tesa Sustainability Report 2019

OUR RESPONSIBILITY –OUR COMMITMENT
Sustainability Report 2019of the tesa Group

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tesa Sustainability Report 2019

CONTENTS

p. 3

Foreword

p. 4

About This Reportp. 5

The tesa Business Modelp. 7

Our Responsibility

p. 13
p. 14
p. 14
p. 16
p. 17
p. 17

COMPLIANCE

p. 18
p. 19
p. 22
p. 26
p. 27
p. 29
p. 31

EMPLOYEES

p. 32
p. 34
p. 38
p. 41

ENVIRONMENT

p. 42
p. 43
p. 44
p. 46

PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY

tesa Code of Conduct
Compliance ­Management System
Prevention of A
­ nti­competitive Practices
Corruption Prevention
Data Protection
Internal Succession
Occupational Safety
Good Leadership
Training, Development and Support
Feedback and Dialogue
Occupational Health M­ anagement
Climate Protection and CO2 Emissions
Efficient Use of Resources
Responsible Use of Water
Responsibility in the Supply Chain
Product Safety
Enabling Sustainability for Customers

p. 50	SOCIAL COMMITMENT AND
Title: The complex design ofmodern smartphones makes it
difficult to disassemble them.
tesa® Bond & Detach products
contribute to extending theuseful life of the devices on the
one hand and to ­improving
their recyclability on the other
hand (see p. 47).

INVOLVEMENT

p. 51
tesa helps: Being There for Others as a Good Neighborp. 52
tesa donates: ­Uncomplicated Help for ­Social Projects
p. 54	tesa supports: Recruiting the Next Generationof ­Employees
p. 55
tesa protects: Working to Protect the Environmenttesa Sustainability Report 20193

Dear readers,
For a long time now, tesa has seen success as morethan just improving business results and growing in our
focus markets – we have also measured the success of
our company based on our ecological and social performance for many years. We seek to improve both metrics
of success similarly and on a continuous basis. In orderto achieve this, we have made sustainability into a supporting pillar of our new business strategy.
In the process, we keep an eye not only on ourselves
but always also on our customers: By offering theminnovative, holistic solutions that make their processes
more efficient, their products better and their projects
more successful, we are also able to actively support
the sustainability goals of our customers in many ways.
For example, with our applications we contribute to
the development of sustainable technologies such ase-­mobility, lightweight construction or wind power. We
are proud of that.
At the same time, we are boosting our activities to protect the climate and environment. We can only actively
contribute to fighting such global challenges as climatechange, growing waste generation and resource scarcity
by continuously reducing our own ecological footprint.

tainability ratings for the first time and won a silver medal
for our sustainability efforts, which exceeded the average for the industry. It is our ambition in the coming years
not only to maintain but also to improve on this resultwith targeted measures and transparent ­reporting.
Many decisions that we make as corporate management have a global impact. Therefore, it is important
to us to align our actions with overarching guidelines.
We feel particularly committed to the principles of the
Global Compact, of which we have been a member
since 2006, as well as to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations. Beyond thelegal requirements, we publish an annual sustainability
report in order to transparently illustrate where we standand how we intend to make progress.

In 2019 we made renewed progress on our path to sustainable business operations: We were able to reduce
our CO2 emissions per ton of end product again by al­­most two percentage points according to the location-­based method. We also continued to improve the safetyof our employees: The frequency of accidents with morethan three lost days was 1.6 per million working hours
worldwide in 2019 – again below the previous year’s
figure. Both statistics are evidence that our management systems are effective. Part of our understandingof sustainability involves looking beyond our company
boundaries. Therefore, I am very pleased that so many
employees in the previous year committed themselves
to work on social projects worldwide and were able to
make a positive contribution in the areas surrounding
their sites.

This year as well, we owe our progress to the tremendous commitment and skill sets of our employees. On
behalf of the entire Executive Board, I would like to takethis opportunity to sincerely thank you for your efforts.

In 2019 our good sustainability performance received
official recognition: We participated in the EcoVadis sus-

Dr. Norman Goldberg

You can read what this progress looks like in our current
sustainability report. I hope you enjoy reading it.

CEO of tesa SE

4tesa Sustainability Report 2019

About this report

ABOUT THIS REPORTWith this sustainability report we provide our stakeholders and the public with insight into our worldwide commitment as well as the economic, ecological and social
impact of our corporate operations in 2019. The focus
here is on the responsibility that tesa assumes globallyas an international company. On the following pages wesummarize our management approaches, our significant measures, results and key figures, divided into thefive fields of:• Compliance• Employees• Environment• Product responsibility• Social commitment and involvement
This report is limited to an exemplary, but representative
selection of current initiatives that we are implementing at our affiliates worldwide. It focuses both on those
topics and areas that are of material importance to ourbusiness and those that have a major impact on ourbusiness activities. In 2017 we determined the essential
topics relevant for this in a “materiality analysis.” These
topics remain valid in the 2019 reporting year and are:“prevention of anticompetitive practices,” “internal succession,” “occupational safety,” “climate protection andCO2 emissions,” “human rights in the supply chain” aswell as “product safety.” A new materiality analysis isplanned for the 2020 reporting year.

UN Global Compact andCSR Directive
Implementation Act
With this report we meet our annual obligation to informthe Global Compact of the United Nations about ourprogress. As a participant in the Global Compact, tesa
commits itself to observe ten universal principles in theareas of human rights, labor standards, environmental
protection and corruption prevention. In accordancewith the German CSR Directive Implementation Act,
our parent company, Beiersdorf, is obligated to supplement the existing financial reporting with information
on key non-financial aspects of business activities. We
have integrated the non-financial information on tesa,
which is part of the non-financial group declaration of­Beiersdorf, into this sustainability report. This data isshown in brackets indicating the page or paragraph.

Editorial Notes andFurther Information
This report is available in German and English. The­German version is authoritative. Like all of the ­versions
published in previous years, it is available online at
 www.tesa.de/verantwortung or  www.tesa.com/
responsibility.

tesa Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 201963

affiliatesin over
100 countries

4,900
˜
employees
worldwide

DAS tesa GESCHÄFTSMODELL5> 2,500
employees
in Germany

R&D centersin Germany,
the U. S., and Asia

THE tesa
BUSINESS MODEL
tesa is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of­technical adhesive tapes and adhesive system solutions
for industrial and commercial customers as well as consum­
ers. Our more than 7,000 products find applications in­various industrial areas, such as the automotive industry,the ­electronics industry, the construction supply industry and the print and paper industry. In the consumer andcraftsmen market, our products make life easier – bothat home and at work. In addition, tesa works with thepharmaceutical industry to develop and produce medical
patches and films.

6tesa Sustainability Report 2019

The Group and Its Affiliates
Worldwide
tesa SE has been a wholly owned subsidiary of­Beiersdorf AG since 2001. tesa has 4,926 ­employees
worldwide (December 31, 2019) and operates in morethan 100 countries with 63 affiliates. Applications for various industry sectors account for about three-­quartersof the tesa Group’s sales (2019: 1,378.7 million euros).
tesa operates worldwide with a focus on Europe, followed by the regions of Africa, Asia, Australia andAmerica. In addition to tesa SE, the affiliates in China,
the United States, Italy and Singapore are among thelargest single companies in the tesa Group. We haveproduction facilities in Europe (Germany and Italy),­
the United States and Asia (China). The company head­quarters, which include an integrated research andtechnology center, have been located in Norderstedt,
near Hamburg, Germany, since 2015.

Strategic Alignment
Reliable quality, excellent service, a high degree ofinnovative capacity and the use of superior technologies are core elements of tesa’s brand philosophy
and success. Our actions are focused on the goal ofincreasing the value of the tesa Group in the interestsof our employees, customers and shareholders throughthe profitable sale of useful products. Our highly qualified employees and continuously optimized businessprocesses allow us to respond quickly and flexibly tochanges in the markets and develop a broad range ofhigh-quality, demand-driven products. In addition, ourknowledge of production processes and the ongoinganalysis of current trends and developments in theindustry give our company a competitive edge and en­­sure its lasting success.
Assuming corporate responsibility is an important element of our business processes: Accordingly, takingsocial and ecological aspects along the entire value
chain into account is an integral part of our corporate
culture and our core business principles. With an eye
to ensuring good, responsible corporate manage-

THE tesa BUSINESS MODEL

ment, we have developed internal standards, such as
the tesa Code of Conduct (see p. 14) and our environmental guidelines, and we emphasize compliance withthese rules across the entire Group. With the Code of
Conduct for Suppliers (see p. 43), we also obligate our
key business partners to comply with our sustainability
standards.

Solutions and Products
for Industry, Trade and­Consumers
Our business is divided into two segments: In the Direct
Industries division, tesa supplies specialized systemsolutions directly to industrial customers. In the process,we offer our customers effective solutions, high-quality
products and excellent service for the automotive, electronics, construction, health, transportation and print
and paper industries. Our products are also applied in
the area of renewable energies and in the household
appliances sector. We generate more than half of sales
in this division.
The Trade Markets division deals with the markets inwhich customers obtain their products not directly fromtesa, but via retail partners or similar channels. In addition to product ranges for private consumers and craftsmen, they also include adhesive tapes that are intended
for industrial and commercial customers. They are marketed primarily via technical retailers.

tesa Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2019

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

7

The tesa head­quarters,
which include an
integrated researchand technology center,
have been locatedin Norderstedt, near
Hamburg, Germany,
since 2015.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY
Growth and economic success at tesa are inseparably
linked with corporate responsibility. In aligning our businessactivities with sustainability, we see a tremendous opportunity. Nevertheless, global challenges such as climatechange, resource scarcity and profound social transformations such as demographic change demonstrate that it isnecessary to harmonize social, ecological and economic
concerns.

8tesa Sustainability Report 2019

We have firmly anchored this understanding in our corporate values and business processes with tesa Corporate Values and the tesa Code of Conduct (see p. 14).
Furthermore, in 2018 we made a clear commitment to
the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of theUnited Nations.

Our Corporate Values
Particularly as a company that operates internationally,
we are required to assume responsibility and to alignour business processes with a sustainable economy.
Accordingly, we assume responsibility at all stages ofour value chain, from the procurement of raw materials to recycling, and we also require that our suppliers
manage their businesses responsibly. In order to makethis attitude clear and understandable for all employees across the Group, we have established the tesa
Corporate Values. They are regularly checked for theirrelevance and were most recently revised in 2017. The
corporate values are accessible to all employees on theintranet and create a common vision of how we understand sustainability. In addition, they may be accessedon our corporate website at  www.tesa.com.

Guidelines for our Actions:Global Compact Principles
and SDGs
We have been a member of the Global Compact of theUnited Nations since 2006. Our membership underscores our commitment to upholding internationallyrecognized social and environmental standards in ourbusiness activities. The ten Global Compact principles in
the areas of human rights, labor standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption form the overarchingguidelines for our actions.
In 2018 we also reaffirmed our goal to make our contribution to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of
the United Nations. The SDGs constitute the core of
the 2030 Agenda, a global action plan for sustainable
development. They represent an important orientation
framework for our work on sustainability. For along withOUR RESPONSIBILITY

tesa Corporate Values• Our actions are guided by our customers’­satisfaction with the performance and qualityof our products and with our service.
•W e take a proactive stance toward shaping
our future and see change as an opportunity.
Innovations in technology, processes andproducts are the basis for future growth.
•O ur employees’ motivation, expertise and­efficiency ensure our long-term success.
•T hrough a sustainable increase in the valueof our company, we secure the satisfactionof shareholders so that they continue to invest
in our company, thereby safeguarding jobs.
•W e are committed to the implementation of
the principles of the Global Compact, which
encompasses the observance of human rights
and labor rights, the protection of the environment and the battle against corruption.
•W e assume social responsibility. Our main
focus is on supporting young people in ­naturalsciences and engineering, protecting the­environment and running social projects near
our sites.

politics and civil society, we as companies are urged to
do our part to achieve the SDGs. In order to define asprecisely as possible to which SDGs we can contributewith our activities and products, we have carried out acomparison with the 169 SDG targets.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

The result can be found in the following index. We also
include symbols at the start of every chapter to indicate
to which SDGs we are contributing with the activities
described in the respective chapter.

We contribute to the following SDGs andtheir ­corresponding targets:
SDG No.

Information in tesa
sustainability report

SDG targets

Our contribution

5.5: Ensure the full and effective
participation of women and theirequal opportunity to assume leadership roles at all levels of the decision-making process in political,
economic and public life

tesa has been a member of the UN Global Compact
since 2006. The ten principles in the areas ofhuman rights, labor standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption also represent the overarching guidelines for all actions at tesa. With ourmembership, we have committed ourselves to
Principle 6, “The elimination of discrimination in
respect of employment and occupation”, and reject
any form of discrimination in the workplace or in
the filling of positions.

Guidelines for our
Actions: Global Compact Principles andSDGs, p. 8

7.3: To double the worldwide growthrate of energy efficiency by 2030

tesa’s headquarters as well as seven of our pro­duction facilities have an ISO 14001-certified environmental management system. In addition, two
production facilities and tesa’s headquarters havean ISO 50001-certified energy management system.
The introduction of the energy management systems paved the way for further increasing theen­­er­gy efficiency of our facilities. Another strategic
approach for tesa is the use of energy and re­source-­
saving technologies. This includes the efficient
generation of our own energy through cogeneration.
Obtaining electricity from renewable sources also
represents an important lever for the reduction of
CO2 emissions.

