assistants at our 
production plants, observing COVID-19 safety measures. At the tesa Tech-
nology Center, the firefighting concept was adapted to increase employ-
ees’ safety when extinguishing with CO2 and to prevent accidents.  
As part of ongoing training during the COVID-19 pandemic, a joint digital 
refresher course was set up for safety officers at the German facilities.  
In the reporting year, safety dialogues were offered at headquarters for 
every manager, with more than 97 managers participating.

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Non-financial Statement 2021
Society
Consumer
Community engagement 
As a global company, we consider it our duty to take responsibility for our 
social environment and to have a lasting positive impact on the situation of 
our fellow citizens. Through our Corporate Purpose Care Beyond Skin, we 
express our passion and ambitions to reach beyond our core business and 
contribute to greater social cohesion. 
To achieve this goal, as the Global CSR Department we work closely togeth-
er with colleagues from the individual local affiliates around the world. These 
implement the global strategic framework in alignment with local conditions. 
In addition, at Beiersdorf headquarters we collaborate with colleagues from 
various specialist departments such as Marketing, Legal, Controlling, Re-
search & Development (R&D), Corporate Communications, and Medical Man-
agement. Since 2013 we have carried out annual assessments of the social 
projects we support worldwide. The project managers at our local affiliates 
collect all locally relevant data, which we standardize to enable a global anal-
ysis of our activities. The analysis results not only flow into a key database for 
our internal sustainability management, but they also form an integral part 
of our sustainability reporting.
As we pursue a vision of an “Inclusive Society,” our engagement focuses es-
pecially on those people affected by social inequality, marginalization, and 
isolation. We support local initiatives that aim to strengthen and support 
physical and mental health, a sense of social belonging, and the voluntary 
social participation of all members of society. This is how we want to make 
an important contribution towards a cohesive society. 
Our commitment in the Consumer Business Segment takes place both at the 
corporate level and at individual brand level, going far beyond our own val-
ue chain. Worldwide, the focus of our corporate commitment is on “Empow-
ering Girls” and disaster relief. Each brand also provides targeted support in 
fields that match its brand identity and competence, while aligning with the 
social needs and concerns of the local communities.
As we are focused on achieving social improvement, we also involve our con-
sumers in our brand engagement. We constantly and transparently provide 
them with information on our social initiatives, raising public awareness of 
key social issues. 
Engagement at corporate level
In 2021 we continued the COVID-19 aid program for which Beiersdorf Con-
sumer had already initiated global partnerships in 2020. Through the pro-
gram, we aim to provide people in particular in the epicenters of the pan-
demic and in regions and countries with weak public health systems and in-
frastructures with support appropriate to their situation.
Beyond emergency aid, within these partnerships Beiersdorf is committed 
to providing medium to long-term support for local people. Many countries 
are facing long-lasting socio-economic impacts and challenges in the wake 
of the COVID-19 pandemic. Above all, girls and young women are affected 
by the pandemic and its consequences, due to their age and gender. In cri-
ses they are exposed to an increased risk of gender-based violence, for ex-
ample, being married off against their will, and having to leave school per-
manently. Similarly, girls and young women are more likely to engage in ac-
tivities that expose them to a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, for exam-
ple in (home) care and healthcare. “Empowering Girls” is therefore a special 
focus of our COVID-19 relief program.
To provide the most effective support possible, we work with two interna-
tional non-profit organizations, Plan International and CARE: Both bring high-
ly relevant expertise in their respective fields, can rely on well-established, 
stable local networks, and have years of experience in measuring the aid im-
pact. 
In 2021 Beiersdorf set itself the target of directly reaching more than 300,000 
people by 2023 with projects to empower girls. “Direct beneficiaries” are 
people who benefit directly from one or more project activities.
In the sense of a holistic, systemic approach that seeks to stimulate change 
across all of society, people of all genders and ages in a project’s locality can 
be counted as direct beneficiaries. Only by involving diverse members of a 
community can a lasting positive impact on individuals – in this case girls and 
young women – be achieved. 
In partnership with Plan International, Beiersdorf works to strengthen girls’ 
rights to access education and contributes to preventing gender-based vio-
lence during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. As part of the project in 
Kenya, for example, scholarships are awarded to girls as direct beneficiaries, 
enabling them to go to school. This indirectly benefits each girl’s family mem-
bers, as the household income can now be used for purposes other than the 
daughter’s school fees and it is assumed that the knowledge acquired by the 
girls will be shared or applied at home. In total, the projects reached 13,088 
people in Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia during the reporting period and 
3,026 people in Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria. The projects are designed to run 
for a total of two years each, starting from October 2020 (Latin America) and 
February 2021 (Africa).
Since January 1, 2021, in partnership with CARE, Beiersdorf has worked to 
ensure that particularly vulnerable groups in Africa, such as girls and young 
women, receive information about COVID-19 and access to appropriate 
healthcare. In addition, the objective of this two-year project is to mitigate 
the socio-economic consequences for these target groups and strengthen 
their livelihoods. Its geographical focus is Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Su-
dan. In Somalia, for example, 30 girls and young women (up to 25 years old) 
participated in so-called Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). In 
these groups, they acquire knowledge of financial processes such as loans 
and savings rates. However, the groups also achieve much more: Girls and

