Connecting, Changing, Charging Ahead

Sustainability
Report 2020

Contents
Introduction

Foreword by the Executive Board......................................03

Society

Responsibility in the Supply Chain..................................... 27

About this Report......................................................................04

Healthy and Safe Working.....................................................29

The tesa Business Model.......................................................05

Focusing on Employees.........................................................32

Our Responsibility.................................................................... 07

Encouraging the Next Generation...................................... 37

Our Agenda................................................................................08
Environment

Working to Protect the Climate.............................................12
Using Resources Sparingly.....................................................16
Conserving and Protecting Water........................................18

Customers

Sustainable Products with Added Value..........................20
Safety First..................................................................................25

Commitment

Keeping Society in Mind........................................................40

Compliance

Compliance Without Compromise...................................... 42

SDG Index........................................................................................................46

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Dear Readers,in 2020, we took our sustainability activities to thenext level and made “Sustainable Growth” a key ele­ment of our corporate strategy. At the heart of this is
our new sustainability agenda. It provides us with aschedule and sets out the path we need to pursue inorder to make our business model even more sustainable – holistically throughout our entire value chain.
This agenda consists a series of goals and measuresthat guide our sustainability activities in relation to theenvironment, our customers and society. It also helps
us to align our efforts with global objectives such as
the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global
Compact principles.

scale assistance program established by our parent
company, Beiersdorf. Continuing far into 2021, we
will donate a total of five million euros to selectedcharitable relief organizations and projects committed
to mitigating the effects of the pandemic.

I am proud of the fact that we made strong progressin the area of sustainability in 2020. This was a year
full of challenges and dominated by a pandemic thatturned our lives upside down from one day to thenext. At the same time, however, we discovered thateven during a crisis – or perhaps especially during
a crisis – a good strategy focuses on the key issues
and provides the right framework for action.

As an industrial company, we seek to minimize the environmental impact of our business activities. In fact,
our products should increasingly help to protect theenvironment. At the same time, our industrial customers are increasingly shifting their focus to sustainability. Likewise, many private consumers are attaching
great importance to the environmental friendliness of
products and manufacturing processes. This equally
informs our goal of continuously improving the levelof sustainability of our adhesive solutions as well as
our processes.

As a multinational technology group, it has always
been important for us to assume social responsibility.
It was and is especially important for us to participate in the efforts to alleviate the grave effects of thisglobal crisis. Therefore, we decided early on to set
up our own donations initiative as part of the large-

We are aware that this is only possible because tesa isin a financially solid position and we have successfully
coped with the coronavirus crisis to date. This once
again demonstrates how important it is to establish ahealthy balance between economic, ecological andsocial issues – the three core dimensions of the concept of sustainability.

In 2020, we made solid progress toward our goal ofachieving a climate-neutral business model by 2050:
In absolute terms (according to the market-oriented

method) we cut our CO2 emissions by 23 percentage
points between 2018 and 2020. Moreover, in the reporting year we were again awarded a silver medal in
the EcoVadis sustainability ratings. Our sustainability
performance is thus once again above-average forour industry.
I therefore have an optimistic view of the future. Not
least, 2020 demonstrated what we are capable ofas a society when the chips are down. I am proud ofwhat our employees accomplished during this difficultyear. Special thanks go to them.

This report provides you with further information on
the progress that we achieved in ecological and social
areas in 2020. I wish you an inspiring and informative
reading experience!

Dr. Norman Goldberg
Chief Executive Officer of tesa SE

P – 03

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

About This Report
This year, our sustainability report provides an insight into tesa’s worldwide commitment as well as
the economic, ecological and social impact of ourcorporate operations in 2020.
As a participant in the UN Global Compact, tesa undertakes to observe ten universal principles in theareas of human rights, labor standards, environmental
protection and corruption prevention. This year, ourreport will exclusively present for the first time, thelevel of progress that we have achieved according to
the UN Global Compact. We comply with our reporting
obligation through our parent company, ­Beiersdorf,
and publish a joint non-financial disclosure (NFD) in
Beiersdorf’s annual report.
Our new sustainability agenda is at the heart of thisreport. We have prepared information on all of therelevant measures and results of our sustainability
activities in the following five areas:• Environment• Customers• Society• Commitment• Compliance
In 2020, we once again carried out a materiality analysis in order to find out which topics are particularly
significant for our activities and our reporting. This
analysis combines our own internal assessment ofsustainability issues with that of our external stakeholders such as customers, policy makers, environmental and human rights organizations and other social groups. Based on this analysis, tesa has definedten key topics: climate and energy, water, resource
efficiency, product sustainability, product safety, human rights, occupational health and safety, employee
development, diversity and equal opportunity, andprevention of anticompetitive behavior.
This report is available in German and English. The
German version is authoritative. Like all of the versions
published in previous years, it is available online at
tesa.com/en/sustainability .

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

P – 04

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

The tesa Business Model
As a multinational company, tesa has developed
innovative adhesive tapes and self-adhesive systemsolutions for industry, commercial customers andconsumers for 125 years.
The company offers more than 7,000 adhesive solutions that help to improve the work, products andlives of its customers. Sustainability and energy-saving methods are now a paramount concern. Together
with its international customers, tesa develops tailored innovations at the product and process levels.
More than 130 tesa tapes can thus be installed inan electric car and over 70 in a smartphone. With
its special adhesive tapes, tesa is also continuously
entering new segments and countries in the printing
and construction industries. With 300 applications
and products for consumers and professional craftsmen, such as the legendary tesafilm, we make lifeeasier and even a little more pleasant, as in the caseof insect protection. tesa is one of the world’s leading
manufacturers of adhesive solutions.

The Group and Its Affiliates Worldwide
With approximately 4,700 employees and 62 affiliates,
tesa operates in more than 100 countries. tesa SE is awholly owned and independent affiliate of Beiersdorf
Aktiengesellschaft.

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

7,000
Products

4,716
Employees

tesa offers more than
7,000 products and solutions.

tesa has a global workforce of
4,716 employees. 2,900 of themwork in in Germany.

Applications for various industry sectors account for
about three-quarters of the Group’s sales (2020: 1,325
million euros). tesa operates worldwide with a focus
on Europe, followed by the regions of Asia, Northand South America and Asia Pacific. In addition to
its German sites, the affiliates in China, the UnitedStates, Italy and Singapore are among the largest
single companies in the tesa Group.
Our 14 production facilities are located in Europe (Germany and Italy), North America (USA) and Asia (China).
The company headquarters, which include an integrated research and technology center, are locatedin Norderstedt, near Hamburg, Germany.

62
Affiliates

tesa has 62 affiliatesin over 100 countries.

P – 05

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Strategic Alignment
Innovations and pioneering product developmentson the basis of state-of-the-art technologies, a highlevel of quality, reliability and excellent service are
key elements of the philosophy behind the tesa brandand tesa’s success. That includes developing effective
solutions together with the company’s customers forthe respective markets and working out customer
needs.
With regard to the development and sales of innovative, market-driven adhesive solutions under thetesa® brand, the company focuses on the following
strategic vision:“Become a truly multinational company …
• 	tesa acts globally while taking account of local
needs and adapting to them.
… with a focus on selected markets …
•	We focus on profitable growth markets where wecan differentiate ourselves from our competitors.
… and an equally strong presence …
•	We aim to strike a greater balance in terms ofsales, employees and infrastructure.
… in Asia, the Americas, and Europe.”• 	We intend to defend our leading market positionin Europe and to invest in the expansion of ourpresence in Greater China, the Asia-Pacific region and North America.