Climate protection
and CO2 emissions,pp. 34 – 37

8.4: To improve worldwide resource
efficiency in consumption and production step-by-step by 2030 andto pursue the decoupling of economic growth and environmental
destruction in accordance with theten-year framework of programs forsustainable consumption and production patterns, whereby thedeveloped countries assume
leadership

Our products should be as harmless as possible tothe environment over their entire life cycle. During
development and manufacturing we take care toensure resource efficiency and to avoid productionwaste as much as possible. Measures to this end
are an integral part of our environmental protection
activities as a company. Wherever possible andsensible we use renewable and recycled raw materials. The reduction and avoidance of packaging
materials also helps to minimize waste and thereby
the negative impact on the environment.

Efficient use ofresources,
pp. 38 – 40

8.8: To protect labor rights and topromote safe working environments
for all employees, including migrant
workers, particularly female migrant
workers, and people in precarious
employment situations

As a responsible employer, we see it as our duty toprotect our employees from risks and hazards inthe exercise of their activities. With a wide range ofmeasures, we contribute to preventing or minimizing accidents and occupational illnesses.

Occupational safety,
pp. 22 – 25, occupational health management, p. 31

Training, development and support,
pp. 27 – 299

10tesa Sustainability Report 2019

SDG No.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

SDG targets

Our contribution

12.2: To achieve the sustainable
management and efficient use ofnatural resources by 2030

tesa develops ecofriendly, solvent-free production
methods, and uses renewable and recycled raw
materials wherever possible and sensible. We takecare to ensure resource efficiency and avoid production waste from the early stages of developing
our products and the methods used to produce
them. Measures to this end are an integral part ofour environmental protection activities as acompany.

12.4: To achieve the environmentallysound use of chemicals and all
waste during their entire life cycle by2020 in accordance with the internationally agreed upon frameworkrules and to reduce their release
into air, water and soil substantiallyin order to limit as much as possible
their deleterious impact on humanhealth and the environment

There is no way to eliminate all waste when producing goods. Our waste and raw materials management activities are geared toward using materials
efficiently and recycling wherever possible. Therefore, we constantly work on minimizing production-­
related losses in the raw materials we use. tesa
recycles almost all non-hazardous waste and hazardous waste containing solvents.

12.5: To reduce waste volume­sig­nifi­cantly by 2030 through prevention, mitigation, recycling andreuse

We have set ourselves the goal of reducing specificwaste volume per metric ton of end product by theyear 2020 by another two percentage points fromthe 2015 reference year.

16.5: To reduce corruption andbribery significantly in all their forms

We reject any form of corruption, bribery or otherforms of unlawful conduct. Corruption prevention
is one of tesa’s Core Compliance Fields and playsa central role in the Compliance Management­System. The main goal is to avoid possible casesof ­corruption before they arise. Our Group-wide
anti-corruption guidelines instruct our employees onproper conduct and explain how employees should
conduct themselves in corresponding situations.

Information in tesa
sustainability report
Efficient use ofresources, pp. 38 – 40

Compliance,
pp. 13 – 17

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

Strategic Action Fields
In order to live up to our corporate responsibility regarding the management of our company, we are working
on four strategic action fields: employees, products, theenvironment and society. In each of them we establish
priorities and check their relevance regularly. The topics that we have identified as material are currently thefollowing: “prevention of anticompetitive practices,”“internal succession,” “occupational safety,” “climatepro­­tection and CO2 emissions,” “human rights in the
supply chain” as well as “product safety.” These topics
were identified and evaluated in 2017 as part of a materiality analysis with representatives of relevant units at
tesa (see right), the Group parent company, Beiersdorf,
as well as other relevant stakeholders. The analysis iscarried out every two to three years alongside the materiality process of the parent company, Beiersdorf, and is
expected to be carried out again in 2020.
In addition, during the reporting year we began to workon a sustainability agenda as part of the new businessstrategy that will apply starting in 2020. It should map
our activities along the entire value chain even more
systematically: from raw materials and the supply chain
through production and our employees all the way tothe reduction of our environmental footprint as well as
to worldwide support for social initiatives and projects.
In addition, this will also be accompanied by new priorities and initiatives as well as updated objectives. In thenext fiscal year, we will report on the new developments
more extensively.

Organizational Structure
The tesa Executive Board has articulated an express
commitment to tesa’s corporate responsibility. At its
instigation, responsibility was established as a task thatcuts across all areas within the Group. All of the relevant units are involved, which ensures there is a direct
link between these efforts and our business activities
and key business processes. The following units are
involved in steering these activities and are responsible
for operational implementation:

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

11

4

strategic action
fieldshelp us focus
our sustainability
activities.

• Legal & Compliance• Purchasing Network• Human Resources• Safety & Health, Environmental, Quality Management• Corporate Communications
Representatives of these units meet on selected dates,
coordinate the dialogue between the units and reporting on non-financial topics. In addition, we engage inregular dialogue with our parent company, Beiersdorf,
and coordinate our activities with each other.

Risk Management
Success-oriented and responsible activities include
the Group-wide, integrated management of risks andopportunities. Risks are identified and managed in a
structured process. In the course of these activities, we
assess operational, functional, and strategic risks withan eye to their possible financial impact and effects on
our reputation as well as their probability of occurrence.
Our compliance management team uses the same criteria in a separate process (compliance risk assessment)
to identify and assess the relevant risks we may face asa result of non-compliance with external regulations andinternal standards. In addition, there is a standardized
process for risks that can arise in connection with ourmaterial non-financial topics. We considered all non-­financial topics that are material for tesa and interviewed
all relevant units about their risk assessment. The result
was reviewed following the risk management process.

12tesa Sustainability Report 2019

In the process, no risks were identified that need to bereported in accordance with the guidelines of the German CSR Directive Implementation Act.

Ratings and Awards
Since 2014 tesa has participated in CDP, which gathersand evaluates qualitative and quantitative informationon the topics of climate change, water and forests. The
continuous reduction of CO2 emissions as well as theimplementation of measures to protect the climate andenvironment at the ISO-14001 certified sites are having
an impact: In 2019 tesa was awarded a B rating in thearea of climate.
In 2019 tesa participated in the EcoVadis s­ ustainability
ratings for the first time. EcoVadis is a sustainability
measurement platform for global procurement chainsand evaluates corporate principles, measures and resultsin the topic areas of the environment, labor practices
and human rights, ethics as well as responsible procurement. tesa was awarded a silver medal.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

With aCDP rating of B,
tesa is above
the industry average.

tesa Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2019

Compliance

13

Five avatars guide­participants throughthe compliancee-learning program.

COMPLIANCE

Our contribution
to the SDGs

We will continue to be a trustworthy partner to our­customers, shareholders, business partners and employees
and to government agencies, institutions and the public.
Compliance with all laws and regulations that apply to tesa
is therefore particularly important.

14

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

Compliance – tesa Code of Conduct | Compliance Management System

Compliance violations can be not only expensive, butalso damaging, particularly to the company’s reputation. As a result, all employees, managers and corporate
bodies are required to abide by clear specifications thathave been set down in writing. Compliance with these
specifications is monitored and verified regularly throughaudits and supported by activities such as advising, training sessions, supplementary measures and targeted
programs. In this context, the goal is to raise awarenessamong relevant employees about related issues and toteach them how to act appropriately and make reliable
decisions.

tesa Code of Conduct
The tesa Code of Conduct (CoC) is derived from the ten
principles of the UN Global Compact and serves as an
overarching, binding code of conduct for all employees.
We use this to support our employees, managers andcorporate bodies in observing the key principles andvalues of our company in their day-to-day work, gearing
their conduct toward them and sharing them with others.
New employees receive the CoC on their first day atwork by email. In addition, it is available to employees
and managers on the intranet at any time. Compliancewith the tesa Code of Conduct as well as all governanceand compliance guidelines is an essential prerequisite
for being a member of the tesa Group.
The CoC is regularly checked for its relevance andappropriateness and is adjusted if necessary. In 2019
we began to revise the CoC. This process, including
new training, is expected to be completed in 2020.

ComplianceManagement System
With our Compliance Management System (CMS) we
want to ensure that all tesa employees, managers andbodies comply with applicable legal provisions and internal rules in their day-to-day work. In order to achieve
this goal, we follow an orderly management process. It
encompasses the four steps of prevent, detect, reactand improve.
Also in 2019, we revised and updated the tesa CMS. In
the process, we reviewed our mandatory governanceand compliance guidelines with respect to their practicality and acceptance and adjusted them where necessary. We are taking dynamic changes in the legal andeconomic environment into account in this update.
In addition, during the reporting period we undertook
a comprehensive description of our CMS, which documents its conceptual framework consistent with theInstitute of Public Auditors in Germany (IDW) audit
standard 980, its minimum provisions and scope. We
also set new compliance goals (see infobox, p. 15) for
ourselves. Furthermore, the tesa Executive Board
passed a new Compliance Statement.
As in previous years, the focus and key tenets of ourcompliance program entail the compliance fields of antitrust, anti-corruption and data protection.
The tesa Corporate Compliance Officer is responsible
for ensuring legal conformity in the core compliancefields in the best possible way and enhancing the entire
system, taking into account the corporate strategy as
well as the constantly evolving legal environment in theinternational context.
In the local tesa affiliates, the general managers re­­spon­­sible for the respective departments are simulta­
neously compliance officers. They are supported intheir activities by formally designated local complianceofficers. The local and corporate compliance managers
are responsible for the operational implementation andrefinement of the tesa compliance standards throughout the Group.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

The tesa compliance goals are:
1. The alignment, integration and continuous
adjustment of a Compliance Management
System that is tailored to tesa’s businessmodels.
2. Compliance with legal and regulatory
requirements relevant to tesa as well as the
optimal fulfillment of mandatory requirements imposed by the parent company­Beiersdorf AG.
3. Protection of tesa’s assets, maintenanceof the trust of stakeholders, customers andsuppliers as well as the reduction of liability
risks.
4. Promotion of sustainable business activities within the context of legal and documentary requirements, at maximum efficiency.
5. Creation of added value for business­development by promoting reliable conduct
and decision-making, taking into accountconstantly changing conditions.

Compliance – Compliance Management System

15

3e-Learning courses
for the corecompliance areas
were rolled
out worldwide
in 2019.

Measures and Results
Communication and Training Activities
We anchor the compliance principles within the company through routine communication and training activities. For example, our employees find tips, guidelines,
processes and competent points of contact for their
day-to-day business dealings on our own intranet-based
compliance platform. We also use this platform to provide information on relevant legal developments in relation to tesa’s day-to-day activities. Our own glossary
enables us to achieve a high degree of understandability in this general context.
In addition, we have developed a governance calendar,
which is sent to all tesa affiliates along with the quarterly
governance newsletter. It supports planning by the localorganizations and provides information about material
new developments in CMS and the compliance fields.

Our reporting system is another important componentof the tesa CMS. tesa has implemented both internaland external reporting options through ombudsmen to
make it easier to report compliance violations. We use
this system to pursue all hints, clarify the relevant issues
and take appropriate measures after carefully weighing
and considering the principle of proportionality.

In 2019 we were also able to roll out the newly developed compliance e-learning program, which is comprised of individual e-learning courses for the threecore compliance fields of antitrust, anti-corruption anddata protection, to all colleagues with a PC workstation.
These e-learning courses are available in tesa’s main
languages of English, German, Spanish and Chinese.

AuditsThe Internal Audit department (Beiersdorf AG) conducts
routine audits during which compliance-related topics
are also reviewed. The audit questions in the area ofcompliance are checked annually for their relevance.

16

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

Prevention of­Anti­competitive Practices
Also in 2019 we analyzed and evaluated the existing
and future compliance risks of our business models. The
resulting materiality analysis has confirmed our classification of the topic of antitrust law as the most important
core compliance field.

Management Approach
Many years ago, we successfully introduced the tesa
Antitrust Compliance Program throughout the Group.
It is an important element of our overall program andhas been refined continuously since then. It provides
information and training on relevant content in antitrust
law and advises on potential risks. It also encompasses
the regular review of the program’s implementation andevaluation of risks.
The international antitrust compliance guideline is an
important component of the program. It establishes gen­eral conditions and minimum standards in the antitrust
core compliance field and makes initial rec­om­men­da­tions for action.

99

percentof the target groupsuccessfully participatedin the e-learning.

Compliance – Prevention of ­Anti­competitive Practices

The target group of the antitrust compliance program
includes employees with access to information sensitive to competition or contact with competitors and­managers.
In case of questions regarding this compliance field, theantitrust compliance expert, the local compliance managers and the antitrust compliance network counsel
are available. The antitrust compliance network is comprised of external network attorneys specialized in antitrust law who act as regular points of contact for local
affiliates lacking their own legal function.

Measures and Results
Internal Guidelines
In 2019 we implemented our new overarching antitrust
compliance guideline, which we initially introduced at
the German sites in 2018, at the international affiliates
as well.
Training Courses
At the beginning of 2019, the new e-learning module on
the topic of antitrust was rolled out worldwide to all relevant employees and managers.
During the 2019 reporting year, we invited 3,166 employees in 42 countries and 54 affiliates to participate in thise-learning course. The rate of successful participation
was 99 percent (global 1 ). In addition, we hold on-sitetraining sessions in regions where there is particular risk
and in selected business units. Furthermore, we offer
individualized advice on issues of antitrust law duringongoing operations, and many take advantage of thisoption.

Antitrust Compliance Network Counsel
During the reporting period, we redesigned our international antitrust compliance network counsel. The
antitrust compliance network was augmented by additional countries. In addition, a framework cooperationagreement was arranged with an international corporate law firm.

1	The participation rate refers to the target and risk group that was defined in advance for this core compliance field. This
group includes all employees and managers who may come into contact with antitrust-related topics and requirements.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

Compliance – Corruption Prevention | Data Protection

17

Corruption Prevention

Data Protection

Anti-corruption is one of tesa’s core compliance fields
and plays a key role, after antitrust, in the ComplianceManagement System. The main goal is to avoid possible
cases of corruption before they arise.