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Non-financial Statement 2021
young women gain greater self-confidence, pass on what they have learned 
to their family and their community, participate more actively in society, open-
ly express their opinions, and can take concrete steps towards economic in-
dependence. In the reporting period, 41,475 people were reached directly 
through the project, which is planned to run for two years.
In 2021 Beiersdorf already reached 57,962 of the more than 300,000 peo-
ple targeted by the projects to empower girls. 
In addition, Beiersdorf works closely with Ashoka, the world’s largest network 
of social entrepreneurs in “Empowering Girls.” October 2021 marked the 
launch of a one-year social innovation initiative. Together with Ashoka, 
Beiersdorf will award grants to five leading female social entrepreneurs from 
the United Kingdom, Poland, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland, whose projects 
are explicitly dedicated to empowering and enabling girls and women. In 
addition to this, Ashoka and Beiersdorf want to promote the networking of 
European female social entrepreneurs from January 2022. The number of 
beneficiaries will not be recorded in this case due to the conceptual design 
of the project.
A three-year psychological study with the University of Cardiff was launched 
in the reporting period to investigate the impact of the coronavirus pandem-
ic and similar crises on the well-being of people with skin diseases. The study 
also includes an investigation into how these impacts can be mitigated with 
online support tools. In the first phase of the study, a detailed literature re-
view and initial patient surveys are conducted to ensure the most patient-cen-
tered development possible.
The research project will not only give scientists key insights into the effects 
of the coronavirus crisis: They will also provide fundamental guidance for 
Beiersdorf’s future social responsibilities at brand and corporate level.
Beiersdorf also followed the news and images of destruction following heavy 
rainfall in Germany, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands in summer 2021. 
As a sign of solidarity and to provide rapid support for those affected, our 
company donated one million euros to the German and Belgian Red Cross 
as well as to the German Life Saving Society (DLRG). Both are long-standing 
partners of Beiersdorf’s Hansaplast and NIVEA brands.
Engagement at brand level
We continue to develop our social commitment at brand level. At the start 
of 2021, the NIVEA and Eucerin brands announced their own global social 
missions. Our colleagues in the country organisations take over the local co-
ordination of the projects, while our global strategies and quality standards 
serve as a guideline.
•	 NIVEA’s social mission, “The Power of Human Touch,” supports Human 
Touch projects to promote the quality of life of people affected by loneli-
ness, including premature babies, visually impaired people, and elderly 
people with dementia.   
By 2025, “Human Touch” projects are intended to positively impact the in-
dividual health and well-being of more than 150,000 people. In this effort, 
the people who are the focus of the respective project intervention and 
whose quality of life is to be improved are counted, i.e. premature babies, 
visually impaired people and older people with dementia. The projects 
are to be implemented by 2025 with a total financial commitment of 
20 million euros. In 2021, the subsidiaries began to implement the global 
strategy locally. They concentrated mainly on identifying partners and pro-
jects. Thus, a large part of the project activities will only begin in 2022. We 
will report on the progress of the projects in the following years. 
•	 Eucerin is committed to promoting the social inclusion of people affect-
ed by skin disease. Its projects center on reducing social exclusion and 
stigmatization, as well as on improving participation in society.
In the USA, Eucerin cooperates with FIRST (Foundation for Ichthyosis & Re-
lated Skin Types). This joint project works to support teenagers and young 
adults suffering from the physical, emotional, and social challenges of ich-
thyosis; the project’s workshops strengthen their skills, knowledge, and 
self-confidence. The objective is to promote their social inclusion and re-
duce the psychological burden of the disease.
By 2023 Eucerin plans to implement local social projects in at least 
15 countries to improve the quality of life of skin-disease sufferers and 
promote their social inclusion. In 2021 the project was already implement-
ed in four countries, with one project this year initially focusing on Coro-
na pandemic containment measures within the target group due to the 
situation on the ground.
At brand level, Beiersdorf’s Healthcare brands Hansaplast, Elastoplast, and 
CURITAS want to initiate a global social mission in 2022 with a focus on first-
aid education for children. These brands will set up projects in cooperation 
with local Red Cross organizations, among others. Their common goal is to 
provide children with the knowledge they need to treat their own wounds 
and the wounds of others, and to be able to give themselves and others first-
aid treatment. 
Human Rights
Beiersdorf is actively promotes compliance with laws, codes of conduct, and 
human rights. This responsibility is deeply anchored in how we see ourselves, 
as well as in our Core Values. It applies not only to our own company branch-
es and employees worldwide but to all business partners and their employ-
ees throughout our value chain. We do not tolerate any form of corruption, 
forced labor, child labor, or discrimination – neither at our own sites nor at 
any point in our supply chain. 
Upholding human rights throughout the value chain 
We have identified risks relating to upholding human rights above all in gen-
eral procurement and purchasing, and therefore in the upstream supply 
chain. Our goal is to minimize all risks with regard to human rights violations 
as far as possible.