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

tesa’s various customer groups and their expectations
have always been at the heart of everything the company does. tesa is responding with modern structures,processes and mindsets to significantly heightened
requirements. At the same time, the company is using
the opportunities of digitalization in order to further
boost the level of service which it provides for its
customers and to reduce costs. The following factors
are key to our success:•	Comprehensive knowledge of specific customers’
needs, production processes, market requirements
and industry trends•	Comprehensive knowledge of the wishes andneeds of end customers and the expectations ofpartners in the retail trade, so that we can meettheir requirements efficiently and offer high sales
productivity per unit area•	Ongoing staff training and continuous improvementof business processes to enable efficient and rapid
implementation
We take corporate responsibility in our businesspro­­cesses. In 2020, we incorporated the element of“Sustainable Growth” into our business strategy andapproved a new sustainability agenda. This covers
the three areas of environment, customers and soci-ety and applies throughout our entire value chain. Inline with a good, responsible corporate management,
we are guided group-wide by our internal standards
such as the tesa Code of Codunct (see p. 45) and ourenvironmental guidelines. With our Code of Conduct
for Suppliers (see p. 27), we also obligate our key
business partners to comply with our sustainability
standards.

Solutions and Products for Industry,
Trade and Consumers
Our business consists of two different business units:
The Direct Industries division, which generates roughly three quarters of our sales, supplies tesa’s industrial
customers – in the automotive, electronics, printing
and paper and building and construction industries

in particular – with specialized system solutions. Our
products are also used in the area of renewable energy and in the household appliances sector. Trade
Markets, the second business segment, encompasses
those markets in which tesa supplies end customers with market-driven products via retail partners ortrade related channels online or directly. In addition to
product ranges for private consumers and craftsmen,
this includes adhesive tapes that are intended forcommercial customers. These are marketed primarily
via technical retailers, but increasingly also online.

P – 06

Contents

SDG

Introduction

Environment

Goal

Customers

Society

Commitment

MeasureGlobal purchasing of green electricity

100%purchased
green electricity
by 2025

Since the end of 2020, renewable energy sources
provide 100 percent of the electricity purchased
for all of our sites worldwide. We are supporting
the development of renewable energy by purchasing green electricity.

Compliance

As of the end of 2020

100%
achieved

See the “Environment” chapter of this report, p. 11

80%

Sustainability
assessments tocover 80% of ourdirect purchasing
volume by 2025

Sustainability assessmentof direct suppliers
We cooperate closely with our suppliers in orderto achieve a more sustainable supply chain. In
mid-2020, we initiated a program together with
EcoVadis for the assessment of our suppliers’ sustainability performance. Safeguarding high environmental and labor standards is a core priority
here.

31%
achieved

30%

absolute reductionin our Scope 1 and 2
emissions* by 2025
by comparison with2018

Through our climate protection goal, we aim to
cut our CO2 emissions by 30 percent in absoluteterms by comparison with 2018. This goal is consistent with the scientific consensus that global
warming should not exceed 1.5°C.

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Our Responsibility
Global challenges such as climate change and growing resource scarcity quite clearly demonstrate theneed for us as a society to strike a balance betweensocial, ecological and economic concerns. At tesa,
we are facing up to this challenge and taking responsibility – both for the people who work for us andfor the impact of our products and processes.
As a company with international manufacturing operations, we align our business processes with a sustainable economy. We assume responsibility at every
stage of our value chain, from the procurement of
raw materials to recycling, and we also require our
suppliers to comply with high standards in their business processes.

Global Compact Principles andSustainable Development Goals

See the “Society” chapter of this report, p. 26

Reducing our carbon footprint

SDG Index

23%
achieved

See the “Environment” chapter of this report, p. 11*	Scope 1 comprises emissions resulting due to a company’s own activities –for instance, during production. Scope 2 comprises emissions arising throughpurchased energy – such as electricity.

We have been a member of the Global Compact of
the United Nations since 2006. Our membership underscores our commitment to upholding internationally recognized social and environmental standards
in our business activities. The ten Global Compact
principles in the areas of human rights, labor standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption
form the overarching guidelines for our actions. Since
2018, we have also contributed to the realization of theUnited Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). The Sustainable Development Goals consti-

tute the core of the 2030 Agenda, a global action
plan for sustainable development. They re­pre­sent
an important orientation framework for our work onsustainability. As a member of the business commu­nity, we consider that we also have a respon­sibility
alongside policy makers and civil society to support
the achievement of the Sustainable Development
Goals.
In order to define as precisely as possible to which
SDGs we can contribute with our activities and products, we have carried out a comparison with the 169
SDG targets. The result can be found in the index on
page 46. We also include symbols at the start of every
chapter to indicate to which Sustainable Development Goals we are contributing with the activities
described in the respective chapter.

P – 07

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Our Agenda
Sustainability at tesa
We see sustainability as an opportunity, an obligation
and as a philosophy. It requires us to think one stepfurther and to continuously improve. This is particularly true in regard to our products andour production processes. In our view, aninnovative product combines the highest
level of quality and performance with areduced environmental footprint. We
are permanently working to ensurethat our products conserve resources and protect the environment
throughout their life cycle. In orderto achieve that, we are continuously improving our level of energy
efficiency, turning to renewableenergy and testing out the use ofalternative materials. Our goal is toachieve a completely climate-neutral
business model by 2050.
To realize this objective, we use the ideas
and expertise of our employees. That is
why we are doing everything possible to offer
them a safe, healthy and attractive working
environment as well as space for innovations.
tesa has affiliates in more than 100 countries and a production network that encompasses almost every continent.

Therefore, our partners and suppliers who work for us along our value
chain are a particular area of focus. It is important for us to ensure fair working conditions and that labor and humanrights are upheld.

New Sustainability Agenda
In our view, business success and sustainability are compatible with one another.
Sustainable products and processes
are crucial to tesa’s further growth. It
is for this reason that we have made“Sustainable Growth” a core elementof our corporate strategy. Our new
sustainability agenda is at the heartof this strategy. It demonstrates how
we can strike a balance between thethree dimensions of environment,
customers and society. Since 2020,
our sustainability agenda has applied
throughout our company and it provides us with a set of guiding principles
for all of our business decisions.
Our new sustainability agenda encompasses a
total of seven areas of focus that are of strategic
significance for us and to which we intend to commit
even greater resources in the future. We have alreadydefined ambitious goals for these areas of focus, or are in theprocess of doing so.

P – 08

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Sustainability is Anchored Within
Our Organizational Structure
Sustainability is firmly anchored within tesa’s core
processes and business model. We have established an organizational structure to reflect this andhave defined responsibility as a task that cuts acrossevery area of our Group. Our Sustainability Committee is responsible for the decision-making process
and management of our sustainability activities. This
committee meets on a quarterly basis and consistsof managers drawn from various business units anddivisions. It is chaired by a member of the Executive
Board. Our Sustainability Management department
handles the planning and coordination of our engagement, while our specialist functions, regions andaffiliates are responsible for the implementation of
specific measures. We also regularly pursue a dialogue and coordinate our activities with our parent
company, Beiersdorf.