The confidential, honest, safe and appropriate handlingof the personal information entrusted to us is a high pri­ority for tesa. Given the heightened requirements set
down in the EU General Data Protection R­ egulation(GDPR) and the risk analysis newly performed as aresult, the topic of data protection represents a corecompliance field again in the reporting period.

Management Approach
Our focus is on ongoing efforts to inform and raise theawareness of employees for corruption-related risks aswell as activities and situations involving particular risks
in day-to-day business dealings.
The Group-wide anti-corruption guideline makes animportant contribution to these efforts. It offers guidance to our employees on what to do in case of conflictsof interest, invitations and personal gifts from and to representatives, agents and employees of other companies
or office holders and explain how employees should
conduct themselves in corresponding situations.
During the reporting period, we revised the existinganti-corruption guideline and transferred it to a new
personal gifts guideline, which should be newly implemented next year.

Measures and Results
The e-learning course, which was redesigned in 2018,
covers the topic of anti-corruption as a core compliancefield. It is mandatory for all relevant employees, managers and corporate bodies to complete the course
every two years. The first training cycle began in 2019(see p. 15). On-site training on the topic of corruption prevention is held as needed and is conducted by speakers
or experts on the issue in question.

Management Approach
Prevention by raising awareness and through education, increasingly regarding the IT processing of data,
is a key focus for us in the area of data protection. We
therefore inform employees about the measures weare taking to comply with the GDPR, who the points ofcontact are and what employees should keep in mind intheir day-to-day work. Our Data Protection Compliance
Guideline summarizes all valid organizational rules on
the topic of data protection and gives employees assistance and instructions for handling data.

Measures and Results
Information and Training Courses
Along with events on the topic of data protection, we
also use the intranet to keep our employees informed.
We offered instruction on the most important contentsof the GDPR, for example, by means of a data protec­
tion series. In order to explain the requirements of theregulation and its implementation as understandably
and true to real-world practice as possible, we address
issues that arise from the day-to-day activities of
employees and provide information about proper andlegally compliant conduct.
Since 2019, there is a new e-learning course on the
topic of data protection, which all employees, managers
and corporate bodies must complete every two years.

18

tesa Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2019

EMPLOYEESCreating a corporate culturethat strengthens performance, teamwork, cross-­functional c­ ollaboration andinternationalization is anexpress goal of tesa’s humanresources strategy.

EMPLOYEESOur contribution to the SDGs

tesa is an expert in adhesive technology and offers its­customers innovative solutions as well as excellent service.
The company’s success depends to a very large extent
on the skills of our employees and their willingness to continue to develop them.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

Qualified employees, who actively contribute to enhancing our position as one of the world’s leading adhesive
technology companies, are the key to the successful
implementation of our corporate strategy.
This is because customer needs are changing in evershorter cycles, and the demands on our solutions are
increasing due to new technologies and trends orglob­­al challenges such as climate change or resource
scarcity. We can only meet the expectations of our­customers – and exceed them again and again – withcommitted employees who promote innovations in thearea of products and processes.
At the same time, the demands that employees placeon us as a company are constantly evolving. Attract­iveness as an employer has much more significancetoday than before. Additional services that the company
offers beyond salary are increasing in significance. This
includes, for example, such aspects as development
opportunities in the company, the topics of occupationalsafety and health promotion, a thriving culture of feedback and dialogue, and models for reconciling professional and private life.
In Germany, collective bargaining agreements, which
are supplemented by site and topic-specific plant agreements, serve as the basis for working time arrangements,
but also compensation and bonuses. In other countries
in which we operate, site-specific regulations that take
into account the local circumstances and features of therespective country apply in addition to local laws.
Our human resources strategy is designed to attract
well-qualified and committed employees to our company, retain them and continuously increase our attractiveness as an employer. In addition, our express goal
is to promote a corporate culture that strengthens performance, teamwork, cross-functional collaboration andinternationalization. Therefore, the focus during thereporting period was on the topics of executive development and career planning.

EMPLOYEES – Internal Succession

19

Internal Succession
tesa’s products are represented in several different
markets and industries that each have different requirements, issues and needs. Managing this complexity is
no easy task. The skills, knowledge and experience of
our employees give us a distinct competitive advantage.
Accordingly, we attach importance to filling key positions from within wherever possible in order to retain
their valuable experience and market knowledge, further enhance their expertise and skills, and leveragethese capabilities for our long-term success as a company. This approach is also very beneficial to our em­­ployees. Without changing companies, they can gain
broad knowledge from different areas and obtain attractive promotion and development opportunities.
Consistent with this, we have begun to position ourheadquarters in Norderstedt more internationally. We
are increasingly filling vacant positions there with colleagues who have previously worked for us at sites
abroad. Currently the majority of these “impats” comefrom our growth markets in Asia.
However, in order to remain successful over thelong term in the constantly evolving markets, we alsoneed fresh stimuli from outside. Therefore, we also fillselected positions externally, thereby bringing new skill
sets – for the topic of digitalization, for example – andexpertise to the company.

Management Approach
The topic of internal succession is firmly establishedat the highest level at tesa. Several times a year, theExecutive Board holds meetings where the members
discuss succession planning and talent management.
The topic is centrally managed by the Human Resources(HR) department. The Succession Planning and TalentManagement team, which was established specificallyto handle internal succession, bases its work on the tesa
Key Competencies. Among the various measures usedby the team are development interviews and advisory
sessions with employees as well as talent management

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tesa Sustainability Report 2019

EMPLOYEES – Internal Succession

intended to ensure the long-term success of the company. Intensive discussions with experienced managers
and HR employees give these up-and-coming employees further impetus for their future careers at tesa. The
competencies reviews enable us to develop talented
workers’ skills in a targeted manner, making them candidates for internal succession.

Today, attractiveness as an employer is an important competitive
factor. Aspects such as development opportunities or a thriving
culture of feedback and dialogue play an important role here.

In 2019, a total of five competencies reviews were conducted – two in Germany and one in China, the UnitedStates and Thailand, respectively.

workshops. Furthermore, HR ensures that employees
receive regular feedback on their performance fromtheir supervisors. The employees are also invited to provide feedback to their supervisors in this context. As aresult, a conversation occurs between the employee
and his or her direct supervisor at least once a year.
HR’s tasks also include ensuring that information isshared between the regions and the company headquarters. For example, the international HR conference,
which is usually held twice a year, promotes this goal.
HR also makes suggestions for filling open positions
across different units and regions. By doing so, thedepartment plays a key role when it comes to making
it easier for future executives to rise within the organization, in the process winning their lasting loyalty to thecompany. In the period under review, we filled 80 percent of top management positions with internal candidates in this way.

Measures and ResultsCompetencies Review
As part of a competencies review, talented workers
are given the opportunity to participate in professionally relevant role playing and exercises – comparable tothose of an assessment center. They then receive feedback on their strengths and areas for development withregard to the tesa Key Competencies.
The tesa Key Competencies describe nine core competencies that determine the actions of employees and aretesa Key Competencies• “Set the pace” (initiative)• “Focus on your customer”(customer and market orientation)• “Team up” (readiness and ability
to work in a team)• “Achieve & improve” (goal orientation)• “Challenge yourself”(personal development)• “Lead to success” (leadership skills)• “Grow talent” (employee development)• “See the bigger picture”(conceptual thinking) and• “Get buy-in” (influence).
The tesa Key Competencies create the basis
for human resources work and are used in all
HR tools worldwide. They are firmly established,for example, in performance management, invarious feedback tools, development andtraining programs as well as in the recruitment
process.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

EMPLOYEES – Internal Succession

21

GERMANYtesa “X-perience” Career Path Model
In 2019 we introduced our new career path model(­X-perience) at all sites worldwide. The aim of the model
is to create a uniform understanding of sensible development and career progression throughout the company. Furthermore, we would like to motivate employees
to seek job rotation opportunities not only internationally or functionally, but to actively make cross-functional
moves. The introduction of the new model was flanked
by an employee campaign.
Management Development Program
In 2019 we began to devise a new Management Development Program (MDP). The program is comprised of
two components – “Essential” and “Advanced” – andshould help executives and managers expand their skill
sets and expertise. The “Essential” MDP conveys fundamental knowledge regarding responsibilities, processes
and tasks in all business units of the company. “Essential”
MDP is implemented in the form of an e-learning course.
During the reporting period, “Advanced” MDP was still in
the conceptual phase and should be offered for the firsttime in the first half of 2020. “Advanced” MDP involves
traditional classroom training. The previous MDP washeld in 2019 for the last time.

Gaining new­experience – acrossall boundaries
In the future, employees who thinkoutside the box and take on newtasks in responsible positions will
become increasingly important for
a company like tesa.
For this reason, the HR department
developed the X-perience career pathmodel. It is aimed at all employees
and should systematically and specifically promote cross-functional transfers
within the company. For example,
em­­ployees with a high level of productexpertise should gain insight intoin­­­­teractions with customers. In orderto call attention to the new model, we
launched the “X-perience the tesa
world” campaign and rolled it out world­
wide in 2019. Positions that qualify forcross-­functional transfers are ad­­ver­tised as such. X-change Days offeran­­other op­­portunity for sharing infor­ma­tion. The various divisions can intro­­duce
themselves and their respective job
offerings to interested employees.
For more information please see: insights.tesa.com

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tesa Sustainability Report 2019

EMPLOYEES – Occupational Safety

Occupational Safety
As a responsible employer, we regard it as our duty toprotect our employees from risks and hazards in theexercise of their activities. A safe working environmentis the prerequisite for motivated and engaged employees and makes a crucial contribution to productivity
and ­quality – and thereby to customer satisfaction. As aresult, we also view occupational safety as an importantcompetitive factor.
We would like to prevent workplace accidents and eliminate work-related health risks and the occupational ill­
nesses they cause before they can arise. Therefore, we
prioritize prevention and raising awareness among staff
about potential hazards – for their own protection andfor the protection of their colleagues. In this con­nec­tion,systematic occupational safety and effective oc­­cu­pa­tion­al health and safety management systems (OHSMS)
play an important role. We have therefore im­­ple­mented awide range of structured measures that serve to preventand minimize accidents and illness. Our strategic aim is to
reduce the number of accidents to zero.

Management Approach
Occupational safety is firmly anchored in tesa’s organ­
ization – it is the focus of formal committees, such as theoccupational safety committees that are legally requiredin Germany.
Besides the legal requirements, our Occupational
Safety Guidelines, which apply throughout the group ofcompanies, form the basis for our internal management
system in the area of occupational safety. The guidelines are further specified through company-internalrequirements and specific operating instructions. The
guidelines also apply to sub-contractors, who take ontasks in our production sites.
As part of an annual management review, the company
management works with the occupational safety unit toevaluate the accidents that occurred that year. Basedon this information, it then takes new steps to further
improve employees’ safety and reduce work-related
health risks.

Our occupational safety management activities focus
on ISO 14001-certified production facilities – for that iswhere the risks of accidents and adverse health effects
are greater than at our office headquarters. Therefore, we employ our own safety specialists at all ISO
14001-certified sites. They are familiar both with tesa’s
global occupational safety and health guidelines as wellas with local legal requirements and conditions. At thesame time, we also take deliberate steps to promoteinternational dialogue among these experts. The safety
specialists meet annually to discuss key occupationalsafety and health risks. They also initiate joint projects,
define standards and share information on successes
and their experiences as part of these events. Thisapproach contributes toward the continuous improvement of accident prevention measures at tesa.

ISO 14001-certified sites
tesa headquarters (Germany)tesa plant Hamburg (Germany)tesa plant Offenburg (Germany)tesa Converting Center (Germany)tesa scribos (Germany)tesa plant Concagno (Italy)
tesa plant Suzhou (China)
tesa plant Sparta (USA)At tesa, risk assessments establish the basis for selecting and managing work resources, work procedures,
workplaces and work processes in such a way that technical and organizational flaws are avoided and employees can observe safe practices. But changes in machinery, systems, or working premises, new purchases andprocess adjustments can all have an impact on our
employees’ safety and health. Therefore, for example,
safety-related testing and acceptance as well as systematic hazard identification and risk assessment – with
the involvement of expert employees – are carried out

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

EMPLOYEES – Occupational Safety

23

It is particularly important for employees in production, but also in the laboratories,
to wear the proper protective equipment or suitable work clothing consistently.

at the time of the procurement and commissioning ofequipment. If we recognize a safety risk in this connection, we take suitable avoidance and corrective measures. Furthermore, occupational safety committees,
employee representatives as well as management discuss the material results of the evaluation and definesatisfactory measures.
In addition, routine inspections and evaluations takeplace. We take into account the new findings, determine
additional measures if necessary and update the relevant occupational safety and health documents.
The handling of hazardous substances is also regulated
in detail. The occupational safety unit, together withthe product safety unit and responsible figures fromresearch and development and production, creates acorresponding structure for tesa-specific processes on
the handling, labeling, storage and transport of hazardous substances. Employee groups who work with certain hazardous substances undergo routine, mandatory
health examinations. In addition, equipment and jobs
are routinely monitored for their safety and emission
sources. The procedure in case of an accident is governed by emergency management.

However, the responsible and proactive actions of ouremployees play a major role in minimizing risk. Therefore, the occupational safety guidelines require that
employees are informed about, and made aware of,safety risks and potential hazards through instructions
and training programs at routine intervals. This should
enable them to prevent accidents through proper, independent conduct.
In addition, the campaign “It’s in your hands! Always
wear your safety gear” helps to raise the awareness of
employees both in production and in the laboratories
regarding the importance of consistently wearing theproper protective equipment or suitable work clothing(see p. 24).
However, should a work accident occur despite all thepreventive measures, we will conduct an investigation.
In the process, we determine the technical, organizational and personal causes for the accident. Ultimately,
appropriate accident preventive measures will help us
to avoid a similar incident from occurring in the future.