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As mentioned in our “Declaration of Principles on Respect for Human Rights”, 
we are not only a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) 
but also steer our own business activities and our cooperation with business 
partners based on fundamental principles and guidelines. These include the 
UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organ-
ization (ILO) Conventions, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enter-
prises. In addition, we ensure that country-specific regulations and official 
governmental requirements are fully implemented. 
We focus on long-term relationships with business partners who commit to 
and align with our principles of sustainable, responsible corporate govern-
ance and explicitly promote these. We have also developed internal and ex-
ternal Codes of Conduct for our employees and our suppliers that contain 
binding requirements on upholding human rights. 
We require our business partners to follow and comply with our standards 
and communicate them to their upstream supply chain as well. This applies 
both in terms of required product quality as well as transparent, fair, and re-
sponsible business practices. This way we want to ensure that our business 
partners meet their social, environmental, and economic responsibilities – 
and that high-quality products are the end result. 
Consumer 
Consumer Business Segment creates binding standards  
With our Code of Conduct for Business Partners (CoC), the Consumer Busi-
ness Segment has committed all our business partners along the supply chain 
with an annual purchasing volume of more than € 50,000 to comply fully with 
our standards. The CoC is aligned with our Core Values and establishes uni-
form, binding criteria for responsible action, including critical aspects such 
as prohibiting corruption, child labor, forced labor, and discrimination, as 
well as promoting occupational health and safety, the right to freedom of as-
sociation and collective bargaining, and environmental protection. We cur-
rently process over 90% of our procurement volume through business part-
ners who have explicitly committed to our CoC. Going forward we intend to 
increase this percentage, particularly in view of the German Supply Chain 
Act which comes into force on January 1, 2023.  
Risk screenings and audits 
In addition, environmental protection and occupational safety audits have 
been carried out at all Beiersdorf Consumer facilities since 2013. These ­audits 
are aligned with the requirements of the “Environmental Protection and 
­Safety Management Audit Scheme” (ESMAS), which are based on the inter-
nationally recognized ISO 14001 (environmental management systems) 
and DIN ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety management systems) 
standards. 
ESMAS audits take place every three years and verifies whether appropriate 
measures are implemented to guarantee compliance with our globally ap-
plicable environmental as well as occupational health and safety standards 
atour sites. In the fourth quarter of 2021 we plan to audit our facility in Ar-
gentona (Spain). In addition to the ESMAS audits, our plant in Thailand was 
audited in the reporting year to the standardized “Sedex Members Ethical 
Trade Audit” (SMETA) 4-pillar audit protocol. As part of the new supply chain 
law, we plan to conduct further SMETA audits at our facilities worldwide by 
the end of 2022. 
The Vice Presidents of the functions Sustainability and Procurement are re-
sponsible for sustainability in our overall sourcing operations and through-
out the supply chain. The Responsible Sourcing team analyses our more than 
21,000 direct suppliers to determine whether or not deeper risk screening 
is needed, tailored to the specific countries from which we source our goods 
and services. 
As well as country-specific risks, other factors also play a role in risc classifi-
cation: These include the purchasing volume and the proximity of the re-
spective goods or service providers to Beiersdorf’s brand locations. Direct 
suppliers with a resulting medium or high risk are required to provide com-
prehensive self-assessment via the Sedex platform. On this basis, the Respon-
sible Sourcing team carries out a detailed risk assessment and decides 
whether a subsequent audit is required. 
To ensure objectivity, the audit is carried out by independent certified audi-
tors according to the standardized SMETA 4-pillar audit protocol. The results 
of the audit highlight concrete challenges and fields for action and serve as 
a basis for the joint development of action plans with our suppliers. In ex-
treme cases, audit results may lead to us terminating business relationships. 
By leveraging international collaboration platforms such as Sedex and 
AIM-PROGRESS, we can continuously improve our sustainability engagement 
right along the supply chain.
tesa
Responsibly designing purchasing processes 
We require direct suppliers to the tesa Business Segment to sign our Code 
of Conduct for Suppliers (CoCfS). This underpins the responsible manage-
ment of our global procurement processes and sets out fundamental rules 
and obligations in the areas of human rights, labor standards, environmen-
tal protection, and corruption prevention. The Ten Principles of the UN Glob-
al Compact serve as the basis of the CoCfS. We expect our supplier compa-
nies to share our standards. If suppliers violate our rules, we ask them to rem-
edy their shortcomings
We purchase our raw materials all over the world which makes our supply 
chains complex. That is why we cooperate closely with our suppliers. By work-
ing closely together, we want to ensure high product quality and security of 
supply.