Ratings and Awards
Ratings and rankings regularly confirm our clear commitment to sustainability. We see the results of theseassessments as a starting point for us to achieve further improvements.
CDP has awarded tesa a B score for its efforts in thearea of climate protection. Its scale ranges from A to D,

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

with A as the best possible result. CDP is a charitableorganization that carries out an annual questionnairebased assessment of companies’ sustainability performance. In 2020, tesa also once again participatedin EcoVadis’ sustainability ratings and was awarded asilver medal for its sustainability efforts. EcoVadis is awell-known rating platform for companies with global
procurement chains.

Sustainability GovernanceSteering & Decision-Making
Sustainability Committee

Planning & Coordination
Corporate Sustainability Department

Implementation
Corporate Functions | Business Units |Regions | Affiliates

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

P – 09

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Interview with Angela Cackovich,
Executive Board Direct Industries
In your role as a member of the Executive Board, you
are responsible for sustainability at tesa – is that a
topic which is of relevance for you in your daily life?
Yes, undoubtedly. Environmental protection is a frequent topic of discussion with my daughters aged 16
and 20. They are both very interested in sustainability and are thus a great source of inspiration for me.
I think that we have a lot to learn from the younger
generation and from initiatives such as Fridays for
Future. They are demonstrating the courage to standup for what is really important – and giving us adults
a wake-up call.
With its new sustainability agenda, tesa has now
anchored the topic of sustainability even more firmly
within its corporate structure. What does this agenda consist of, and what role does it play for tesa?
At tesa, we see it as our corporate responsibility toparticipate in solving global challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity. Our agenda isholistic and forward-looking and provides all of ouremployees with a set of guiding principles, so thatthey can approach these activities with even greater

focus. It helps us to concentrate on those aspects ofour business activities where we can be most effective and which are particularly important to us: fromthe circular economy principle via a climate-neutral
business model to the promotion of talented young
people. We aim to achieve significant improvementsin each of the three dimensions of our agenda: ourcustomers, the environment and society.
tesa already offers a large number of products thatenable customers to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. What is your view of the potential that sustainable solutions have to offer for the future?
Environmentally friendly products lost their niche status some time ago, and demand for them is growing
continuously. Our sustainability agenda therefore includes the goal of a significant increase in our salesof sustainable products within the next five years.
That includes our increased use of recycled or biobased raw materials, solvent-free manufacturing andincreasingly closing raw material loops. I am confident
that, if we continue unwaveringly on our current path,
we will be able to offer significantly more sustainableproducts in the near future – and thus also develop
new sales opportunities for tesa.

“Environmentallyfriendly products losttheir niche status sometime ago, and demand
for them is growing
continuously.”

In your view, what does tesa have to offer in order
to cope with the challenges of the future?
tesa has always been known for its capacity for innovation – and its untiring efforts to develop ever-improving solutions. In addition to our proximity to ourcustomers, we are well positioned in order to use
sustainability as an opportunity. I can see two areasof emphasis for the future: On the one hand, we need

to focus on our own operations and continue to invest
in environmentally friendly equipment, technologies
and products. On the other hand, we need to help ourcustomers to achieve their sustainability goals – andpull together with them. I am confident that we willachieve both of those goals.
Many thanks for the interview.

P – 10Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Environment
Reducing emissions and conserving resources is at
the heart of our new sustainability agenda. We haveset ourselves clear goals: By 2025, we aim to reduce
our energy-related CO2 emissions (Scope 1 and 2)
by 30 percent in absolute terms (in comparison with2018). We are even aiming to achieve a completely
climate-neutral business model by 2050. tesa is thus
firmly supporting the United Nations’ goal of limiting
the increase in the average global temperature to
1.5°C.
We are committed to the principle of a circular economy in terms of our responsible use of natural resources. We are doing our utmost to ensure that the materials used to produce our products can be recycled orotherwise reused at the end of their useful lives. We
are doing everything possible in order to conserve
water as a resource. We use water as sparingly as
possible and prevent effluent from our production
operations from polluting bodies of water.

These are the SDGs
we support in termsof the environment:

P – 11

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

Working to Protect the Climate
Climate change is one of the key social challengesof our time. It is important to limit the increase in
the average global temperature to no more than
1.5°C. We are supporting this goal. At tesa, we arehelping to protect the climate by consuming lessenergy, using it more efficiently and utilizing renewable energy. As part of our environmental program,our plants define the measures that they intend to
implement every year and the level of reduction in
CO2 emissions thus achievable.
In 2020, we signed together with Beiersdorf the United Nations’ “Business Ambition for 1.5⁰C” global commitment letter. tesa has set itself an ambitious climate
goal as part of this process: We aim to reduce ourabsolute CO2 emissions by 30 percent compared to2018 (Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions according to
the Greenhouse Gas Protocol) by 2025. The “Science
Based Targets initiative” (SBTi) – a joint undertakingof CDP, the UN Global Compact, the World Resources
Institute and the WWF – confirmed our Group’s goals
in May 2020. Our reduction target is consistent withcurrent scientific findings and the goal of limiting global warming to no more than 1.5°C. In addition, we haveset ourselves the goal of achieving a zero-emission
business model by 2050.
In the period from 2018 to 2020, we already reduced
our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 23 percent in

absolute terms. We lowered our specific emissions
per metric ton of end product by 13.7 percent in thesame period.

A Systematic Approach to
Perfecting Our Environmental
and Energy Management
We are making continuous progress in our protectionof the environment and the climate. Environmental
management systems play an important role in thisarea. At eight of our sites, we are already employing
systems which have been awarded an ISO 14001 matrix certification.
All of our production facilities with a related coating
unit and/or adhesive production have been certified.
Compared with other sites, these certified sites havehigh levels of energy consumption, for example due todrying or waste air purification processes. This meansthat they also have higher CO2 emission levels: They
cause much of our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
The companies acquired since 2017 have not yet been
integrated into this certification process.
In addition to our environmental management system, tesa’s headquarters and production facilities in
Hamburg and Offenburg have energy management
systems certified in accordance with ISO 50001.

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

23%
Less CO2

In the period from 2018 to 2020,
tesa already reduced its direct CO2
emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2)
by 23 percent in absolute terms.

Hamburg and Offenburg are our largest production
facilities and have a high level of energy consumption by comparison with our other sites: They accountfor almost 70 percent of the CO2 emissions of all of
our ISO 14001-certified sites. Most of our employees work at our headquarters; our largest researchand development unit, including a laboratory, is also
based there along with the company’s testing andsmall-batch production facilities. Our energy management systems provide the basis to further increaseenergy efficiency at the sites. In the first quarter of
2020, Hamburg and Offenburg completed their firstrecertification audit according to the ISO 50001:2018
standard.