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tesa Sustainability Report 2019

EMPLOYEES – Occupational Safety

1.6

per 1 million
hours worked –the accident
frequency rate > 3 days
at tesa in 2019 wastherefore well below
the industry averagein Germany (BG RCI).

Measures and Results
Double Prevention Program
In the Chinese plant, we implemented the “Double Prevention Program” in 2019. Step one involves the analysis of safety and health hazards in the workplace. In step
two we determine hidden risks and take corresponding corrective measures. The program should primarilyraise the awareness of our employees that hazards are
not always obvious. The plant has a risk map that indicates the risk for each department. We also indicate therisks and the precautionary measures to be taken in thework areas.
Campaigns
In 2019 the “It’s in your hands! Always wear your safetygear” campaign for wearing personal protective equipment was rolled out worldwide. As part of this campaign,
events and meetings were held in the plants on various
topics such as hearing protection and protective eyegear, in part with the participation of the personal protective equipment manufacturer. In addition, a “safetymonth” was observed in China with various activities
designed to increase awareness for the topic of occupational safety.
Fire Safety
During the reporting year we implemented measuresagain within the framework of the 2020 fire protection

scheme. The focus here was also on prevention. For
example, in the Offenburg tesa plant a fire protection
day was held with practical extinguisher training.

Safety Tour App
Since 2019, a documentation app has made it easierfor us to conduct our SOC (safety, order, cleanliness)walk­about inspections. With the involvement of safety
experts, tesa developed the “safety tour app,” withwhich the user can enter relevant issues directly into atablet. As a result, written notes no longer need to betransferred to Excel – this is less error-prone and saves
time. Besides the simple entry of data and images,

Occupational safety key figures

Work accidents ≥ 1 day
Accident frequency rate ≥ 1 day
Lost days ≥ 1 day
Lost day rate ≥ 1 day
Work accidents > 3 days
Accident frequency rate > 3 days
1 Adjustment compared to previous year

unit

2017

2018

2019

number14

21

22

number/million hours worked

2.9

4.1

4.3

number

261

4451

173

number/million hours worked

54.6

86.3

33.6

number6

10

8

number/million hours worked

1.3

1.9

1.6

1

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

EMPLOYEES – Occupational Safety

25

ITALY
t­ opics can be prioritized, selected, and better archived
using a traffic light system. An integrated checklist
ensures that no issue is overlooked during the tour. Initially, we introduced the new digital solution in a test
phase in the N­ orderstedt headquarters. The worldwide rollout will begin in the first quarter of 2020 at
the production facilities in Offenburg, Hamburg, Italy,
China and the USA.

Performance Indicator
Our aim is to continuously reduce the number of accidents with one or more days of absence. This particularly
involves accidents resulting in longer incapacity to work,when the employee is absent for more than three days.
The frequency of accidents > 3 days at tesa in 2019 was
1.6 per million hours worked globally. This was below
the previous year’s figure (1.9 in 2018), and therefore
well below the German industry average (BG RCI) of 11.7.
We view this as proof of the quality of our management
system in the area of occupational safety.
In addition, tesa monitors the lost day rate, measured
in calendar days per million hours worked, at each site.
The lost day rate in 2019 was at a very low level, demonstrating that we were able to significantly reduce thenumber of serious work accidents with the help of ourman­agement systems.

ISO 45001­Certification
The Concagno plant in Italy,
one of the largest tesa production facilities, was certified
successfully in 2018 for the
first time in accordance with
ISO 45001:2018.
The standard is one of thebest-­known and most important
standards for management
systems in the area of occupational safety. The certification
was confirmed through a
successful follow-up audit in2019.
In 2019, we committed ourselvesto having our occupational safety
management system certified
at one of our German production
sites as well as in the researchand technology center at thehead­­quarters in Norderstedt.
The first step is the evaluationof the tesa research and technology center for the “Sicher mit
System” seal of approval of theprofessional association of raw
materials and chemical industry(BG RCI) in 2020. The second
step will be the evaluation of the
production site in 2021.

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tesa Sustainability Report 2019

EMPLOYEES – Good LeadershipGood LeadershipManagement Approach

For a technology company like tesa, it is important thatthe company and employees can constantly expand
their capabilities and adapt to new circumstances. An
essential prerequisite for this is that the corporate culture and the working environment are structured insuch a way that they motivate employees to be creative and innovative and to support the implementationof new ideas.

Executive development at tesa is anchored in the areaof training and learning in the Human Resources (HR)unit and is managed from there. The understanding ofmanagement at tesa is based on the Flow Leadership
Model. It makes use of positive psychology and calls fora work atmosphere in which employees enjoy what they
are doing and reach a “flow” state, a sense of energized
focus, of complete involvement and success. According
to the model, this type of work atmosphere leads to feelings of happiness and heightens the motivation, commitment and performance of the employees. Accordingly,
the model helps to increase employees’ satisfaction andmakes them feel more connected to the company.

Good leadership is decisive in this context: It helps tocreate a positive workplace environment and working
conditions that encourage performance, an environment in which employees can realize their potential,
gain recognition and be promoted. In addition, we areconvinced that leadership makes a significant contribution to winning the loyalty of engaged and well-trained
employees to the company and reducing turnover.
A common vision, clear-cut values and uniform management guidelines are essential to achieving this. They
help executives manage and encourage their employees so that the company as a whole advances andthe corporate goals are achieved. This ambition is re­­flected in the tesa Key Competencies (see p. 20). Four of
the nine key ­competencies relate to the topics of leadership and management.

4 out of 9
tesa key competencies
relate to the topics
of leadershipand management.

A three-stage Leadership Development Program liesat the heart of executive development at tesa. The program is gradually being introduced in all tesa regions.
In contrast to the Management Development ­Program,which specifically provides training in management
skills, the focus here is on building and refining leader­
ship qualities. The leadership training consists of the
Matrix, Essential and Advanced Leadership modules.
The Matrix Leadership module takes into accounttesa’s matrix organizational structure and is open to
all employees who do not have the authority to issueorders but have, for example, responsibility in the context of projects. The Essential Leadership module canbe taken by executives who have assumed responsibility over personnel at tesa for the first time. Above all thismodule should sharpen the understanding of one’s role
as a manager in this situation. Topics such as communication and feedback and approaches for situational
leadership and team development play an importantrole in this. Employees in the plants have the opportunity to complete the Leadership Basics for Operations module. As part of this, plant-specific challenges
are considered. The Advanced Leadership Program isdesigned for employees who have already held leadership responsibility for a while. It includes topics such as
dealing with difficult management situations, employee
development and coaching as a leadership tool.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

EMPLOYEES – Good Leadership | Training, Development and Support

27

Training, Development
and Support
The competition for employees from the naturalsciences and engineering is constantly increasing within
our industry. In addition, advancing digitalization andinternationalization are leading to changes in working
requirements and methods. At the same time we wantto continue responding to changing customer needs
and offer our customers outstanding products, innovative solutions and the best service.
The qualification programs are tailored to the requirementsof ­individual business units. The Sales & Marketing qualification program, for example, combines technical training andsales skills.

Measures and Results
Matrix Leadership
After a pilot phase in 2018, the various training units ofthe module were offered a total of six times in 2019 at
the company headquarters. In addition, each training
program was held once in English in order to enable
employees from other regions to participate. A total of
57 employees took part in one of the training units in2019.
Essential Leadership
In 2019 a total of eleven training cycles with 110 participants were held for the Essential Leadership module.
At company headquarters we also held short events on
traditional executive duties, for example on conducting
performance appraisals, the topic of salary development or labor law issues.
Advanced LeadershipWith the Advanced Leadership module we would liketo give experienced executives the opportunity todeal with challenging leadership situations under professional guidance. In 2019, 46 executives from theregions of Germany, Europe, Greater China, Asia/Pacificand North America participated in five training cycles ofthe module.

We are adjusting to these challenges with our comprehensive initial and advanced training programs that are
specially tailored to our requirements. After all, highly
qualified, engaged and performance-oriented employees are a decisive competitive advantage for us. In
addition, having a wide range of initial and advanced
training opportunities increases our attractiveness as
an employer and contributes to the willingness of high-­
potential employees to work for us for a long time.

Management Approach
In order to respond suitably to the challenges of thelabor market and the competitive environment, we havedeveloped tesa-specific training. It helps young people gain entry into the working world and gives us theopportunity to offer targeted training for employees in
the areas relevant to our business. Along with technical training content, there is an increasing focus on soft
skills that have a positive impact on our interactions witheach other and promote cooperation. For example, fromthe beginning we convey to trainees our understandingof quality and service as well as key competencies thatare meaningful to tesa.
In order to be successful over the long term, we mustalso offer our employees attractive development opportunities – both professionally and personally, at all levels
and in all areas. In order to identify and fully realize thepotential of our employees, we have established target
group and expertise-oriented training programs.

28

tesa Sustainability Report 2019989

participantsin total took part inour training p­ rograms
in 2019.

In addition, we enable our employees to gain new­experience in other units or regions. The tesa training
port­folio includes function-specific training programs
that are tailored, for example, to the areas of Sales &Marketing, Research & Development, or the tesa Supply
Network.
A series of “open” course programs is also available.
This includes, for example, methodological training
courses, such as time and project management, or communication training courses, such as conflict management, language courses, moderation or presentation
skills. In addition, leadership and management programs
are available to managers and executives (see p. 26).
The need for the development of tesa-specific training
courses and programs is regularly determined in conversations with management and adjusted accordingly.
This applies both to Germany and the regions.

Measures and Results
Training
In the technical area trainees can select from five different apprenticeships: chemical technicians, electronics
technicians for operating technology, industrial mechanics, machine and system operators and mechatronics
technicians.
As of the end of 2019, the Hamburg-Hausbruch tesa
plant had 44 apprentices. Machine operators represent the largest group (16). The Offenburg tesa plantalso had 44 apprentices, six of whom are completing acooperative university education and vocational t­ raining­program. Two additional courses of study (security, plas-

EMPLOYEES – Training, Development and Support

tic and elastomer technology) were introduced here. The
retention rate demonstrates that we intend to em­­ploy
the apprentices over the long term. In Hamburg, elevenof thirteen apprentices were retained in 2019, corresponding to a rate of 84.6 percent. In Offenburg, theretention rate in 2019 was 72.7 percent.

Qualification Programs
The qualification programs contain basic qualifications
for new employees and special formats tailored to therequirements of individual business units. The Sales andMarketing Qualification Program, for example, encompasses a combination of technical training and sales
skills for sales employees.
Here we use a “blended learning” approach, which combines in-person classroom presentations and e-learning. In 2019, a total of 376 participants have taken part in
125 training days for the Sales & Marketing qualification
program.
The training and qualification program for tesa R&D
employees includes topics such as patents and quality
management. A total of 175 people participated in thisprogram in 38 training days during the reporting period.
During the year under review, 551 employees participated in a total of 163 days of training as part of thesetwo qualification programs.

E-learnings
Along with classroom training courses and programs,
tesa offers its employees a broad range of e-learning
courses, for example, from areas such as compliance,
occupational safety, research and development or thetesa Supply Network.
In 2019 we further expanded our e-learning course of­­ferings. For example, we rolled out three e-learning
courses worldwide on the topic of compliance (see p. 15).
In a
­ ddition, the units are now getting more support during the creation of their own e-learning courses. In 2019some 9,494 participants were registered in e-learning
courses at tesa.
In 2020 it is planned to test the use of a “Learning Experience Platform.” This involves a digital learning plat­formtesa Sustainability Report 2019

EMPLOYEES – Training, Development and Support | Feedback and Dialogue

with content that is individually customizable to the specific user and can be retrieved on demand.

Open Course Program
These classes are open to all employees by arrangement with their managers and include subjects such as
language classes and IT training sessions. The sessions
comprised 35 days of training in 2019, with 225 employees participating in Hamburg. At the tesa affiliates,
employees are offered specific training courses locallyas part of open course programs.
Learning Management System (LMS)The LMS (“learning hub”) provides employees withinformation on all the continuing education options onoffer at tesa and lets them register for courses. The platform helps the HR department document the complete
range of training courses. In 2018 we began to expand
the system. The goal was to automate and standardize
training administration and organization in the area ofclassroom training courses, e-learning programs andblended learning across countries, while enabling eachregion to manage itself.
In 2019 LMS was successfully introduced in four regions.
For this we have trained selected HR points of contact

Along with technical content, soft skills, which promote
cooperation, are increasingly becoming an essential partof ­tesa-specific training programs.

29

to deal with the new system and developed a com­mu­
nication concept for employees and executives. The
introduction should be completed in all tesa regions in
2020.

HR Marketplace
In February 2019, the third HR Marketplace was held at
our headquarters in Norderstedt. We introduced current
offerings in the areas of career planning and qualification there. A particular focus this year was on our new
X-perience career path model and the opportunities forcross-function transfer within the company (see p. 21).
During the event employees and managers had theopportunity to speak to HR representatives, ask questions and provide feedback.

Feedback and Dialogue
Regular feedback and open dialogue between supervisors and employees are aspects of a modern corporate
and management culture. Being able to discuss questions, ideas, expectations, goals and also problems creates a relationship based on trust between employees
and managers and strengthens team spirit. In addition,
it promotes mutual development. Given the challenging
labor market situation, a strong feedback culture is a
decisive factor in gaining the loyalty of employees to thecompany and increasing employer attractiveness.