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The rules for our global purchasing processes are defined and described in 
the Purchasing Compliance Guideline (PCG), which also forms part of our 
Group-wide Compliance Manual. This guideline includes binding rules of 
conduct for our procurement activities. We have provided a “How to source 
in the right way” training for all tPN employees since 2017 to raise awareness 
of human rights compliance among our purchasing process managers. This 
specially developed online training course explains the role of the CoCfS 
and the PCG in our purchasing processes. 
Sustainability program for suppliers 
In addition to securing the explicit commitment of our key suppliers to the 
tesa CoCfS, our stated objective is to increase supply chain transparency and 
sustainability constantly and progressively. In 2020 we launched a supplier 
sustainability program to check our suppliers’ compliance with human rights, 
working conditions and environmental standards in our supply chain. Since 
then, we ask our suppliers to share their sustainability performance with tesa 
via the EcoVadis information system. The assessment is the first step to 
achieve supply chain transparency. Thus, it subsequently enhances sustain-
able development. At the end of 2021, EcoVadis self-assessments were avail-
able for 43% of our direct purchasing volume. Over the next few years, we 
intend to gradually increase this share: By 2025, sustainability assessments 
are to be available for a total of 80% of our direct purchasing volume. In the 
course of 2021 we expanded the sustainability program to include indirect 
purchasing.
Compliance
The following statement for the topic Compliance covers both Beiersdorf 
Consumer and tesa. Both Business Segments have established their own in-
dependent compliance management systems (CMS), which follow uniform 
standards and are implemented in close alignment between the two respec-
tive Corporate Compliance Management teams. Differences in the precise 
design of the CMS of the two Business Segments are described below, inso-
far as they exist. 
Our Core Values for responsible conduct 
For us, compliance means that statutory laws as well as commercial rules and 
regulations are observed without compromise. Both the Consumer and tesa 
Business Segments have established a respective Code of Conduct (CoC) 
to ensure compliance with these standards and to fulfill our social responsi-
bility as a company in the best possible way. As an overarching value frame-
work, the CoC is intended to provide orientation for action in all our busi-
ness activities. Furthermore, it supports all our employees, managers, and 
company organs in complying with and living by the core principles and val-
ues of the Business Segments. As a directive for our actions, the CoC con-
tributes to affirming our company’s status now and in the future as a trusted 
partner to our customers, business partners, shareholders, and further stake-
holders. 
Group-wide compliance management 
Our Group-wide CMS is based on established standards such as the IDW AsS 
980. 
We follow these guiding principles: 
•	 Prevent: Preventive measures are anchored into our management system to 
avoid wrongdoing.  
•	 Detect: We use risk analyses to detect and manage material compliance risks 
Group-wide. Additional control instruments help reveal noncompliant be-
havior.  
•	 React and Improve: We penalize any violations of statutory or internal regu-
lations as appropriate in each individual case. In addition, we continuously 
derive improvement measures for the entire CMS.
We see our compliance management system as making an important con-
tribution to sustainable and future-oriented action, in line with our tradition 
as a reliable and trustworthy group of companies.
Prevent 
Antitrust law continues to be an important compliance issue for both parts 
of the Group. The reasons for this are our business models, legal complexi-
ty, the continually increasing prosecution activity worldwide, as well as the 
potential for sanctions by antitrust authorities. In addition to antitrust law, as 
in previous years, our compliance programs also focus on corruption pre-
vention as well as data protection-compliant behavior. The programs serve 
to sensitize our relevant employee groups to these topics in particular, and 
to give them a secure basis for both action and decision-making.  
Our Corporate Compliance departments are responsible for defining, de-
veloping and monitoring the minimum standards for these programs, as well 
as an appropriate CMS in their respective organization. These systems are 
under continual development, always considering the companies’ strategies 
and a constantly evolving international legal framework. Furthermore, the 
Corporate Compliance departments continually monitor the CMS, advising 
and supporting local compliance officers as well as local management ac-
cordingly. 
Both Corporate Compliance departments also support company manage-
ment in identifying risks that go beyond their own organizational responsi-
bility and periodically carry out a holistic Compliance Risk Assessment for 
this purpose.
In our regions and affiliates, we have established locally responsible compli-
ance officers who are to communicate all the elements of the compliance 
programs to our employees and work towards their local application. This is 
to ensurethat all the components of our compliance system are anchored in 
the regions and affiliates and are also constantly monitored and improved. 
A special network of external lawyers specialized in antitrust issues is availa-
ble to local companies.