P – 12

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Safeguarding the Successof Our Activities
We also internally identify, assess and monitor the
progress made by our ISO 14001-certified sites in reducing their CO2 emissions. We review the effectiveness of our activities by keeping track of monthly
site-specific energy consumption. We determine energy-related CO2 emissions based on the guidelinesof the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
Energy consumption is an important lever in orderto reduce our CO2 emissions – and achieve related
cost savings. We continuously identify energy-saving
opportunities and optimize energy-intensive processes. Our environmental program and the results ofour environmental audit provide the basis for these
efforts. tesa corporate management is involved in thisprocess every year through a management review.
The environment experts at our respective sites are
responsible for the implementation of specific environmental measures.

Conserving Energy and Resources
With Smart Technology
We rely on highly efficient energy and resource-saving technologies to increase our level of energy efficiency. That includes the efficient generation of thecompany’s own energy: At several of our production

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

100%
Green Energy
Since 2020, tesa has exclusively
purchased electricity fromrenewable sources at all of its
offices and production facilities
worldwide.

facilities, we operate a combined cooling, heat andpower system or a combined heat and power plant(CHP) to generate electricity. In these systems, weuse both the electricity generated and the heat thatis produced for production processes or for heating.
Two new CHP plants were added in 2020: at our production plant in Italy and our Norderstedt headquarters. In the future, they will produce almost 11 GWh
per year of additional electricity. We will thus covernearly half of our electricity requirements ourselves.
It is also important that we continue to reduce ourlevel of energy demand. In the reporting period, we
optimized air conditioning in our technology centerat our Norderstedt headquarters. We reduced ourelectricity consumption by turning down ventilation
systems during non-operating times.

Green Energy: Using Electricity
From Renewable Sources
We are purchasing renewable energy in order toachieve our climate goals. This enables us to reduce
our carbon footprint. Since the end of 2020, we havesourced 100 percent of our purchased electricity fromrenewable energy sources such as solar energy, windenergy and hydropower. In connection with this goal,
we carried out an electricity consumption and suppliersurvey at all of our offices and production facilities in
2020. Some of our sites already purchased electricity
from renewable energy sources, and we acquired
green electricity guarantees of origin* for our othersites for 2020.

We are also looking into installing our own photo­voltaic systems at our sites. We commissioned feasibility studies in this area during the reporting period.
On the basis of the findings, we decided to install asystem at our production facility in Suzhou, China, by2023.

*	For the electricity it purchases, tesa acquires what are known as“International Renewable Energy Certificates“ (I-RECs), European
guarantees of origin or country-specific certificates.

P – 13

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

72 %72 percent of our total emissions are
attributable to purchased goods suchas raw materials.

Reducing CO2 emissions along
the value chain
All emissions along the entire value chain that do not
fall under Scope 1 and Scope 2 are assigned to Scope
3 emissions*. The main sources of emissions along
our value chain include raw materials and goods. 72
percent of our total emissions are attributed to thiscategory. We therefore see the increased use of recycled and biobased raw materials as a key lever for
reducing our indirect emissions (see Products p. 20).

*
Scope 3 comprises emissions caused by upstream and downstream activities along the value chain – for example, throughsuppliers.

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Ensuring Clean Air:
Avoiding VOC Emissions

Consistently Reducing
Emissions

In the period under review, we put into operation asecond regenerative thermal oxidation system at our
production facility in Suzhou, China, in order to minimize airborne emissions. This thermal oxidation system burns exhaust gas in the air resulting in purified
exhaust gas, which is then discharged into the environment. We intend to install an additional regenerative thermal oxidation system at our production facility
in Hamburg in order to achieve a further reduction inemissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) there.

By 2025, we intend to cut our absolute Scope 1 andScope 2 emissions by 30 percent by comparison with2018. In the period under review, we lowered our CO2
emissions – according to the market-based method
and taking into consideration electricity from renewable energy sources – in absolute terms by 23 percentage points compared to 2018.

Climate Footprint and Energy Consumption

20181

2019

2020

Total energy consumption (GWh)

327

301

310

Electricity from renewable energy sources(Percentage share)

30

34

50

Electricity from own CHP(Percentage share)

41

37

50

Specific CO2 emissions per metric ton ofend product (t CO2e)

0.94

0.91

0.82

Direct CO2 (Scope 1) (t CO2e)55,63950,321

54,128Indirect CO2 (Scope 2)2 (t CO2e)14,251

13,12112

CO2 total (t CO2e)69,89063,442

54,1401

Reference year2	Definitions according to the GHG Protocol Scope 2
standard; market-based method; electricity from renew­
able sources is assigned an emissions factor of zero.

P – 14

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

tesa Is Switching Over to Green Electricity

We have reached an important milestone in the areaof climate protection: Since 2020, all tesa offices andproduction facilities have purchased 100 percentof their electricity from renewable energy sources
such as solar and wind energy or hydropower. We
are thus getting closer to our goal of achieving anentirely climate-neutral business model by 2050.

Mr. Lang, what role does the changeover to green
electricity play in tesa’s climate goals?
We have set ourselves the target of reducing our direct energy-related CO2 emissions by 30 percent in
absolute terms by 2025 – relative to 2018. This goal
relates to energy that we either generate internally orpurchase and that we require for our production andadministrative activities. It is here that we can have a
direct impact in terms of reducing greenhouse gases,
and we can get a lot done in a short space of time.
In the future, we will thus source green electricity at
every one of our sites on five continents. In this way,
we are taking a further step toward climate neutrality – entirely in keeping with our new sustainability
strategy. This envisages us achieving a completely
climate-neutral business model by no later than 2050
– in line with the United Nations’ 1.5°C goal. To thisend, in the future we will also focus on our supply andvalue chain and reduce our indirect CO2 emissions.
What do you particularly look at when purchasing
green electricity?
We obtain green electricity guarantees of origin whenpurchasing renewable energy. We pay special attention to the recognized EKOenergy mark of quality.
Operators are required to meet certain sustainability

criteria in order to receive this label. For instance,wind farms are only included if they are built outsideof nature reserves and important bird sanctuaries.
EKOenergy also operates a fund to support additional climate protection projects. As well as purchasing
green electricity, we are also making progress in generating our own electricity: In November 2020, we
decided to install our own photovoltaic system at ourplant in Suzhou, China, in 2021.
tesa produces its own electricity at some of its sites– this is currently enough to meet 50 percent of our
total requirements. What’s next?
Within the scope of our company environmental management plan, we have been hard at work for many
years now to increase our level of production efficiency and employ relatively low-emission technologies.
We are already covering the base load of our energy
requirements through highly efficient combined heatand power (CHP) plants. We are well equipped withthem. In the future, we intend to replace the fuels
used in our existing CHP plants with climate-neutral
alternatives in order to achieve CO2-neutral production. Biogas and power-to-gas technology are highly
promising options here. We are also looking at thepossibility of offsetting unavoidable CO₂ emissions
through appropriate offset projects.

tesa has set itself ambitious climate goals. Whatchallenges does this entail?
tesa aims to become climate-neutral in the long term
and to actively contribute to the environment. The
greatest challenge we face is breaking the link between growth and CO2 emissions. If we can manage
that, our company could achieve further growth without an increased volume of CO2 emissions. There
are various factors to consider if we are to achievethat goal. They include partnerships along the supply
and value chain, technologies to reduce, capture andremove CO2 and, not least, doing without fossil fuels
and resources. We expect to see increased political
momentum in all of these areas in the future – particularly since the European Green Deal will underpin
these objectives.