Management Approach
We would like to further improve the feedback culture at
tesa and encourage employees and executives to use
our feedback tools and actively seek a dialogue withthose who provide feedback. Among the key instruments in this area are competency-based employee performance appraisals, 180° and 360° feedback (see p. 30)
and competencies reviews (see p. 20). All formats are
based on tesa Key Competencies – nine key competencies that determine how employees work at tesa. There
are guidelines for conducting performance appraisals
that apply worldwide. In addition, managers are trainedin conducting these reviews. These reviews are usuallyconducted once a year, twice in some regions. The participation rate is at least 90 percent.

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tesa Sustainability Report 2019

EMPLOYEES – Feedback and Dialogue

Employee surveys are an important element of our
feedback culture. We conduct them at regular intervals both at tesa’s headquarters and in the regions. The
employee surveys serve to measure the engagement of
our employees, their motivation and their loyalty to thecompany as well as to identify any elements that significantly affect these aspects.

Competency-based Employee Performance­Appraisals
We also conducted competency-based employee performance appraisals in the tesa regions in 2019. With
this internationally uniform format we ensure dialogue
between employees and managers. Besides facilitating
feedback to employees, it also enables employees toprovide voluntary feedback to supervisors.

Measures and Results

Employee Survey
Due to the development of a new corporate strategy,
no surveys were conducted in the reporting year. The
next survey will be carried out following the global­rollout of the new corporate strategy. Details are currently being worked out.

Leadership Feedback (180° Feedback)How do employees view their supervisors, and what
are their perceptions of the supervisors’ leadership?
To answer these questions, we use a worldwide digital feedback tool, with which we survey employees on
various aspects of leadership. And afterward, supervisors receive an anonymized analysis they can use asa basis to discuss the next steps with their employees.
In addition, the managers have the opportunity to conduct a team workshop with their employees based on
the results. The workshop should offer them a suitable
space for discussing potential areas of development in
the team. Since its introduction in 2018, 29 executives
worldwide have used the feedback tool.
360° Feedback
In the first half of 2019, we revamped our 360° feedback
tool and adapted its design and structure to the successfully introduced leadership feedback. This also involves
a digital tool with an anonymized online questionnaire.
It takes into account not only the perspective of employees and supervisors, but also that of colleagues andinternal customers. In Germany the 360° or 180° feedback tool (depending on the target group) is a mandatory component of executive training. Each participant inexecutive training is automatically invited to participate
in a feedback process. In consultation with HR and therespective supervisor, in principle every employee canparticipate in a 360° feedback process. In 2019 a total of
56 employees, including 33 executives, took advantageof the offer worldwide.

90
�

percent
is the participation
rate in annual
performance ­appraisals
worldwide.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

Occupational Health­Management
Maintaining and promoting the health and productivity of employees are important concerns at tesa. We
wish to meet our responsibility as an employer beyond­providing a good workplace environment and opportunities for promotion and continuing education. Moreover, health promotion to us is an expression of ourrespect for our employees. They regard offerings in thisarea as the defining feature of a modern employer andattach increasing importance to occupational healthmanagement.

Management Approach
To promote and preserve employees’ health, tesa also
has a broad-based occupational health management
program. Under the “It’s for you” slogan, an interdisciplinary team in Hamburg is working to develop a wide
range of measures. The team includes representatives
from HR as the coordinating body, the works council, thehealth promotion team, the tesa sport club, the social
advising service, the body representing em­­ployeeswith disabilities, the occupational health service andthe area of occupational safety. The goal is to minimize
strain, while simultaneously strengthening the personal
resources.
The tesa sport club offers tesa employees in Norderstedt a wide range of fitness and relaxation options,
including endurance and strength training equipment
and a variety of courses like spinning, yoga and backstrength building, along with individual fitness checks.
Employees at the sites in Hamburg can use the options
offered by our in-house occupational health management service and those offered by our parent company,
Beiersdorf, which include autogenic training, progressive muscle relaxation, and workshops on back healthand relaxation techniques.
Another key aspect of the company’s efforts to promotehealth is its extensive array of preventive health checks.
These include vein screenings, skin cancer prevention
and colorectal cancer screening. Further measures in­­EMPLOYEES – Occupational Health M­ anagement

31

clude equipping all office workstations with height-­
adjustable desks to minimize back strain, in-houseadvising on ergonomics, which provides support on theproper height adjustment of desks and office chairs,
and information on exercises people can do at theirdesks. This also includes the promotion of healthy eating by offering healthy choices at the company’s restaurant. The range of occupational health management
options is constantly reviewed for its acceptance andeffectiveness.

Measures and Results
Psychological Risk Assessments
In 2019, we performed psychological risk assessmentsin three other areas (Direct, Trade, and IT) based on theGerman Occupational Safety and Health Act. The cycleof psychological risk assessments is now up to 95 percent complete, with surveys to be conducted every
three to five years in all areas.
Diverse Health Offerings
With regular lectures, training courses, and action days,
we encourage our employees to pursue a healthy life
and work experience. As in previous years, workshops
on relaxation techniques, preventive health checks andaction days on occupational safety topics were also
conducted in 2019. In addition, employees can takeadvantage of the social advising service and psychological consultation hours, if needed.
New Offerings at the tesa Plant Hamburg
With the expansion of occupational health management
at the Hamburg tesa plant, new health offerings areavailable to employees there. For example, there is acourse on the topic of healthy leadership, a smoke-freeprogram and resilience training. In addition, we offer
active breaks at the plant and have expanded the sports
and massage offerings.

32

tesa Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2019

ENVIRONMENT

Energy and resource-­
saving technologies,
such as the CHP systems,
contribute to improving
energy efficiency at tesa.

ENVIRONMENT

Our contribution to the SDGs

As a chemical company with production facilities in different
countries, tesa bears tremendous responsibility for environmental issues. Treating the environment, natural resources
and raw materials with great care is one of our corporate
goals. This strengthens people’s trust in our brand and safeguards the foundation of our success as a company. Therefore, we have been working for many years on reducing ourenvironmental footprint – thereby also helping our customers
achieve their sustainable development goals.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

ENVIRONMENT

USA

Environmental protection has been a key element oftesa’s business strategy for years, and it is firmly es­­tab­lished throughout the Group by environmental guidelines. The guidelines provide all employees with astandard for our actions: Our products and system so­lutions should be structured in such a way that they are
as harmless as possible to the environment over their
entire life cycle. The environmental guidelines are available to all employees on the intranet. They are also an
integral component of environmental training for relevant employee groups at ISO 14001-certified sites.
tesa’s primary environmental impact is the energy
consumption at its production facilities. We therefore
put particular emphasis on protecting the climate andreducing CO2 emissions. Resource efficiency and theeconomical use of water are also top priorities for us.
Applicable legislative provisions, which we implement
at all our sites, form the basis of our work in the area ofclimate protection.
However, our commitment goes further: At all sites with asignificant environmental impact, we use environmental
management systems to control environmental performance effectively. Seven production facilities and tesa’s
headquarters (see p. 22) have an ISO 14001-­certified
environmental management system.
Environmental experts work at all ISO 14001-certified
sites. They are familiar with tesa’s global environ­mental
guidelines as well as local legislation and the status ofon-site technology. In order to achieve continuous im­­provement and to further reduce our environmental
footprint, experts compile comparative figures and initiate corresponding projects. These projects are summarized in our environmental program, which applies
across the company: The program enables us to specify
our environmental commitment and set regular, ambitious Group-wide targets.
Another important element of our environmental management is dealing with risks proactively: As part of ourenvironmental management activities, we identify andevaluate opportunities and risks in relation to environmental aspects both at the level of individual ­production
facilities and across the board. This approach enables us
to respond to changes early on, to avert costs and dam-

33

CHINA

Four awards inhalf a year
In 2019 two tesa sites received awards
recognizing their commitment to environmental protection, among other things.
In January 2019 our plant in Suzhou, China,
received the “Excellent Personnel for Environmental Management” award. With the award,
the management of Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP),
which with approximately 25,000 resident
enterprises is the second largest industrial
park in China, recognizes local companies fea­
turing advanced environmental management
or in­­di­viduals who stand out through special
performance in this area.
In summer 2019, the plant received two moreawards from SIP for its outstanding performancein energy conservation and emission reduction in 2018 as well as for its system to monitor
what are known as volatile organic compounds(VOC). The regular maintenance work, whichsignificantly exceeds the legal requirements,
received special praise. They make it possible
to operate the equipment in a manner that isparticularly protective of the environment andefficient.
Also in summer 2019, tesa tape North America(Sparta) received the “Green Supplier Award”
from Japanese automotive supplier Yazaki as
the Supplier of the Year in terms of the environment, health promotion and safety. The annual
award presentation is preceded by a multi-­
month audit, in which Yazaki evaluates its
suppliers in detail regarding their commitmentin the areas of energy reduction, promotionof environmental awareness, reduction of air,soil and water pollution, community service
and healthy and safe working conditions.

34

tesa Sustainability Report 2019age to our reputation as well as to take advantage ofthe opportunities that present themselves. At the sametime, routine risk identification and evaluation make iteasier for us to select suitable measures to p
­ rotect theenvironment.

Climate Protection and
CO2 Emissions
Climate change is one of the key social challenges of
our time. At tesa we contribute to climate protection byincreasing our energy efficiency and reducing our CO2
emissions. In this context, it is especially important for
tesa as an industrial supplier to prepare for future developments in overall regulatory conditions: Policy measures enacted to protect the climate, efficiency targets
and the further expansion of renewable energies may
affect tesa’s business activities. Threshold limits, technical standards, and approval processes for energy generation and production facilities are also in flux, whichcalls for a forward-looking approach
In order to live up to our own ambition to provide effective climate protection, we take advantage of our innovative capacity: It helps us to continuously improve our
products and production processes also with respect toenvironmental impact. For example, we are manufacturing more and more products using energy-efficient,solvent-free production processes. By doing so, we also
contribute to more sustainability for customers. Thatcan, in turn, increase interest in our products and give us
a competitive advantage.

Management Approach
We use ISO 14001 certified environmental management
systems at eight sites for the continuous managementof our internal environmental protection. The ISO 14001
standard is an internationally recognized approachto management of the direct and long-term environ­mental impacts of products, services and processes ofa company. Certified sites include all production facilities with related coating and/or adhesive production(this does not include the production sites of the com-

ENVIRONMENT – Climate Protection and CO2 Emissions

8

sites
have an
ISO 14001-certified
environmental
management system.

panies acquired in 2017 and 2018). They have relatively
high energy consumption, due, for example, to drying or
waste air purification processes, causing them to havehigher CO2 emission levels. According to our calculations, 94 percent of our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions
accrue to sites with certified environmental management systems.
In addition to the environmental management system,
tesa’s headquarters and the production facilities with thehighest CO2 emissions (Hamburg and Offenburg) havean energy management system certified in accordancewith ISO 50001. They account for almost 70 percent of
the CO2 emissions of all ISO 14001-certified sites. Thiscan be explained by the fact that tesa’s headquarters
has the most employees and the largest research anddevelopment unit, and Hamburg and Offenburg are thelargest production facilities. The energy management
systems set the stage for further increasing energy efficiency at the sites.
The targets that we set for ourselves in a given period
are regularly reviewed and revised. Through our internal planning and reporting activities, we identify, as­­sess and monitor risks and measures associated with
reducing CO2 emissions at the level of the sites certified
according to ISO 14001. We review the effectivenessof our activities by keeping track of monthly site-specific energy consumption. We determine Scope 1 andScope 2 CO2 emissions based on the guidelines of theGreenhouse Gas Protocols.
The current target period runs from 2016 to 2020.
We have set ourselves the goal of reducing specific
CO2 emissions per ton of end product (location based)tesa Sustainability Report 2019

ENVIRONMENT – Climate Protection and CO2 Emissions

35

In addition to electricity, the CHP systems also produce heat, which is used during the production process
or as heating. tesa will have at least four of these systems in operation by the end of 2020.

by 2020 by another ten percent compared to the 2015reference year. As of the reporting date, we were at-9.8 percent.
Energy consumption is the most important control
parameter for reducing our environmental impacts.
Within the framework of a continuous improvement process and based on the environmental program as wellas the environmental audit, the objective is to identify
energy conservation opportunities, optimize energy-­
intensive processes and thereby to reduce our CO2

3

sites
have an
ISO 50001-certified
energy management
system.

emissions and the related costs. tesa corporate management conducts a management review every year aspart of this process. The environmental experts at therespective locations bear operational responsibility.
Another strategic approach for increasing energy efficiency is the use of energy and resource-saving technologies. This includes the efficient generation of ourown energy through cogeneration: We began operating a combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) system
for in-house power generation at the Offenburg plantin 2014, and the Hamburg plant followed suit with a
combined heat and power (CHP) plant in 2016. In these­systems, we use not only the electricity generated, butalso the heat that is produced, for production processes
or for heating.
In order to reduce our CO2 emissions, however, we rely
not only on improving our energy efficiency – obtaining
electricity from renewable sources also represents animportant lever for this. In 2019 we purchased electricity
from renewable sources at five German sites, covering
about 34 percent of our demand for the ISO 14001 certified sites.
All emissions along the entire value chain that do not
fall under Scope 1 and Scope 2 are assigned to Scope 3

36tesa Sustainability Report 2019

The specific CO2 ­emissions
per metric ton of end­product were reduced
by 9.8 percent (­location­based) in 2019 comparedwith 2015.
emissions. In 2018, we collected data for material emissions throughout the value chain for the first time. In
the process, we identified the areas of packaging, rawmaterials, finished good suppliers and product transport
as material Scope 3 categories. A more detailed CO2
monitoring system for outbound logistics will be established in 2020.