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Non-financial Statement 2021
Besides practice-oriented training and consulting services, a set of guide-
lines also forms a core element of our compliance programs.
•	 These antitrust guidelines provide clear directives on antitrust-compliant 
behavior, requirements for contact and the exchange of information with 
competitors, guidance for communication with customers, for example, 
with regard to sale prices, as well as fundamental dos and dont’s. 
•	 The anti-corruption guidelines govern the handling of gifts, product sam-
ples, and invitations from and to representatives and employees of other 
companies or public officials. They also contain information on how to deal 
with conflicts of interest. 
•	 The data protection guidelines describe in particular how the principles 
of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are imple-
mented for the lawful processing of data in our EU companies. These 
guidelines direct and instruct our employees on the compliant handling 
of data. In addition, the data protection teams have established internal 
partnerships with key data protection functions such as Cyber Security and 
Procurement. 
We have implemented a comprehensive, target group-specific training 
­concept. Taking a risk-oriented approach, we train an average of several thou-
sand employees worldwide annually on corruption prevention as well as 
­antitrust and data protection-compliant behavior. This training is delivered 
face-to-face or in an e-learning format and it serves to raise our employees’ 
awareness of the topic and to show them where to obtain further support. In 
addition, Members of the Executive Board and Supervisory Board are regu-
larly informed about relevant compliance matters. In 2021 the Beiersdorf 
Consumer Segment achieved an employee training participation rate of 
95% and the tesa Segment a training rate of 98% for antitrust law training 
worldwide.1
Our employees can find key guidance and information on the relevant com-
pliance intranet pages. In addition, we use various communication channels 
such as the intranet and e-mail to inform our workforce regularly about 
­compliance topics and related new developments. In addition, we regularly 
exchange information with our local affiliates, on generally relevant updates, 
emerging questions, or best-practice approaches for example. 
We anchor the compliance principles in our companies through these reg-
ular communication and training measures. As part of a worldwide Compli-
ance Week, in 2021 Beiersdorf once again presented the various compliance 
programs clearly to all its employees and explained the content of the pro-
grams to our workforce. 
Detect 
The analysis of compliance risks forms the basis of our compliance manage-
ment system and our compliance programs. To this end, we regularly identify 
existing and future compliance risk areas in our business models and our 
­geographical presence as part of a holistic compliance risk assessment. In 
addition, both corporate compliance departments support their management 
in identifying risks that go beyond their own organizational responsibility.
In a second step, these are evaluated and prioritized. High-priority issues are 
analyzed for their specific risks in order to ensure that appropriate counter-
measures exist or are taken. This is done both centrally and in the subsidiar-
ies. The results are presented to the Executive Board and leveraged to con-
tinually adapt and improve our global and local compliance programs.  
In order to work and live compliantly and sustainably, as well as to maintain 
and further promote an open and trusting culture of compliance and com-
munication, the personal commitment of our individual employees is essen-
tial. For this reason, we have established and communicated various reporting 
systems to report possible compliance violations – anonymously if desired. 
For example, the Beiersdorf Consumer Business Segment has implemented 
the whistleblowing platform “Speak up. We care.” that can be accessed 
worldwide around the clock. Additionally, both Business Segments have es-
tablished external ombudspersons who are available to receive notifications 
of potential compliance violations in confidence. Both they and the whistle-
blower platform are available not only to the company’s own employees but 
also to the general public to allow it to report possible misconduct. Besides 
the above, we also provide internal options for reporting such as Corporate 
Compliance e-mail addresses. 
We have established processes to investigate and clarify any information re-
ceived and ensure that appropriate measures are taken, following careful 
consideration. Relevant specialist functions and the Corporate Auditing de-
partment are usually involved in the investigation.  
Corporate Auditing is another independent monitoring function within 
Beiersdorf AG. The department conducts regular audits of both Business 
Segments, of which compliance-relevant topics form an integral part. In ad-
dition, each Corporate Compliance department regularly monitors compli-
ance with centrally defined minimum standards, through on-site visits or que-
ries about the implementation of measures, for instance.
React and improve 
We closely monitor the effectiveness of our compliance management system 
by means of our regular Group-wide compliance reporting. The results are re-
ported to the Executive Board and Supervisory Board. These reports record 
compliance incidents as well as the status of our compliance programs cen-
trally and at affiliates worldwide. We derive further action based on this infor-
mation and implement appropriate measures. The affiliates are naturally re-
quired to inform the Corporate Compliance department immediately about 
any material compliance incidents, also outside the regular reporting cycles, 
in order to be able to react immediately.  
We view the continual and thorough development of our compliance man-
agement systems as an integral part of our activities. Through these we take 
internal adaptation requirements into account, as well as the dynamic chang-
es in legal frameworks and economic conditions. In the reporting year we rolled 
out updated antitrust guidelines and the corresponding training concepts to 
all affiliates in the Consumer Business Segment, and also made the necessary 
adjustments to existing processes in accordance with the EU Whistleblowing 
Directive. At tesa, existing antitrust guidelines and processes were revised, and 
key additional compliance training material was created and rolled out to all 
affiliates for local use.  
1	The participation rate refers to the target and risk group that was defined in advance for the antitrust compliance field. This includes all employees and managers who may come into contact with antitrust 
issues and requirements. From 2022 onwards, we intend to report further key figures on training in other compliance fields as part of the Non-financial statement.