Michael Lang
Director of Corporate
Sustainability and Quality
Management

P – 15

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Using Resources Sparingly
We aim to offer our customers products that haveas little environmental impact as possible over their
entire life cycle. That is why we take care to employ
environmentally friendly, solvent-free manufacturing processes from the early stages of developing
our products. In the future, we aim to increase theproportion of recycled and renewable raw materials
even further. We will develop products which, onreaching the end of their useful lives, can continue
to be used within the circular economy or otherwise
be recycled. We aim to avoid waste as far as possible and, wherever that is not possible, to reduce
our volume of waste or else recycle it professionally.
We consistently comply with legal requirements. In
addition, we refine our environmental management
systems on an ongoing basis, and to this end, engage
in dialogue with external experts. In this way, we havealready clearly reduced our environmental impact.
Resource conservation measures are an integral partof our company’s environmental protection activities.

Avoid, Reuse, Recycle
We base our waste and raw material managementon the waste pyramid (see diagram): Above all, weavoid waste. Where that is not possible, we reduce it.
Where waste is unavoidable, we seek to reuse it byvarious means. Only where it is not possible either toavoid, reduce or reuse waste will we dispose of it. We
regularly raise awareness among our employees on
the subject of avoiding waste and the correct process
for separating it.

To ensure the efficient use of materials, we minimize
production-related losses of the raw materials we use
to produce adhesives, coating tapes and cutting rolls.
To achieve this goal, we are continuously improving
our machinery and production processes and thus
reducing our waste volumes. Our employees provide
valuable suggestions here.
The waste generated during the production process
is collected separately for each waste category andon a site-specific basis and is recycled to the greatest

Waste pyramid – prioritization of waste categories
Most
preferred
optionAvoid and reduce
Reuse
RecycleReclaimLeast
preferred
option

Disposeextent possible. Waste is summarized in categories
based on whether it is non-hazardous or hazardous
and whether it is to be disposed of or recycled. tesa
recycles almost all non-hazardous waste and hazardous waste containing solvents.

P – 16

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Sustainable Packaging
We are also reducing the volume of waste and minimizing the negative environmental impact associatedwith our packaging materials. 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 thequality, performance or protection of our products inthe process.
In 2020, we initiated the process of defining a sustainable packaging target as part of our sustainability
agenda. Specifically, in the future we intend to use
less raw materials for packaging or make use of alternative and/or recycled raw materials. For instance, we
aim to avoid plastic packaging. Here we are also considering new types of packaging, such as replacing
shrink-wrap with a paper sleeve or a folding carton.
The development of specific indicators will help us toensure transparency regarding our progress in thisarea.
We have already achieved some initial success inrelation to packaging in our Consumer & Craftsmen
segment:•	To reduce packaging waste, we have decreased
the weight of our packaging.
•	For paper, cardboard and carton packaging, we
primarily use FSC-certified materials.

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index•	We also aim to achieve optimal utilization of ourpallets in order to avoid unnecessary transport, thereby reducing CO₂ emissions.

“Big Ideas Instead of Waste”
Employee Campaign for
Reduced Waste
How can we harness our employees’ expertise inorder to develop waste-reducing measures? One response to this is our successful “Big Ideas Insteadof Waste” campaign at our tesa plant in Offenburg.
Behind this campaign is a long-term project throughtesa – Sustainability Report 2020

which we intend to continuously reduce our energy
and resource use. Employees from production, process development and technology are participatingin this initiative. The project involves regular intraand inter-departmental discussions, which assist incoordinating concrete measures and in fostering an
exchange regarding best practice solutions. This includes communication measures that are designed toenhance employees’ awareness of the issue. Overall
in 2020, we implemented 23 projects with the goalof using resources more efficiently. One positive side
effect is that, as well as conserving resources, wehave also achieved costs savings of 249,000 euros.
Some of these projects also help to reduce our energy
consumption indirectly, since the materials that are
not required are then no longer used in the manufac­
turing process.

Waste volumes by typeand disposal method (in 1,000 t)

Effective Waste Reduction

adjusted for mix effects that result from the weightingof the various sites. Removing mix effects provides for
greater transparency in our presentation of our sites’
performance and our level of progress.

Above all, we seek to avoid waste. If this is not possible, it should at least be recycled as much as possible. Therefore, our goal is to keep waste volumes
sent for disposal as low as possible. Categorized bywaste disposal method, our waste volumes in 2020
were as illustrated above on the right.
In sum, the waste volume per metric ton of end product was reduced by 5.8 percent compared to thebase year 2015. The figure indicated here has been

0.6

P – 17

1.2

Disposalof hazardous
waste

Disposal of
non-hazardous
waste

2020
9.7

Recycling of
non-hazardous
waste

5.9

Recyclingof hazardous
waste

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Conserving and Protecting
Water
Water is a valuable resource for people and ecosystems that must be protected: As a result of climatechange and the growing global population, cleanwater is becoming scarcer worldwide. We primarily
use water for production processes and sanitation
at our sites.
In our production processes, we strive for careful andeconomical use of water. Furthermore, as a chemicalcompany that operates worldwide, we consider it tobe our responsibility to protect water sources fromcontamination caused by our production activities.
This awareness is reflected in our Group-wide environmental guidelines.
Among other things, we use water for the production of adhesives – for example, for the dilution andgranulation of rubber or to manufacture intermediate
products. In recent years, the share of water-based
products has increased significantly since we areusing water ever more frequently as a solvent. We
also make use of water in cutting and cooling process­es and for the moistening of release papers.
We aim to use this scarce resource responsibly andefficiently. This includes keeping track at our production facilities every year of water data such as water
consumption and effluent quantities.

We primarily obtain water from the local drinking watersupply and from the groundwater. The water in our
cooling systems is reused several times: Following its
use, most of it is channeled into the sewage system
as effluent or discharged as surface water. We are
implementing appropriate measures at our sites inorder to return used water to the water cycle. In theyear under review, we installed a water vapor recov­
ery system at our production plant in Concagno, Italy.
We tightened up our environmental guidelines relating to water even further in the reporting year. We
also disclose information on our water management
through CDP. In 2020, our volume of water with draw­
al amounted to approximately 501,000 m3. Of this,
264,000 m3 is well water, while 237,000 m3 is derived
from municipal sources. Our water consumption in2020 was approximately 268,000 m3.

We would like to reduce risks for water sources that
result from our production as much as possible. There­
fore, we take preventive measures against any conceivable accidents. For example, liquids that pose athreat to water are emptied and refilled or stored only
in areas that are equipped with appropriate retention
tanks. Equipment to measure turbidity and solvent
concentration ensures that no contaminated sur­face water is channeled into the sewage system. If a
relevant quantity of water-endangering substances
leaks, emergency plans come into effect and precisely regulate the further course of action. All ofthese measures are regularly reviewed in our external
ISO 14001 audits and are the prerequisite for a successful audit result.

A Preventive Approach to Water Risks
We perform an annual risk assessment on the basisof the World Resources Institute’s “Aqueduct Water
Risk” method at our production facilities as well as
our Norderstedt headquarters. This covers water with­drawal as well as effluent types and quantities. We
also identify sites that have an increased level of water
scarcity or water stress risk*.