Measures and Results
Environmental and Energy Audits
External environmental audits are conducted annuallyas part of matrix certification of the ISO 14001 sites.
Internal system audits are also conducted at selected
ISO 14001 sites.
In the first quarter of 2019, the tesa plants in Hamburg
and Offenburg underwent the annual external exam­
ination audit of the energy management system inaccordance with ISO 50001:2011. At the headquarters,
the first recertification audit was carried out according
to the new ISO 50001:2018 standard in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Energy Efficiency Measures
During the reporting year, the implementation phasebegan for the CHP systems at the tesa plant in­Concagno, Italy, and tesa SE in Norderstedt. The CHP
system in Concagno was put into operation in the third
quarter of 2019. The commissioning of the CHP ­systemat headquarters is planned for the third quarter of 2020.
In 2019, the two plants in Hamburg and Offenburg

ENVIRONMENT – Climate Protection and CO2 Emissions

together supplied about 37 percent of our worldwide electricity demand at ISO 14001 certified sites.
During the reporting period, the fluorescent lamps
in the production and storage areas at the ­Hamburg
production facility were replaced by light-emitting
diodes (LED) and two additional buildings wereconnected to CHP heating. At the headquarters
location, it was possible to conserve electricity consumption during the reporting period by optimizing
the room air conditioning in the technology centerand the centralized generation of compressed air. In
2020, additional conservation of electricity and gas
consumption is planned by reducing the operationof ventilation systems at the technology center during non-operating times.

Performance Indicator
We were able to reduce the specific CO2 emissions
per metric ton of end product according to the market-based method, taking into account electricity
from renewable sources, by 1.8 percentage points
compared to the previous year during the reporting
period. Compared to the 2015 reference year, overall we are at -9.8 percent according to the location-­based method in 2019, and are within the target
range of the 10 percent reduction we are pursuingfor 2020.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

ENVIRONMENT – Climate Protection and CO2 Emissions

37

Key Figures for Climate Protection and CO2 Emissions
Energy use
unit

2015 120182019

Natural gas

GWh

204

275

248

Crude oil

GWh

0

0

0

District heat

GWh

0

0

0

Electricity from renewable sources

GWh

0

26

28

Conventionally generated electricity

GWh

60

26

25

Total energy use

GWh

265

327

301

Greenhouse gas emissions, location-based 2unit2015 120182019

CO2 direct (Scope 1)

1,000 t

41

56

50

CO2 indirect (Scope 2)

1,000 t

28

24

23

CO2 total

1,000 t

69

79

73

%

–

–

-9.8

Change 2019 vs. 2015 42020 target-10.0

Greenhouse gas emissions, market-based 3
unit2015 120182019

CO2 direct (Scope 1)

1,000 t

41

56

50

CO2 indirect (Scope 2)

1,000 t

41

14

13

CO2 total

1,000 t

83

70

63

%

–

–

-34.5

Change 2019 vs. 2015 4

1 Reference year;
2 Definitions according to the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Standard; source, CO2e factors: GHG Protocol / IEA;
3 	Definitions according to the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Standard; source, CO2e factors: electricity providers and/or residual mix:
RE-DISS (07/2017); emission factor for electricity from renewable sources is set as equal to zero;
4 with reference to production volume

38

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

ENVIRONMENT – Efficient Use of Resources

Efficient Use of Resources

Management Approach

In accordance with our environmental guidelines, we
strive to produce, to use and to dispose of products
in such a way as to minimize our harmful impact on theenviron­ment. The efficient use of resources is key. To be
sure, waste cannot be fully avoided during the production of goods. However, we are committed to reducing
it efficiently in order to preserve nat­­u­­­ral resources. We
therefore constantly work on rais­ing awareness among
all stakeholders about avoiding un­­nec­es­sary waste andengaging in professional recycling.

In order to offer our customers products that are as harm­less as possible to the environment over their entire life
cycle, we take care to employ environmentally friendly,
solvent-free manufacturing processes from the earlystages of developing our products. Wherever possible
and sensible we use renewable and recycled raw materials. Measures to this end are an integral part of ourenvironmental protection activities as a company. We
also regularly raise awareness among our employees
regarding the subjects of reducing and sorting waste.

In addition to our consistent compliance with legal
requirements, we also take further measures: We refine
our environmental management systems on an ongoingbasis, and to this end, engage in dialogue with external experts as well. We also provide our stakeholders
with candid, transparent information on our goals andsuccesses in this area. With these measures we havealready significantly reduced our environmental impact
in the area of resource efficiency.

We base our waste and raw material management on
the waste pyramid (see diagram): Avoiding and reducing waste has the highest priority, followed by various
options for recycling. Waste is disposed only when it isunavoidable.
In order to use materials efficiently and recycle wherever possible, we constantly work on minimizing production-related losses of the raw materials we use

Employees from production, process development and technology are participating in the project “Big Ideas Instead of Waste” at the tesa
plant Offenburg. The long-term oriented campaign is expected to contribute to the continuous reduction of energy and resource use.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

ENVIRONMENT – Efficient Use of Resources

39

Waste Pyramid – Priorization of Waste Categories
Most
preferred
optionWaste avoidance & reduction
Reuse
RecycleRecovery/Treatment

Least
preferred
option

Disposal

when producing adhesives, coating tapes and cuttingrolls. The waste generated during the production process is collected separately on a site-specific basis
according to various waste categories and recycled to
the greatest extent possible. For reporting purposes,
it is summa­rized in categories based on whether it isnon-hazard­ous or hazardous and whether it is for disposal or recycling (see p. 40). tesa recycles almost allnon-­hazardous waste and hazardous waste containing
solvents. Ongoing improvements in machinery and production processes – including some at our employees’
instigation – have allowed us to reduce our waste volumes on a continuous basis.

quality, p­ erformance or protection of our products inthe process. When using packaging, we attach importance to the highest possible degree of recyclability ofthe packaging materials. For example, we give p­ riority
to cardboard packaging and reusable pallets and use
single-source plastic as much as possible. In addition,
we try to avoid the use of metal or aluminum or ensurethat labels, adhesives and inks do not impair recycla­
bility. Information on the packaging, for example regarding the class of materials used, makes it easier for theend customer to choose the proper form of disposal.
In the consumer & craftsmen area, for example, wehave lowered the weight of our packaging in order toreduce packaging waste. In addition, we take care touse primarily FSC-certified materials for our paper, cardboard and carton packaging. Our long-term goal is to
avoid plastic packaging completely and instead to use
bio-based films or films made from recyclables. In thisregard, new forms of packaging are being considered,for example replacing shrink wrap with a paper sleeveor a folding carton. We have continued to optimize logistics and to standardize the shipping cartons we use as
much as possible in order to reduce the large numberof different sizes. We also aim for an optimal palette utilization in order to avoid unnecessary transport, thereby
reducing CO2 emissions.

For the current target period of 2016 to 2020, we haveset ourselves the goal of reducing specific waste volume per metric ton of end product by another two percentage points from the 2015 reference year. Material
losses during the production process are an important
control parameter in order to achieve this goal.
The reduction and avoidance of packaging materials also help to minimize waste and thereby the negative impact on the environment. In the industrial area,
our goal is to reduce the amount of packaging materials as much as possible and to avoid all packaging
that is not absolutely necessary – without harming the40tesa Sustainability Report 2019

Measures and Results
Employee Involvement
We would like to harness our employees’ expertise inorder to develop waste-reducing measures. Therefore,
in 2019 we continued the successful campaign “Big
Ideas Instead of Waste” in the tesa plant in Offenburg.
Behind this campaign is a long-term project throughwhich we intend to continuously reduce energy andresource use. Employees from production, processdevelopment and technology are participating in the
project. The project involves regular intra-departmental and inter-departmental discussions, which assist incoordinating the implementation of potential improvements and in fostering an exchange regarding bestpractice solutions. The project includes communication
measures that are designed to create awareness of
the issue among employees. In 2019 some 27 projects
involving waste reduction were implemented. A few ofthem also contribute indirectly to energy savings since
the saved materials no longer need to undergo the manufacturing process.

Performance Indicators
Our reduction goal focuses on avoiding waste. If waste
cannot be avoided, it should at least be recycled asmuch as possible. Therefore, we aim to keep waste volumes sent for disposal as low as possible.

ENVIRONMENT – Efficient Use of Resources

Categorized by waste disposal method, our waste volumes in 2019 were as follows:

Waste volumes by type and disposal method 2019
in 1,000 t

0.6

Disposal(hazardous
waste)

9.8

1.6

Disposal(non-hazardous
waste)

5.7

Recycling(non-­hazardous
waste)

2019

Recycling(hazardous
waste)

In sum, compared to the base year, the volume of waste
per metric ton of end product was adjusted for mix
effects that resulted from the weighting of the various
sites and could be reduced by 4.4 percent (by deducting
mix effects, we can represent the performance of oursites and our progress more transparently). We are thus
on target Group-wide.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

ENVIRONMENT – Responsible Use of Water

41

Responsible Use of Water

Managing Water Risks

As a result of climate change and the growing global
population, clean water is becoming scarcer worldwide.
Even though we at our sites are not currently affectedby water shortages or other high water-related risks, wenevertheless view water as a valuable resource for people and ecosystems that must be protected.

We would like to reduce risks for water sources that
result from our production as much as possible. Therefore, we take preventive measures against any conceivable accidents. For example, liquids that pose a threat
to water are emptied and refilled or stored only in areasthat are equipped with appropriate retention tanks.
Equipment to measures turbidity and solvent concentration ensure that no contaminated surface water ischanneled into the sewage system. If a relevant quantity of water-endan­ger­ing substances leaks, emergency
plans that govern the precise procedure are enacted.
All of these measures are regularly reviewed in our
external ISO 14001 audits and are the prerequisite for a
successful audit result.

In our production processes, we strive for the carefuland economical use of water. Furthermore, as a chemical company that operates worldwide, we consider it
to be our responsibility to protect water sources fromcontamination caused by our production activities. Thisawareness is reflected in our Group-wide environmental
guidelines.

Water Usage at tesa
Among other things, we use water for the productionof adhesives – for example for the dilution and granulation of rubber or to manufacture intermediate products.
In recent years, the share of water-based products has
increased significantly – and the trend is upward. Water
is added as a solvent to water-based adhesives. But
water is also used in cutting and cooling processes orfor the moistening of release papers. However, at least
half of our total water consumption involves sanitary
purposes.
In 2019, our water withdrawal amounted to approx­i­mately 656,000 m3. Of this, 396,000 m3 is well wa­­ter, 260,000 m3 is derived from municipal sources.
Our water consumption in 2019 was approximately
410,000 m3.
Two German production facilities and the headquarters
account for approximately 77 percent of our total water
withdrawal. At these three sites, we draw on technological solutions in order to ensure the most efficient use ofwater. Approximately 40 percent of the water is used incooling systems and is done so repeatedly.

40�

percentof the water we use
is repeatedly utilizedin cooling systems.

42

tesa Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2019

PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY

tesa also offers­ umerous solutionsnfor the solar ­industry,for example forframe ­mounting.

PRODUCTRESPONSIBILITY

Our contribution
to the SDGs

We view it as part of our corporate responsibility to offer
our customers safe, durable and harmless products. ­Productresponsibility begins for us right from the procurement of
raw materials. We purchase them regionally to the extent
possible, and are working on further increasing transparency
about the origin of the materials used. In addition, we takecare to comply with environmental, social and labor standards
in our supply chain.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY – Responsibility in the Supply Chain

Our product responsibility includes ensuring the safetyof our products over their entire life cycle. In addition,
we are continuously working on improving the productdesign in order to minimize the environmental impactsof our products. Applicable laws and regulations establish the foundation for our product responsibility. However, our commitment goes even deeper. Our environmental and product safety policies include strict internal
guidelines that are designed to ensure the safety andenvironmental compatibility of our products. With theseguidelines, we provide all employees with a clear framework for action for the development, production andmarket observation of our products.
Our aim is to offer our customers products that harmthe environment as little as possible over their entire life
cycle and are safe to use.

Responsibility
in the Supply Chain
Efficient supplier management is highly significant for
the quality of our products – and thereby our businesssuccess. For our production we need raw materials andchemicals that we purchase from numerous suppliers
worldwide and transport to our sites. The largest procurement markets are Europe and Asia with China as
the main country of origin.
The tesa value chain is aligned globally and must be
designed in such a way that it can anticipate future developments and respond to them. To meet this requirement,
we qualify our suppliers on a systematic basis and work
to streamline our supply chains through local purchasing
teams. They know and observe the local market in detailand are able to make a realistic assessment of the possible risks arising from issues such as political instability
and changes in local legislation. We also minimize potential risks by building a network of alternative suppliers.
In addition, due to the international nature of our value
chain, we are exposed to a certain level of risk withregard to human rights violations. We aim to know theorigin of the raw and intermediate products we purchase and provide traceability.

43

Management Approach
In order to accommodate general developments in procurement, such as rising raw material prices, changes insales and distribution channels, and shifts in the competition situation, tesa has created a central function
called the tesa Purchasing Network (tPN), which brings
together cross-sector activities and resources, and manages all processes across the Group.
The Head of the tesa Supply Network, which is partof tesa management, bears responsibility for supply
chain activities and is supported by the regional supply chain organizations. Our purchasing organization,
which is also part of the tesa Supply Network organization, has offices in Germany, China, Korea, ­Malaysia
and the USA. Our global purchasing processes aredefined and described in the Purchasing Compliance
Guideline (PCG), which is part of the Group-wide Compliance Handbook. This guideline includes binding rulesof conduct for tesa as the purchaser. In March 2019, therevised Purchasing Compliance Guideline was introduced. The focus was on the adjustment of the release
regulations for the purpose of organizing the approval
processes more efficiently.
The Purchasing Compliance Guideline also stipulates
that tesa employees who engage in purchasing activity
must require the main suppliers that supply tesa directly
to sign the Code of Conduct for Suppliers (CoCfS). The
CoCfS establishes the foundation for the responsible
management of our global procurement processes anddescribes fundamental rules and obligations in the areaof human rights, labor standards, environmental protection and corruption prevention. The ten principles of the
UN Global Compact also serve as a basis here. New suppliers must accept the contents of the CoCfS before thefirst order. Otherwise, no business relationship is established. If the supplier does not comply with this demand,
we seek to terminate the business relationship.
Within the tesa Group, the Group internal audit department monitors the purchasing standards that apply
worldwide and the associated processes at the affiliates by conducting regular “Purchase to Pay” audits,which review all processes from procurement throughto invoicing. In the process, Group internal audit depart-44

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY – Responsibility in the Supply Chain | Product Safety

ment also checks whether the main suppliers are subject
to any corresponding obligations under CoCfS. If necessary, the department calls for corrective measures.