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Non-financial Statement 2021
Further matters
Product Safety
Our highest priority is to provide safe products that are fully compatible with 
our consumers’ health and the environment. All our products therefore need 
to comply with numerous statutory requirements before they can receive of-
ficial market approval. Both Business Segments apply high standards in this 
regard. 
Consumer
In this respect, our understanding of quality goes beyond the evaluation and 
approval of our products. We understand quality as a dynamic process of 
continuous improvement and express this understanding in the Beiersdorf 
Quality Policy. It guides our Executive Board, our management, and all our 
employees in their daily actions. The Policy serves to maintain and expand 
our costumer satisfaction as well as high levels of trust for the long term, thus 
ensuring our future competitiveness. 
Safety evaluation of all raw materials and cosmetic 
product formulas
To make sure we meet our own strict requirements regarding the quality of 
our products, we employ a team of experienced, highly qualified safety as-
sessors. Only when raw materials and formulas have passed the legally re-
quired assessment and approval by this team can they be used in our fin-
ished products.
The safety assessors work closely with related specialist functions such as Re-
search & Development for formulas and packaging. Together they evaluate 
every raw material we use and every formula with regard to their safety and 
compatibility for consumers. This is done primarily in accordance with the in-
ternationally recognized rules laid down in EU Cosmetics Regulation 
1223/2009 for safety assessment, as well as the requirements of the SCCS 
Notes of Guidance in the 11th revision from 2021. These European specifi-
cations for the safety assessment of raw materials and products are recog-
nized internationally. They are therefore frequently adopted in other coun-
tries and regions of the world, where they serve as legal guidelines for mar-
keting. 
As well as experience and technical know-how, safety evaluations of cosmet-
ic products rely strongly on scientific exchange about new findings regard-
ing the compatibility and safety of raw materials, formulas, and packaging 
materials. Accordingly, our safety assessors attend international conferenc-
es, participate in working groups and expert teams, and also take part in spe-
cialist international training courses. The focus is always on professional ex-
change and ongoing training. This should help us continue to act appropri-
ately and responsibly in the future.
It is also important to us that we hold our external service providers and sup-
pliers, such as perfume and raw material manufacturers, accountable. We re-
quire them to certify their compliance with statutory requirements as well as 
those that go beyond the legally required scope.
Beiersdorf’s global mandatory safety requirements
We have established our detailed safety requirements in the Beiersdorf Prod-
uct Safety Policy. This is a globally binding policy, as we do not differentiate 
between regions or sites in our safety evaluation of raw materials, formulas, 
and products, but apply the same uniform standards worldwide.
The requirements of the EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 are particular-
ly important to us. On the one hand, the EU Cosmetics Regulation governs 
the qualification of safety assessors and product safety requirements; on the 
other, it also defines the specifications for correct product labeling and for 
providing information that ensures safe transport and product handling. 
Global statutory requirements on product safety change continually. To mit-
igate the risk of infringing current regulations, our central Regulatory Affairs 
team collaborates with an international network of local regulatory affairs of-
ficers. They follow all the regulatory requirements and the latest changes to 
them in the countries in which our products are sold. This way, we ensure our 
products meet all the currently applicable requirements for their respective 
markets as early as the product development stage. 
Animal testing
At Beiersdorf, we are committed to making animal testing obsolete world-
wide. We are convinced that animal testing is not necessary to prove the skin 
tolerability and effectiveness of our cosmetic products. This is why we do not 
conduct any animal testing for our cosmetic products and their ingredients, 
and do not have any animal testing done on our behalf.
In the EU, animal testing has been completely banned for cosmetic products 
since 2004, and for all the ingredients of these products since 2013. 
Beiersdorf complies with these legal requirements and, for a long time be-
fore they were developed, we actively avoided animal testing worldwide 
whenever legally possible. It is our stated goal to advance research to the 
point when animal testing can be completely abandoned worldwide. 
Consumer safety is our top priority. As one of the leading research-based 
companies, we have been involved in the development and acceptance of 
alternative test methods for almost 40 years. We are significantly involved in 
the development and validation of key methods that are now international-
ly accepted by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and De-
velopment) and alrrecognized by important regulatory authorities. 
In collaboration with numerous partners and stakeholders to date, we are ac-
tively engaged in the development of innovative alternative methods and 
the international acceptance of existing ones. We are involved in various 
working groups in the European umbrella organization of the cosmetics in-
dustry (Cosmetics Europe), cooperate with the European Centre for the Val-
idation of Alternative Methods (EURL ECVAM) and support the OECD by pro-
viding scientific findings. We are an active member of the European Society 
of Toxicology In Vitro (ESTIV) and since 2006 a founding member of the Eu-
ropean Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA), a 
joint organization of the European Commission and seven industry sectors. 
In addition, Beiersdorf has established cooperations in the field of innova-
tive cutting-edge research, for example in research into so-called organ chips, 
which simulate the interaction of several organs.

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Non-financial Statement 2021
Even though great progress has already been made, at the present time, 
there are still not officially accepted and established alternative test ­methods 
for all safety issues. Therefore, we will also continue to advocate intensively 
for the development and successful use of alternatives to animal testing.
tesa
The quality and safety of our products are decisive for the satisfaction of our 
customers and thereby for our economic success. tesa wants to ensure this 
through consistent quality management. If products display safety defects, 
this can have a negative impact – both on us and the people who handle 
them. We aim to continually make products that satisfy the highest quality 
and safety requirements.  
A systematic approach to quality and safety 
tesa wants to design its products and processes to ensure that they fulfill the 
diverse expectations of our customers and stakeholders and that no one is 
harmed during their production or use. Our core goal for product safety is 
to keep the number of product liability cases to zero. All tesa production sites 
therefore apply certified management systems in accordance with globally 
recognized quality norms, standards, and regulations. The compliance of our 
products, systems, and processes is periodically checked and confirmed 
through both internal and external audits at the relevant locations. 
We comply with applicable laws and guidelines. Our internal Product Safe-
ty Guidelines complements strict statutory provisions and describe manda-
tory measures that enable us to further increase the safety of our products. 
In addition, they specify the roles and responsibilities of the Product Safety 
& Conformity Representatives (PSCR). The tesa Product Safety Guidelines ap-
ply worldwide and our employees have access to the document via our in-
tranet. 
Product safety officers 
Every plant worldwide has a local Product Safety & Conformity Representa-
tive (PSCR) who reports to the Corporate PSCR, the central product safety of-
ficer. All our PSCRs must complete an external training course that is recog-
nized officially. They are usually also quality officers at the plants. 
Product safety management at tesa is an essential component of quality man-
agement, for which the Executive Board holds co-responsibility. The Corpo-
rate Regulatory Affairs and Product Development departments are respon-
sible for assessing materials and substances. For these assessments they rely 
on various chemicals databases, evaluate research findings, and consider in-
formation on safety-related substance properties as well as the safe handling 
of substances and mixtures. As a rule, a safety data sheet is available for every 
product that includes comprehensive safety information – for example, on 
materials and substances, proper storage and correct handling, as well as 
recommendations for disposal. 
Risk analyses ensure quality
Avoiding product errors plays a key role for us, so the Product Development 
and Production departments conduct risk assessments or failure mode and 
effects analyses (FMEA) for every new project. This helps them to identify po-
tential defects in design, production or even usage directions, such as inac-
curate instruction manuals, during the development process. Once products 
are on the market, our business units continue to monitor them. If the units 
recognize that a renewed risk analysis and evaluation as well as further or 
new measures are required, they initiate the necessary steps to ensure the 
health and safety of our customers and employees. 
Internal audits and training courses
Safe product solutions are due not only to the strict quality requirements of 
tesa but also to the consistent development of expertise within the compa-
ny. In the reporting year, selected PSCRs received training on how to carry 
out line checks during production, in accordance with product integrity re-
quirements. This allowed the required specialist knowledge to be expand-
ed further.
The Quality Management department and PSCRs are responsible for our in-
ternal audits. Both event-driven and annual audits are carried out on Re-
search and Development and Production as well as other divisions as re-
quired, for example Marketing. In the reporting year, the tesa Group’s pro-
duction sites again passed an audit in accordance with globally recognized 
quality norms and standards such as ISO 9001 or IATF 16949. IATF certifica-
tion in particular places special emphasis on the conformity of all products, 
processes, parts, and services, as well as product safety.
EU Taxonomy Reporting
With the entering into force of the EU Taxonomy Regulation, Beiersdorf is 
obliged to disclose information on turnover, capital expenditures (CapEx) 
and operating expenses (OpEx) that are associated with environmentally sus-
tainable economic activities. The EU Taxonomy Regulation sets out criteria 
for determining whether an economic activity is eligible for classification as 
sustainable with regard to various environmental objectives. The overall ob-
jective is to create a more sustainable financial system, to channel direct in-
vestments to green and sustainable projects, and thus to contribute to the 
European Green Deal. 
The Regulation came into effect for the financial year 2021 with simplifica-
tions for reporting, which is why the following information refers only to the 
taxonomy eligibility of economic activities and not to their taxonomy align-
ment. In addition, the information available concerns only the environmen-
tal objectives “Climate change mitigation” and “Climate change adaptation”.
Taxonomy Impact Analysis Procedure1
To determine its overall taxonomy capability, Beiersdorf assembled a 
cross-functional team in spring 2021 with representatives from the tesa and 
Consumer Sustainability Departments, Group Accounting and Consolida-
tion (Consumer), and Corporate Controlling (tesa) at its core. In addition, fur-
ther departments including IT Controlling, Manufacturing Controlling, and 
Facility Management were involved in order to integrate expertise on indi-
vidual business activities. 
1	Given the ongoing dynamic development of the formulations contained within the EU Taxonomy Regulation, uncertainties persist regarding the interpretation of its wording and terms. There may therefore 
be adjustments in future to our Taxonomy Impact Analysis.