* 	An area is subject to water stress whenn the amount of water withdrawn exceeds the level of water inflow.

620t
CO Reduction
2

Through the installation of a water vapor
recovery system at our plant in Italy, we
have lowered our water and energy
requirements and thus reduced our CO2
emissions by around 620 metric tons of
CO2 per year.

P – 18

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Customers
Whether individual consumers, craftsmen, specialist
retailers or industrial companies: Just like us, manyof our customers are committed to achieving greater
sustainability. We support them by enabling them tomake technological progress and actively contributeto sustainability through our products. For instance:
renewable energy. With our adhesive tape solutions,
we support the production of solar modules and windfarms – and thus the energy production systems of
the future.
Our products are part of the solution. Our sustainabil­
ity strategy reflects that perspective: Over the next
five years, we will significantly increase our level ofsales of sustainable products, and use more sustain­
able packaging in the future.

These are the SDGs
we support in termsof customers:

P – 19

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Sustainable Products
With Added Value
Safety, quality, performance: We are highly demanding in our product development activities. At thesame time, we are designing more and more products that combine these characteristics with a reduced environmental footprint. As well as productdesign, our sustainable product concept includes
the phase of their use by our customers.
In many areas, tesa products provide ecological added value. Our adhesive solutions are also used tomake repairs, so that products can be used for longer.
They also enable specific components to be separated from one another and subsequently recycled. That
conserves resources, protects the environment andavoids emissions.
In our new sustainability agenda (see strategy p. 8),
we have set ourselves the goal of increasing the proportion of sustainable products in our product range
by 2025. On the one hand, that means the increased
use of renewable or recycled raw materials in our
products. We also intend to pay greater attention to
how the materials we use can be recycled or reusedat the end of their product life. On the other hand,
we intend to offer an increased number of productsthat demonstrably enable our customers to achieve
greater sustainability in their lives.

Sustainability From Start to Finish
Reducing a product’s carbon footprint while maintaining the same level of quality is a core product development issue for us. In the future, we intend to use anincreased volume of raw materials that are more environmentally and climate-friendly than conventionalraw materials. Here, we weigh up the use of different
raw materials. In particular, the use of recycled andbio-based raw materials is currently a key concern for
us. At the same time, we avoid scarce raw materials or
raw materials whose extraction places an excessive
burden on the environment. We are also looking to
make further reductions in our use of solvents during
the production process.
The end of a product’s life is not less important thanits beginning. If a product or its individual parts can berecycled or reused, then resources can be conserved
elsewhere. To achieve this effect, we consider the endof the product’s life even during the early stages of
its development and are investing in further researchon this subject. We are driven by the idea of a circular economy. The goal is for less material to be used
and for a greater volume of material to be reused or
recycled.

Automotive“Our customers in the automotive industry are in the midst of a
far-reaching process of transformation, leading to new mobility
solutions and increased sustainability. …
… We would like to help shape this process of change, by working together with our customers as partners. The example of “hole covering” – a
big issue in the automotive industry – shows that we are already offering
them sustainable alternatives. True to the “adhering instead of plugging”
principle, we have developed environmentally friendly solutions for covering
production-related holes in the vehicle body. For this purpose, we are using
adhesive solutions that are less CO2 and material-intensive than conventional plastic plugs. Products made from bio-based or recycled materials
are also important here – and in the future we intend to further expand our
product range in this area.”
Boris Kawa, Corporate Marketing Business Unit Automotive

P – 20Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Examples of Products
With Sustainable Characteristics
Alongside their performance characteristics, an increasing number of products in our portfolio also offera strong sustainability profile – such as tesa® Bond
& Detach products for the industrial segment or our
ecoLOGO® and Sugru® consumer brands.
Bond & Detach:
Smart Products for Improved Recycling

Electronics“Electronic equipment is complex. Intelligent solutions arenecessary in order to make it more sustainable – for instance,in order to improve its recyclability. …
… At tesa, we are aiming to play a leading role in this process. Our “Bond& Detach” products demonstrate what that means in practice. They makeit possible to easily remove the individual components of a smartphone– either for repair purposes or else at the end of the phone’s life – and torecycle them separately. At the same time, we would like to help extend thelife of electronic equipment through our products so that it doesn’t have to
be disposed so quickly.”
Carsten Meyer-Rackwitz, Corporate Vice President
Business Unit Electronics

Making Decisions for the Future With the“Project Sustainability Assessment”
In mid-2020, we introduced a tool at tesa that incorporates sustainability early on as an aspect of all product development and major investment projects: our“Project Sustainability Assessment.” We thus ensurethat product development employees reflect on how
their product can contribute to sustainability right fromthe start. Even major investment decisions undergo
this process. This assessment includes quantitativeand qualitative information regarding specific aspectsof sustainability. For instance, we will decide whether
to use a bio-based raw material such as paper insteadof a conventional material for the base of a new adhesive tape. Our “Project Sustainability Assessment”
is in line with our sustainability agenda as well as theUnited Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

We aim to help our customers work toward a circular
economy. Our tesa® Bond & Detach products, for example, assist with this process. If modern smartphones
are no longer needed or are broken, it is generally
difficult to take them apart. Our tesa® Bond & Detachproducts make it possible to attach components suchas batteries and many other parts so that they remain
permanently in place. If necessary, they can then be
removed without any difficulty and without leaving
any residue. Electronic parts can thus be replaced,
properly disposed of or recycled. In the year underreview, we once again expanded our portfolio of tesa®
Bond & Detach products.

P – 21

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Consumer & Craftsmen“We are assuming responsibility for our planet’s resources andemphasize sustainability in our decision-making processes. …
… We are exploiting our expertise and our capacity for innovation in order
to be able to offer an ever-increasing number of sustainable products. For
example, we are working on improving the sustainability of base materials –such as for packaging adhesive tapes or tesafilm® – and reducing the amountof plastic used in our products. However, besides our actual products weare also looking at packaging and cutting down on resources here as well.
We are thus fulfilling the desire of many of our customers to use sustainableproducts in their everyday lives.”
Ben Arne Ruthenbeck, Director International Marketing
Consumer & Craftsmen

tesa ecoLOGO®:The Sustainable Sub-Brand Turns 10
The products of our “green” tesa ecoLOGO® subbrand have been featured in our range for ten years
now. They include adhesive rollers, adhesive films,
packing tapes, glue sticks and correction rollers. Our
tesa ecoLOGO® product range mainly features recy­
cled, bio-based (renewable) or natural raw materials
as well as recycled or bio-based packaging. The
manufacturing process is entirely solvent-free. Our
product range now comprises a total of 89 products– and more are currently in the planning stage. We
will make even further improvements to our productrange in terms of its sustainability profile.

10Years
tesa ecoLOGO®

Sugru by tesa®:
A Relaunch for a Practical Repair Helper
A malleable adhesive that can be used to repair, fasten and personalize everyday objects rapidly and simply: That is the idea behind our product Sugru®. This
kneadable special silicone-based adhesive can beused for a wide range of purposes: From the repair ofa damaged zipper to covering a fragile smartphonecharging cable or individual wardrobe hooks. In May
2018, tesa acquired London-based FormFormForm
Ltd. and, with it, Sugru®. The formula, packaging andmarketing strategy for this malleable adhesive underwent an overhaul in 2020. Sugru® is now stronger andsticks for up to 22 months instead of the previous 13.
The product is also skin-friendly and is considered
toy-safe according to the European toy safety standard EN71.