Measures and Results
Fair, Environmentally Responsible and Reliable
Supply Chains
Along with the commitment of our main suppliers to
the tesa CoCfS, our clear goal is to gradually increasetransparency and sustainability in the supply chain. By
doing so, we intend to detect risks to sustainability inthe supply chain and to avoid them through dialogue
with the suppliers. In order to monitor the observanceof human rights, working conditions and environmental
aspects in the supply chain, we developed a Sustainability Assessment and Audit Program, which focuseson tesa’s top suppliers, during the reporting year.
­EcoVadis assessments and SMETA audits, which weevaluated in a pilot phase in 2019, are key componentsof the p­ rogram.

Training Courses
Since 2017 we have regularly trained all process owners in the application of the Purchasing Compliance
Guideline. The online training developed specificallyfor this purpose also explains the role played by the
CoCfS as an element of our procurement processes at
tesa. Approximately 75 percent of the target group of
the training have successfully completed the e-learningby the end of 2019.
An improved training concept was introduced alongwith the revised purchasing compliance guideline:
Besides online training, the relevant employees can
now reserve a trainer for on-site training. The focus here
is on improving understanding for the contents of the
PCG and to eliminate any ambiguities, thereby fostering better understanding and creating acceptance in the
global organization.

Product Safety
The safety of our products is decisive for the satisfactionof our customers and thereby for our economic success.
It makes a major contribution to creating and maintaining people’s trust in our products.
If products display safety defects, this can have a negative impact – on the people who deal with them as wellas on the natural environment. At the same time, ourcompany can also suffer serious harm from product incidents. Actions such as recalling products can result in
financial losses or damage our reputation. On the other
hand, companies that ensure a high degree of product safety and quality benefit from competitive advantages – for example, by sharpening their brand profileor penetrating new markets more quickly. We aim to
make products that satisfy the highest quality and safety
requirements.

The tesa Code of
Conduct for Suppliers
is binding for all main
suppliers that
supply tesa directly.

Management Approach
We would like to design products and processes in sucha way that they fulfill the diverse expectations of our
stakeholders and no one is harmed during their production or use.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY – Product Safety45

duction or even directions, such as inaccurate instruction
manuals, during the development process. As a rule, asafety data sheet, which includes safety-related information for example on materials and substances, proper
storage or handling, as well as recommendations for
disposal, is available for every product. The safety data
sheets are available in almost 40 languages.
Once products are already on the market, our business
units continue to monitor them. If the units recognizethat a renewed risk analysis and evaluation as well as
corresponding measures are required, they initiate thenecessary steps to ensure the health and safety of ourcustomers and employees. There were no recall actions
by end customers during the reporting year.

Extensive tests, measurements and analyses throughout the
product development process are designed to ensure that oursolutions are reliable and safe to use.

In order to offer our customers safe and high-quality
products, we comply with applicable laws and guidelines. Our internal product safety guidelines, which
expand upon the strict legal provisions, play a key role
here. They describe mandatory measures enabling us tofurther increase the safety of our products. In addition,
they specify the roles and responsibilities of the product safety officers. The tesa Product Safety Guideline
applies worldwide and can be accessed on our intranet.
Product safety management at tesa is an essential
component of quality management, for which control
is shared by the organizational structure and management. The Product Safety and Product Development
departments are responsible for assessing materials andsubstances. For their assessments, they rely on various
chemical databases, evaluate research findings and consider information on safety-related substance properties
and the safe handling of substances and mixtures. In
order to avoid product errors, the Product Development
and Production departments conduct failure mode andeffects analyses (FMEA), among other measures. This
helps them to identify potential defects in design, pro-

The product safety officers (PSO) are important for ourwork in this area. Every major plant worldwide has alocal PSO who reports to the “Corporate PSO,” the centrally responsible PSO. All PSOs have completed a recognized, external training course. They are usually also
the quality officers at the plants.

Measures and Results
Training Courses
For our worldwide training measures, we use e-learning courses developed in 2018 in addition to classroom training. During the reporting year, we have again
trained employees in the topics of chemicals legislation, product liability and product issues management.
They include employees from the areas of research &development, process development and marketing aswell as the PSOs. In the event of legislative changes, theCorporate PSO revises the training courses. In 2019 we
expanded the e-learning courses with content from thearea of product safety management and assigned themto the relevant employees.
AuditsIn order to check the safety of our products and processes, we have also conducted internal audits during
the reporting year. The Quality Management department and the product safety officers are responsible for these audits. Both event-driven and annuallyplanned audits are carried out. In addition to the areas

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tesa Sustainability Report 2019

PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY – Product Safety | Enabling Sustainability for Customersof research and development and production, marketing is also reviewed if necessary.

Safety FirstWe take the quality and safety of our products very seriously. Therefore, in 2019 we developed a concept for
further improving our approach to identifying safety-­
relevant products. We also expanded our reporting
system for the area of product safety during the reporting year.

Enabling Sustainability for
Customers
tesa products represent the highest level of quality,
safety and the responsible use of resources. With ourapplications and solutions, we support our industrial
partners in improving their processes or products. Our
products help private users and professional craftsmen to perform their daily tasks and projects simply –whether at home or at work.
We want our products to be as harmless as possible topeople and the environment over their entire life cycle.
Therefore, in our corporate strategy we have set ourselves the goal of increasing energy efficiency, reducing
the use of solvents in the production of adhesives and,
wherever possible, using renewable or recyclable raw
materials.

Management Approach

The building-integrated photovoltaics attached with tesa®
ACX plus make it possible to supply the building with ­renewableenergy and are not recognizable as solar units.

We analyze the ecological balance of selected products using life cycle assessments: With this holistic
approach, we determine what environmental impacts
these products have over their entire life cycle and how
these impacts can be mitigated.
However, we do not make only our own products more
and more environmentally friendly but also support ourcustomers’ efforts to contribute to climate protection
or resource conservation with our solutions: Our applications help them to manufacture their products in amore durable, efficient and energy-saving manner. This
results in lower CO2 emissions and less waste.

Measures and Results
Solutions for Industrial Customers
In the electronics industry, adhesive tapes are one of
the most important components in electronic equipment. They help make the devices more durable, avoid
resource-intensive new purchases and make it easier todispose of them later.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY – Enabling Sustainability for Customers

47

SWITZERLAND

A good example is the use of our tesa® Bond & Detachproducts in smartphones: The complex design of modern
smartphones makes it difficult to disassemble them. Thisis a particular challenge for repairs or for safe and efficient recycling. Our tesa® Bond & Detach products makeit possible to fasten components such as batteries insuch a way that they hold permanently. At the same time,they protect the device from shocks. If necessary, components can be easily removed without leaving any residue.
In this way the electronic components can be replaced,disposed of properly or recycled. As a result, our products contribute to extending the useful life and improving the recyclability of the devices. Similarly, tesa®
Bond & Detach can conserve resources during the production of consumer electronics: If in the past a battery
was incorrectly glued to the case, it would no longer bepossible to loosen it again and the manufacturer would
have to dispose of the entire component. Thanks to tesa®
Bond & Detach, manufacturers can now simply remove
the components and put them in the right place.
tesa also continuously seeks environmentally friendly
alternatives for the use of resources: For example, theelectronics department plans to develop a new productseries in 2020 that is based largely on acrylate monomers. This substance is produced from bioalcohols. In
addition, resins from natural resources are added to theadhesive.
We enable manufacturers from the automotive industry
to produce lighter vehicles. For example, we offer solutions for fastening and insulating the lithium-ion battery
elements of climate-friendly hybrid and electric vehicles. Since the batteries take up a great deal of space,
space-saving adhesive tapes for fastening are a better
alternative to conventional screws and rivets. Furthermore, adhesive tapes are lighter by comparison – and a
low overall weight is an important requirement when it
comes to extending the range of e-autos or reducing thefuel consumption of gasoline engines. tesa’s adhesive
die cuts, which increasingly are replacing conventional
plugs, also help cover holes with water, air and dusttight seals. The adhesive points are many times lighter
than the plugs.  insights.tesa.com
With our Primerless product line, we also help our customers reduce the use of chemicals in production: For­Environmentally­friendly and perma­
nently ­bonded
During the production of double-­
sided acrylic adhesive tapes forhighly durable adhesive bonds, ourunique, patented ACX technology
has been used for years now.
The ACX method removes thesolvents used from the adhesive,
eliminating the need for energy-­
intensive drying. Compared to con­ventional production processes,
50 percent less solvents and energy
are used. This is made possible bya technology that was developed
internally by tesa and is supportedby the German Federal Ministry
for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
The tesa® ACX plus products forper­ma­nent adhesives are used in theautomotive, electronics, wind andsolar, construction and other industries. For example, as with a building
project in Switzerland, building
integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) canbe attached particularly simply andsafely to the facade with the help oftesa® ACX plus. This makes it possi­ble
to efficiently provide the building
with renewable energy.

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tesa Sustainability Report 2019

the products of this line adhere to low-energy ­surfaces
without pretreatment. As a result, bonding agents be­­come superfluous and the ingredients they containthat are hazardous to health are avoided. In this way,
not only is the environment protected, but the safety of
employees in the production line is improved.
Our adhesive tapes can also help improve air quality
in vehicles. Certain plasticizers and adhesives alreadyrelease what are known as volatile organic compounds(VOC) at room temperature. They contribute, for example, to the “new car smell.” Since some VOCs have been
linked in the past to health problems, the emission limits in vehicle interiors are strictly regulated worldwide.
Accordingly, demand is increasing for solutions featuring the low emission of VOCs. Therefore, along withadhesive tapes with low VOC values we offer the Ultra
Low VOC option, which emits only negligible amounts of
VOC. Our adhesive tapes comply with the limits in every
country and in every automotive market.
Our products also contribute to more sustainability inthe print and paper industry. So that scrap paper canbe recycled successfully, ink and other foreign objects,
such as metal clips and adhesive tapes, must first be
removed from the paper. The paper fibers that arerecovered after this process – called “deinking” – canbe used as raw material for paper production. tesa®
EasySplice adhesive tapes for the print and paperindustry have been certified for the deinking processby the International Association of the Deinking Industry (INGEDE) since they can be detached easily from thepaper fibers. In the process, they support paper recycling and minimize waste.
With tesa® Twinlock we also offer a resource-conserving product for “flexographic printing.” This is a special
printing process, which is used, for example, for printing
on packaging. tesa® Twinlock is a reusable alternative
for the assembly of plate mountings: The plate mounting
is attached directly to the coated tesa® Twinlock sleeve,
which makes the use of adhesive tapes obsolete. Afterthe printing process, the plate mounting can be removed
again without difficulty and the sleeve can be used for the
next order. By eliminating plate mounting tapes for plateassembly, tesa® Twinlock improves the CO2 footprint
since waste and transport emissions can be avoided.

The plate mounting can be attached directly to the coated tesa®
Twinlock-Sleeve and removed again without difficulty. By doingso, plate mounting tapes are avoided – along with waste andtransport emissions.

Our solutions for the area of renewable energy support
our customers’ efforts to extend the useful life of theirequipment in particular. For example, the productionof solar panels employs various applications for frameand box mounting as well as for cell and cable fastening.
Our solutions are guaranteed to be weather-resistant;this has been verified by TÜV Rheinland in accordancewith the IEC 61215 international standard.  insights.
tesa.com
Our adhesive tape and film solutions for the rotor bladesof wind turbines are also particularly weather-resistant.
For example, they protect the edges from wear causedby rain or particle erosion. Our UV and salt water-resistant anti-slip coating on or in the nacelle increases safety
for the maintenance personnel. With acrylate foams ofthe tesa® ACX plus brand, tesa offers products for the permanent bonding of flow elements on the blade, increasing efficiency and reducing noise.

General Applications and Products:
Also with products that are used across industries, wetake care that our applications are environmentallyfriendly and have a positive impact on the recyclability
or useful lives of products. Our packing adhesive tapewith fingerlift, for example, can be completely removed
from cardboard packaging so that packaging can berecycled more easily. For some time now, we havebeen developing solvent-free adhesive tapes based onnatural rubber. By doing so, we reduce possible environmental and health risks that stem from traditional
solvents.

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PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY – Enabling Sustainability for Customers

49

GERMANY

Solutions for Consumers
In the paper, office and stationery area, we are continuously expanding our product range for environmentallyconscious consumers. Under the tesa® ecoLogo subbrand, we offer adhesive rollers, adhesive films, packing tape, glue sticks and correction rollers, which are
manufactured from primarily recycled or natural materials. The tesa® ecoLogo complies with the demanding
ISO 14021 standard for ecological products since solvents are completely dispensed with in their production and primarily bio-based materials and recycled
packages are used. tesamoll® products for sealing window and door gaps as well as the tesa® ISO SYSTEM
for uncomplicated interior roof insulation help users toconserve energy and reduce the emission of CO2. They
also prevent the penetration of moisture and improve
the indoor climate.
In May 2018, tesa acquired London-based FormFormForm Ltd., and with it, the product Sugru®. With thismalleable adhesive, everyday objects can be repaired
and embellished quickly and easily. This extends theuseful life of the objects and contributes to resource
conservation.