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Non-financial Statement 2021
In a first step, the team identified the taxonomy-eligible activities at Beiersdorf, 
with reference to the definitions of the NACE codes referenced in Annex 1 
of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Regulation (EU) 2020/852 and the ac-
tivity descriptions. The Taxonomy Compass provided by the EU Commission 
was also applied.
In parallel, the definitions of the key OpEx, CapEx and turnover figures as de-
fined in Annex 1 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 were analyzed, and the data 
for the respective reference values (key figure denominators) were collect-
ed, based on the data in our Financial Controlling systems. The relevant cost 
types were identified here, particularly in the area of OpEx.
For the activities identified as taxonomy-eligible, approaches were then de-
fined for estimating and gathering data on the corresponding OpEx, CapEx 
and turnover.
Taxonomy-eligible Economic Activities Identified
The following economic activities have been identified as taxonomy-eligible:
Information and Communication
•	 Since the Consumer Business Segment operates a Data Center and pro-
vides these services to tesa, Activity 8.1 “Data processing, hosting and re-
lated activities” was identified as relevant. Also relevant is Activity 8.2 
“Data-­driven solutions for GHG emissions reductions”, as we use GaBi and 
SoFi emissions management software as well as energy management sys-
tems.
Construction and Real Estate
•	 Activity 7.4 “Installation, maintenance and repair of charging stations for 
electric vehicles in buildings (and parking spaces attached to buildings)” 
was identified as relevant, as we have vehicle-charging stations on our 
premises that are operated by a third party.
•	 Activities 7.3 “Installation, maintenance and repair of energy efficiency 
equipment”, 7.5 “Installation, maintenance and repair of instruments and 
devices for measuring, regulation and controlling energy performance of 
buildings” and 7.6 “Installation, maintenance and repair of renewable en-
ergy technologies” are part of our building management; they also in-
clude the installation, maintenance and repair of photovoltaic systems as 
well as measuring systems and energy-efficiency control units. We have 
classified the activities under 7.1 “Construction of new buildings” as not 
applicable to Beiersdorf. The construction of the factory and office build-
ings commissioned by us do not represent new buildings for the purpose 
of resale but serve our ongoing business operations.
Energy
•	 In this area, Activity 4.25 “Production of heat/cool using waste heat” was 
identified as taxonomy-eligible, as we use waste heat for internal heating 
processes. Other activities in this area, e.g. regarding the generation of 
renewable energies, were recorded in accordance with the EU Taxonomy 
Regulation under the economic activity “Construction and real estate”. 
Transport
•	 All our transport activities are outsourced to service providers, so that there 
is no taxonomy-eligible activity here either. Only our own fleet of compa-
ny cars falls under Definition 6.5 “Transport by motorbikes, passenger cars 
and light commercial vehicles”.
Manufacturing Industry / Goods Manufacturing
•	 The manufacture and sale of products from the Consumer business seg-
ment do not fall within the scope of taxonomy eligibility.
•	 tesa does not produce plastics in primary form but obtains them from sup-
pliers. Therefore, only revenues from the production of subcomponents 
for batteries are taxonomy-eligible (Activity 3.4 “Manufacture of batter-
ies”).
Analysis and calculation to turnover
In our analysis, we concluded that in the category of turnover, only the eco-
nomic activity 3.4 “Manufacture of batteries” at tesa falls within the taxono-
my-eligible business activities. However, we have classfified it as not appli-
cable to Beiersdorf, as these sales represent less than 1% of tesa’s turnover 
and thus significantly less than half a percent of the Group’s turnover of 
€ 7,627 million (see Consolidated Financial Statements, Income Statement).
Analysis and OpEx Calculation
As a basis for the calculation of the OpEx (denominator) reference value, the 
key financial figures for the full financial year 2021 were drawn from 
Beiersdorf’s Financial Controlling systems. At the same time, detailed que-
ries were carried put to the respective Controlling Functions to ensure data 
quality.
 