P – 22

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

General Industrial Markets“We have set ourselves the goal of helping our industrial
customers to achieve their sustainability goals while reducing
our own CO2 emissions. …
… These two objectives mean that there is quite a lot going on at tesa – andthis is also a major opportunity for us. Our chemists and process engineers
are hard at work on improving the sustainability of our products and production processes. For instance, they are developing new formulations that
improve the recyclability of our tapes while lowering their carbon footprint.
Throughout this process, we are maintaining a close dialogue with our customers. We want to know precisely what sustainability means to them. We
are currently focusing on carton closure tapes: For 2021, we are planning tobring four new packaging adhesive tapes with sustainable characteristics
to the market.”Frank Domann, Marketing-Manager General Industrial Markets

Direct Growth Markets“Whether the EU’s Green Deal, discussions about the amountof plastic in the oceans or new product requirements in theconstruction industry: …
… We are keeping a very close eye on a wide range of developments – andmaking a series of changes so that our products meet these requirements evenmore effectively. In doing so, we are exploiting our capacity for innovation and,for instance, developing products which support the circular economy principle– such as permanent adhesive tape solutions which can be removed withoutleaving any residue if necessary. We are confident that products such as these
are the future.”
Dr. Karsten Seitz, Director Product Development, Direct Growth Markets

P – 23

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

Paper Makes it Possible

Can window envelopes be disposed of as paper
waste? What about restaurants’ to-go boxes, which
are made of cardboard but feature a light coating? It’s
not always easy to dispose of packaging in an environmentally responsible manner: Does it belong inpaper or residual waste? Can packaging be recycled,
or has it reached the end of the line? Among otherfactors, the sustainability of packaging includes how
well it can be recycled at the end of its useful life. Thisis an increasingly important topic for companies. But
an eye for detail is key. Even minor points such as film
windows or plastic-based packaging tapes can turnotherwise recyclable packaging into an environmental
villain.
Paper-based packing tapes are one possible solution. Unlike their plastic adversaries, they can be recycled together with cardboard packaging without any
difficulty. That is not possible in the case of cartonssealed using plastic packing tapes. Other approaches to more sustainable packaging are invisible but
at least as effective: solvent-free manufacturing ofadhesive tapes as well as sustainable and bio-based
raw materials.

“Paper-based packing tapes
are one possible solution.
Unlike their plastic adversaries,
they can be recycled together
with cardboard packaging
without any difficulty.”
At tesa, we are working on solutions on many different levels. Our portfolio includes adhesive tapes
whose manufacture does not require any solvents.
We are making intensive progress on material- andprocess-oriented innovations such as these in order to make packaging ever more environmentallyfriendly. And tesapack® 4313, a paper-based tape,is our response to the call for more paper instead ofplastic. This packing tape is suitable in order to seal
moderately heavy shipping boxes and can be easily
disposed of as paper waste together with packaging– an important step toward more recycling and lesswaste.

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

P – 24

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Safety First
High-quality and safe products play a key role in ensuring our customers’ confidence and satisfaction.
They serve as the foundation of our economic success. By means of internal guidelines and regularchecks, we ensure that each of our products meets
our stringent standards.
A high level of product quality safeguards our market
position. That is why we have established an extensive quality management system. This helps us tomaintain a high level of product safety while minimizing possible negative impacts on people and theenvironment.
We design products and processes so that they canbe safely manufactured and used. Our key goal istherefore to keep the number of product liability
cases at zero. All of tesa’s production facilities havecertified management systems in line with quality
requirements, standards and regulations recognizedworldwide. Our products, systems and processes are
regularly reviewed within the scope of internal andexternal audits.
All over the world, each of our key plants has its own
product safety officer (PSO) who is responsible for
ensuring product safety. This person reports to thecentral product safety officer at our headquarters. All
PSOs have completed a recognized, external training course and are usually also the quality officers at

our plants. Our company’s management supervises
product safety management.

Group-Wide Product Safety Guideline
It goes without saying that we comply with applicablelaws and guidelines. With our tesa Product Safety
Guideline, we also take things a step further: This
guideline sets out mandatory measures through which
we enhance the level of safety of our products. It also
specifies the roles and responsibilities of our product safety officers. tesa’s Product Safety Guideline isvalid worldwide and is easily accessible for all of ouremployees via our intranet.

Products on the Test Bench
Our Product Safety and Product Development departments are responsible for assessing the materials andsubstances used in our products. For this purpose,
they rely on various chemical industry databases,
evaluate research findings and consider information
on safety-related substance properties and the safe
handling of substances and mixtures. A safety data
sheet is available for each product and includes safety-related information, e.g., in relation to materials
and substances, correct storage and appropriate use.
It also provides recommendations on the product’s
disposal.

For each new product, the Product Development andProduction divisions perform risk assessments andanalyze possible error sources. This helps them toidentify potential defects in the design or manufacturing of products or inaccurate instruction manuals
during the development process.
Once products are already on the market, our business units monitor them. If they identify the need fora new risk analysis and assessment and appropriate
measures, they will initiate the necessary steps. They
thus ensure the health and safety of our customers
and employees.

dits. Both event-driven and scheduled annual audits
are carried out. Research, development and production are reviewed, as well as marketing where necessary.

In 2020, we had no product liability cases at all.

In the year under review, the production facilities of
the tesa Group were successfully audited in line with
globally recognized quality requirements and standards, including ISO 9001:2015 and IATF 16949. IATF
certification focuses particularly strongly on the uniform design of all products, processes, parts, services
as well as product safety. Specific customer requirements must be taken into consideration alongside therequirements of this standard.

Reinforcing Expertise
In the year under review, selected product safety officers in our Quality Management and Product Safety
divisions completed a “Product Safety & Conformity
Representative” course. They reinforced the expertise
which they require for their work.

Playing it Safe With Internal Audits
We conducted internal audits during the reporting
year in order to check the safety of our products andprocesses. Our Quality Management department andproduct safety officers are responsible for these au-

Certified Quality and Safety

P – 25

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020Society
As an international company with more than 4,716
employees, we have a big responsibility – to our own
employees as well as the people who work for us
along our value chain. We strive to ensure that our
suppliers offer safe and fair working conditions. We
embody a corporate culture characterized by appreciation and respect. We invest in initial and advanced
training and support diversity and equal opportunity.
We also ensure that our employees remain healthy
and able to work. We have set ourselves the goalover the next five years of reducing the number ofwork-related accidents to zero.
Another important issue for us is to counter the current skills shortage and to identify and promote talented people early on. With this end in mind, we aresupporting the next generation of innovative minds
and assisting with a large number of educational pro­jects – increasingly also outside Germany.