Supporting­Conscious Lifestyles
Make it yourself instead of buying new. Repair and “upcycle” instead of throwing away. With tesa®
products, everyday items can be
upgraded and (seemingly) uselessthings can be given a new purpose.
Whether furniture, bicycles or dec­o­ra­tive knickknacks – mending used
items instead of throwing them away
is what the “Right to Repair M­ ovement”
stands for. The upcycling movement’s
goal, on the other hand, is to takematerials and products that can nolonger be used in their orig­inal form or
are out of style and trans­form theminto functional, decorative and, above
all, unique objects to save them fromlanding in the trash.
tesa offers a wide variety of high-­
quality adhesive products for clever
repairs, renovations, fastenings anddecorations, and thus supports the
rapidly growing trend among young
people to embrace a sustainable
lifestyle.
And to make sure there’s never a lackof inspiration, tesa regularly collects
creative ideas and reference guides.
For more information please see: insights.tesa.com

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tesa Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2019

SOCIAL COMMITMENT AND INVOLVEMENT

Through the “mint:pink”
project days, female
students become
familiar with the workof tesa scientists, forexample in the physics
laboratory.

SOCIAL COMMITMENT
AND INVOLVEMENT
Our contribution
to the SDGs

Voluntarily assuming social responsibility is part of tesa’s
corporate philosophy and firmly anchored in our corporate
values. With our commitment as a company, we would liketo make a positive contribution to society beyond our corebusiness. Therefore, we are active globally, giving donations
and sponsoring memberships. Our employees are also
actively committed to volunteering.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

SOCIAL COMMITMENT AND INVOLVEMENT – tesa helps: Being There for Others
as a Good Neighbor

It is important to us to build a bridge to the tesa corecompetencies and the strengths of the company with
our social commitment and involvement: imagination
and an inventive spirit, solution orientation, practicalsupport and team spirit. By doing so, we can ensure awin-win situation for all sides – the supported organizations and projects as well as tesa itself.

51

In > 40 projects
worldwide tesa
employees were involved
voluntarily.

Management Approach
Much as with our products, we would also like to create
sustainable connections with our social engagement.
Therefore, we have launched the “tesa connects” initiative as part of our corporate citizenship strategy. This
strategy is complemented by a corporate giving policy as well as guidelines for brand and product sponsorships. In order to implement the strategy, we havedefined three core areas, to which all projects that we
support can be assigned: social commitment, supporting
education and environmental protection. At the projectlevel, these are divided into the four pillars “tesa helps,”“tesa donates” (social), “tesa supports” (education) and“tesa protects” (environment).
The Corporate Citizenship department, which is a unit ofCorporate Communications, bears overall responsibility for the topic of social commitment and involvement.
It decides on all support activities of headquarters andcoordinates them. Once a year, employees can take a
day off from work to work together with colleagues fora social cause. The Corporate Citizenship department
and cooperation partners such as tatkräftig e. V., a nonprofit initiative for volunteer activities, help employees
to select the projects.
The Executive Board explicitly supports and welcomes
civic involvement – not only at the headquarters, butalso in the individual regions. For example, the Executive Board encourages affiliates to donate a portion of
local sales to social projects and to demonstrate social
commitment through volunteer work and team building
activities. In keeping with the “Global Strategy, Local
Implementation” approach, the regional companies
independently select the projects to which they would
like to commit themselves. The Corporate Citizenshipdepartment provides advice as needed on suitablesupport projects based on its strategy and the corporate giving policy. Our affiliates manage their volunteer
work individually and differently based on the numberof employees. For example, affiliates that have alreadybeen associated with an initiative for many years organize regular annual action days, such as summer festi­vals, renovation days or crafts afternoons during theChristmas season. They are most familiar with local
conditions and so can ensure that the respective measures effectively address the social challenges. Once a
year, the regional companies report to the Corporate
Citizenship department on the projects in which they
have ­participated.

tesa helps: Being There for
Others as a Good Neighbor
The core idea of “tesa helps” is to offer neighborly assistance that is needed in the immediate vicinity of oursites. Many of our employees live near our sites andwould like to become involved in social causes in theirarea. On all continents, on-site tesa teams take on projects and get involved in the local community.

Commitment and Involvement in Germany
Employees of tesa SE, the Converting Center in Hamburg and the tesa plant Hamburg can voluntarily participate in various projects in the region. The projects
are offered by the Corporate Citizenship department
in cooperation with the association “tatkräftig – Hände
für Hamburg.” With “1 day, 1 team, 1 goal” as its motto,
the organization connects volunteer helpers with over
150 institutions in the Hamburg area. As an alternative,
employees can choose their own initiatives to sup-

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tesa Sustainability Report 2019

SOCIAL COMMITMENT AND INVOLVEMENT – tesa helps: Being There for Others
as a Good Neighbor | tesa donates: U­ ncomplicated Help for S­ ocial Projects

JAPAN
port in the neighborhood following consultation. For­trainees from the tesa plant Hamburg, participation in a“tesa helps” project with “tatkräftig” has now become an
integral part of the first apprenticeship year. In the year
under review, 38 employees supported four projects
in all, including play and craft activities or gardening,handicraft, and renovation work at social and charitable
institutions, such as children’s and youth facilities, daycare centers, and refugee centers.

Long-term
Commitment
In collaboration withthe “Osaka Child Welfare­Association,” tesa tape
Japan is supporting dis­­ad­vantaged young adults.
In Japan approximately 45,000
children live in foster homes.
When they turn 18, they have toleave these homes. They often
find everyday life very challenging due to not having beenraised by their parents. Here iswhere the Osaka Child Welfare
Association comes into play.
It helps young adults achieve
independence through various
programs and workshops. For
example, they address tablemanners, personal appearance,or the topics of finance and law.
For seven years now, the col­leagues from tesa tape Japan
have brought additional joy tothe young adults at Christmas
by distributing gifts at the work­
shops. In February 2019, theteam was honored by the mayorof Osaka for its commitment.

Worldwide Commitment and Involvement
The affiliates worldwide also provided active assistancein the areas around their sites in 2019. This includes
the charitable participation of employees in games andcrafts afternoons or excursions with at times seriously
ill children, but also renovation work in schools and­kindergartens. For example, the colleagues from Belgium support the organization “D’Broej,” which operates
youth facilities in Brussels. There, disadvantaged children and youth are offered help with homework, timeand space for personal development, but also sports
and other leisure activities. The colleagues accompanied the team from D’Broej to the carnival in Etterbeek(Brussels), in which the organization participates every
year, and helped with decorating and dressing up thechildren in costumes and painting their faces. In addition, they donated 5,000 euros.

tesa donates:­Uncomplicated Help for­Social Projects
As part of “tesa donates,” we make targeted monetaryand product donations to support people and the dayto-day work of selected institutions. We provide tesa
products for various purposes and groups, from schools
and childcare centers to campaigns to provide aid to victims of natural disasters and other emergencies, whenitems like fly screens and packing tape can be useful.
The financial support primarily benefits organizations
that care for disadvantaged or ill children.

Donation for “Die Kleinen Riesen Norderstedt e. V.”
In 2019 the annual leftover change donation benefited“Die Kleinen Riesen Norderstedt e. V.,” which offerstesa Sustainability Report 2019

SOCIAL COMMITMENT AND INVOLVEMENT – tesa donates: ­Uncomplicated Helpfor ­Social Projects

53

support for children living in families with addiction
issues. Its goal is to provide the affected with appropriate conflict and problem solution strategies and to help
them in everyday crisis situations. The leftover change
donation is based on a simple principle: On a monthly
basis, employees at the Norderstedt, Hamburg andLangenfeld sites donate the cent amount from their
net salary (0.01 to 0.99 euros), therefore a maximum of
11.88 euros per employee per year, to nonprofit organizations in their communities. In 2019 donations totaled­
4,275.15 euros. The amount was matched by the executive management, for a total of 8,550.30 euros.

Christmas Gift Campaign
tesa organized a Christmas gift campaign again in thereporting year. tesa staff placed a total of 204 new gifts
under the Christmas tree at the company headquarters
for children who would otherwise not receive anything.
Employees of ToysCompany, a nonprofit partner organization, then distributed them to socially disadvantaged
families in time for the holiday. At various sites worldwide we also support organizations caring for disadvantaged children with financial and in-kind donations.
“Kultur im Betrieb tut Gut(es)”Since September 2019, the series of events “Kultur im
Betrieb,” which has existed at tesa in cooperation withthe parent company Beiersdorf since 2015, has a new
name: Kultur im Betrieb tut Gut(es). The name says it all:
All the entrance fees are now donated to fixed, charitable social partners, which assist people in need in the
Hanseatic city. In addition, the respective partner organization has the opportunity to introduce itself during theevent and to collect donations during the break.

At the film technical center at headquarters, the students learn
what is important for film production and can try out production
themselves.

8,550.30
euros
was the total amountof the leftoverchange donationin 2019.

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tesa Sustainability Report 2019

SOCIAL COMMITMENT AND INVOLVEMENT – tesa supports: Recruiting the
Next Generation of E
­ mployees

For the last eleven years, the Suzhou tesa plant has been involved in improving
the elementary school education of the children of migrant workers.

tesa supports: Recruiting
the Next Generation of­Employees
From digitalization to climate change and energy issues,
STEM skills (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) help to solve present-day challenges and areimportant for preserving livelihoods and for social progress. As a technology company, tesa would like tosupport young people in these subjects and in the process recruit qualified up-and-coming talent. Therefore,
together with various initiatives we support educational
projects that open up future prospects for young people
in these areas. Specific projects and cooperative agreements in Germany and in numerous international affiliates are associated with this.

Initiative Naturwissenschaft & Techniktesa SE in Germany has been partnering with Initiative Naturwissenschaft & Technik (Science & Technology Initiative – abbreviated NAT) already since 2014.
In Hamburg and the surrounding metropolitan area,
NAT connects schools with universities, colleges andtechnology-driven companies. The objective is to giveyoung people a variety of insights into various occupational fields. We provide particular support for two

NAT initiatives: “mint:pink,” a support program to promote girls’ participation in STEM, and “90 Minutes of
STEM.” Both are trial courses, in which the students canbecome familiar with the work of scientists. In 2019,
two STEM days were held at tesa: tesa employees fromengineering as well as research & development gavethe schoolchildren insights into their career and scopeof responsibilities at tesa, let the students perform small
experiments and answered their questions. In addition,tesa has supported both programs again in the form of amajor annual donation.

Educational Projects Worldwide
Support for education also plays an important roleat international sites. For example, the tesa plant in
Suzhou, China, has been involved in the “tesa Sunshine
Education Assistance” program since 2008, which aims
to improve the elementary school education of the children of migrant workers. More than 100 employees
have volunteered for this initiative in recent years. A
total of 710 children have already received an annual
scholarship (“tesa Sunshine Scholarship”). In 2019 theplant expanded its commitment to a second school. In
India, tesa supports the “Nanhi Kali” organization, whichenables disadvantaged young girls to obtain an elementary school education.

tesa Sustainability Report 2019

SOCIAL COMMITMENT AND INVOLVEMENT – tesa protects: Working to Protect
the Environment

55

CHINA

tesa protects: Working toProtect the Environment
Environmental protection is part of tesa’s corporate
philosophy. We augment our activities at the production and product level with specific projects that help
preserve nature and improve the quality of life in our
regions.

Cooperation with the Environmental Center
In 2019, we began to cooperate with the Hamburg environmental center Gut Karlshöhe. The center has been
operated by the Hamburg Climate Foundation since2008 and is a place for learning about and experiencing nature. People from the Hamburg metropolitan area
can learn here in conferences, workshops, exhibitions
or markets how life can succeed in terms of natural
resources. The grounds are located near tesa’s company headquarters in Norderstedt and offer various
uncultivated areas that must be cared for and maintained. This opens the opportunity for charitable activities that can be combined with environmental educationand food for thought for a more sustainable lifestyle. In
2019, an initial pilot project was conducted in order todetermine whether the cooperation would capture theinterest of tesa employees. Since the response waspositive, we have decided to continue the cooperation:
In fall 2019, another voluntary activity occurred at Gut
Karlshöhe. A total of nearly 20 employees have participated in both projects.
The Million Tree Projecttesa staff in China have been working to protect theenvironment since 2015 by supporting the “Million Tree
Project” – a tree-planting campaign in Inner Mongolia. In 2019, six tesa employees participated in the project. They trimmed older trees and planted new ones.
 insights.tesa.com

Educationequals future
Since 2008 the production
facility supports the nearby
Suzhou Sunshine School,
particularly with the grantingof scholarships.
In 2019, the tesa plant in Suzhou
decided to provide long-term
support to several students at
a local school and to provide
financial assistance at least up
to middle school. The children
come from particularly challenging circumstances and could
not continue their education
without the scholarships since
their families cannot afford theschool fees. In addition, tesa
employees would like to support the children on a personallevel by planning excursions,for example to the robotics
museum, that enable the chil­dren to experience and explore
things they would otherwise
be denied.
For more information please
see:  insights.tesa.com

Publisher
tesa SE
Hugo-Kirchberg-Strasse 122848 Norderstedt
Germany

Contact
tesa SE
Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0) 40 888 99 0
responsibility@tesa.com
www.tesa.com/responsibility
www.tesa.com

Collaboration
Text
tesa SE
Text and layout
Stakeholder Reporting GmbH, Hamburg
Translation
EnglishBusiness AG, Hamburg