Included in the reference value were:
•	 All Research and Development operational costs
•	 All short-term leases
•	 Maintenance and repair costs of our company car fleet
•	 Maintenance and repair costs of our buildings as well as building and of-
fice technology systems
•	 Our IT infrastructure costs. 
To calculate the percentage shares of taxonomy-eligible positions in the total 
reference value (numerator), data was gathered directly from our financial 
­systems as far as possible. In cases where direct allocation was not possible, 
percentage shares were broken down and allocated via suitable keys (e.g. per-
sonnel keys) where necessary.
Around 3% of this reference value (€ 408 million) relates to the activities de-
scribed above as taxonomy-eligible. This value is not considered material and 
therefore no reporting on OpEx is provided.      
CapEx Calculation 
For CapEx we identified the investments and long-term leases associated 
with the activities classified as taxonomy-eligible; these are reported for 
both Business Segments. In addition to the investments in intangible assets 
(€ 11 million) and property, plant and equipment (€ 402 million; see Notes 
1	Given the ongoing dynamic development of the formulations contained within the EU Taxonomy Regulation, uncertainties persist regarding the interpretation of its wording and terms. There may therefore 
be adjustments in future to our Taxonomy Impact Analysis.

Combined Management Report
83
Non-financial Statement 2021
to the consolidated financial statements) reported in the annual report, the 
reference figure of € 502 million for CapEx also includes property, plant and 
equipment with long-term rights of use in the amount of € 89 million. As 
the investments of € 13 million identified as tax-deductible amount to less 
than 3% of the reference figure, a detailed breakdown by individual eco-
nomic activity is not provided. 
     
RELEVANT KEY FIGURES FOR THE NON-FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF THE BEIERSDORF GROUP
Consumer Business Segment
Unit
2020
2021
Environment
 
 
 
GHG emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2)
t CO2e
40,157
43,654
GHG emissions (Scope 3)
t CO2e
1,047,841
1,041,703
Absolute reduction GHG emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) vs. 2018
%
 32 
26
Absolute reduction of GHG emissions (Scope 3) vs. 2018
%
11.5
12.0
Reduction of fossil-based virgin plastic vs. 20191
%
6
9
Recycled material in plastic packaging1
%
 1
7
Reduction of nonbiodegradable polymers in European  
product formulas (based on raw material volume) vs. 20161
%
7
52
Reduction of microplastic in NIVEA products  
(based on raw material volume) vs. 2016
%
67
100
Reduction of microplastic in EUCERIN products  
(based on raw material volume) vs. 2016
%
25
45
Share of mass balance palm (kernel) oil and derivates1
%
100
100
FSC-certified paper in folding boxes1
%
100
100
Employees
 
 
 
Share of women management group 1 – 3
%
33
34
Share of internal recruitments management group 1
%
 60 
100
Share of internal recruitments management group 2
%
 79 
88
Accident frequency rate (AFR)
Accidents per 1 million working hours
 1.6 
1.0
Human Rights
 
 
 
Coverage supplier risk screening
%
100
100
Coverage code of conduct
%
903
92
Compliance
 
 
 
Participation rate competition compliance training
%
96
95
tesa Business Segment
Einheit
2020
2021
Environment
 
 
 
GHG emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2)
t CO2e
54,140
58,373
Specific GHG emissions per metric ton of end product
t CO2e
0.82
0.80
Electricity from renewable energy sources
%
50
52
Employees
 
 
 
Accident frequency rate (AFR)
Accidents per 1 million working hours
3.5
4.1
Compliance
 
 
 
Participation rate competition compliance training
%
98
98
Human rights
 
 
 
Coverage direct spend from suppliers assessed by EcoVadis
%
31
43
Product safety
 
 
 
tesa plants with quality management certificates
%
100
100
1	not including COPPERTONE
2	According to definition of United Nations Environment Program
3	Retrospective change in the 2020 coverage rate due to improved data quality.

Combined Management Report
84
Non-financial Statement 2021
RELEVANT KEY FIGURES FOR THE NON-FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF THE BEIERSDORF AG
 
Einheit
2020
2021
Environment
 
 
 
GHG emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2)
t CO2e
5,878
6,267
Absolute reduction GHG-emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) vs. 2018
%
11.4
5.21
Employees
 
 
 
Share of women in first management level
%
30
31
Share of women in second management level
%
47
52
Share of internal recruitments management group 1
%
100
100
Share of internal recruitments management group 2
%
75
86
Accident frequency rate (AFR)
Accidents per 1 million working hours
2.1
2.2
Compliance
 
 
 
Participation rate competition compliance training
%
92
99