These are the SDGs
we support in termsof society:P – 26

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

Responsibility in the Supply Chain
As an international company, we purchase raw materials all over the world. Europe and Asia are two of
our most important markets. By closely cooperatingwith suppliers, we can ensure a high level of product quality and security of supply. At the same time,
we assume social and ecological responsibility. We
expect all of our suppliers to share our standards.
That includes respecting and safeguarding humanrights.

purchasing processes accordingly. Our tesa purchasing network brings together cross-sector activities
and resources. As a central function, it manages allprocesses across the Group.

To ensure the quality of our products and our business success, it is important that we always keep aclose eye on our supply chain. We need to predict
future developments – such as potential raw material shortage – early on and react accordingly. We
pursue a regular dialogue with our suppliers in thisrespect. Our local purchasing teams who precisely
monitor the local market also play an important role.
They are able to provide a realistic assessment ofpossible risks, such as due to political instability orchanges to local legislation. We also establish a network of alternative suppliers in order to reduce potential procurement risks.

Purchasing in Line With
Global Requirements

Our local purchasing teams closely cooperate with
our purchasing experts at our Norderstedt headquarters. Our central purchasing team monitors global
trends such as rising raw material prices, changes insales and distribution channels, and shifts in the competitive environment. Its tasks include organizing our

The head of tesa’s Supply Network, who is part oftesa’s management, is responsible for supply chain
activities and is supported by our tesa purchasing
network.

Our global purchasing processes are defined anddescribed in our Purchasing Compliance Guideline(PCG). The PCG forms part of our Group-wide Compliance Manual. This guideline includes binding rules ofconduct for our purchasing activities and is regularly
reviewed and revised. The PCG requires key suppli­ers, who supply tesa directly, to sign our Code of
Conduct for Suppliers (CoCfS). It underpins the responsible management of our global procurement
processes. The ten principles of the UN Global
Compact serve as the basis of the CoCfS. New suppliers must accept these rules of conduct before thefirst order is placed. Otherwise, we will not do business with them. If the CoCfS is not yet a componentof existing contracts, it will be integrated wheneverthe contract in question is next updated. If a supplierviolates our rules, we call upon him to remedy thetesa – Sustainability Report 2020

P – 27

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

shortcomings. If he does not do so, we will terminate
the business relationship. tesa rejects any form of
human rights violations. Any reported violations will
be dealt with immediately. However, no reports ofhuman rights violations were received for the year
under review.
The requirement to respect and safeguard humanrights is also a core aspect of our Group-wide Code of
Conduct, which is applicable for all of our employees.
It sets out rules and obligations in the areas of labor
standards, corruption prevention and environmental
protection.

Monitoring of Purchasing Standards
Within the tesa Group, our Group internal audit department monitors our purchasing standards that apply
worldwide and the associated processes at affiliates
by conducting regular “Purchase to Pay” audits, which
review all of our processes from procurement to accounting. As part of these audits, the Group internal
audit department also checks whether all suppliers
have signed up our CoCfS. If necessary, the department will call for corrective measures.

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

31%
Assessed Purchasing Volume
In 2020, we covered 31 percent of our direct purchasing
volume based on self-assessments via EcoVadis.

Fair, Environmentally Responsible andReliable Supply Chains
In mid-2020, we launched a sustainability programfor our suppliers to check whether human rights,
working conditions and environmental aspects arecomplied with in our supply chain. As a first step, we
invited 50 suppliers to submit a detailed self-disclosure form through the EcoVadis information system.
We se­lected the invited suppliers on the basis of theirsales volume and a separate risk assessment. On thebasis of the EcoVadis points system, we defined aminimum threshold that our suppliers were required
to reach in their sustainability performance. If a supplier does not reach this threshold, he is required topresent a suitable action plan. At the end of 2020, we

reviewed 31 percent of our direct purchasing volume
on the basis of these EcoVadis self-disclosure forms.
Over the next few years, we intend to gradually increase this share: By 2025, we will review 80 percent
of our overall direct purchasing volume by means ofself-disclosure forms.

Promoting Awareness of
Responsible Purchasing
Our purchasers regularly undergo a specially developed online training course. This covers the applica­tion of our Purchasing Compliance Guideline and
CoCfS, Antitrust Compliance and sustainability. As
part of this course, we also promote awareness among
participants of the need to respect human rights.

P – 28

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

Healthy and Safe Working
As an employer, we are obliged to protect our employees against risk and hazards at work. Health andsafety in the workplace are a key priority for tesa.
There are good reasons for this: A safe work environment provides a vital contribution to the productivity of our workforce and the quality of our products – and thus also to our customers’ satisfaction.
High occupational safety standards are therefore a
key factor in tesa’s competitiveness.
We aim for all of our employees and suppliers tobenefit from the highest possible health and safety
standards. For us, effective occupational health andsafety measures require a systematic and consistent
approach. We focus on prevention and raise our employees’ awareness of possible risks – for their own
protection and for that of their colleagues.
We see occupational health and safety as a holistic
and preventive management task: Our goal is to reduce the number of work accidents to zero and to
avoid work-related ill health as well as physical andmental exhaustion at work.

A Firm Definition of Occupational Safety:
Group-Wide Guidelines
At tesa, we are making progress in the area of occupational health and safety management through working
groups, such as the occupational safety committees
that are required by law in Germany. We comply withall legal requirements. Our Group-wide Occupational
Safety Guidelines stipulate clear occupational safety
standards. These are fleshed out through additionalguidelines and operating instructions and are accessible to all of our workforce via our intranet. These
guidelines provide the basis for our internal management system in the area of occupational safety. They
also apply to sub-contractors who handle tasks at our
production sites.
Together with our occupational safety unit, corporate management assesses each year the volumeof accidents that have occurred in the year in question. Based on this information, it then adopts newmeasures to increase employees’ safety and reduce
work-related health risks.

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

P – 29

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Production Safety
Our occupational safety management activities focus in particular on our production facilities: There,
the risks of accidents and adverse health effects are
greater than at our office locations. We have set ourselves a demanding goal as part of our sustainability
agenda: By 2025, all tesa sites that already have an
ISO 14001 certified environmental management system are to obtain equivalent certification in the areaof occupational safety.
We employ our own safety specialists at all of our ISO
14001 certified sites. They are familiar both with tesa’s
global occupational safety and health guidelines aswell as with local legal requirements and conditions.
The safety specialists meet annually – either in person
or virtually – to discuss key occupational safety andhealth risks. They also initiate joint projects, define
standards and share information on successes andtheir experiences, as part of these events. They thus
help to avoid accidents at tesa right from the outset.

Risk Prevention and
Avoidance
Risk assessments help us to identify technical and organizational risks and shortcomings even before theyarise, e.g., work resources or work procedures. This

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

enables us to prevent accidents, avoid strain, improve
working conditions and thereby increase employees’
level of motivation.
New equipment or process adjustments, changes
to machinery, facilities or work spaces can likewiseaffect our employees’ health and safety. We therefore examine sources of possible risks even before
we purchase systems or put them into operation –and pursue a preventive approach to risk management. Occupational safety committees, employee
representatives as well as management analyze thekey findings of assessments and define appropriate
measures. Production facilities also undergo routine
inspections and evaluations. We take into accountnew findings, determine additional measures if necessary and update the relevant occupational healthand safety documents.

Handling of Hazardous
Substances
The handling of hazardous substances is clearly regulated at tesa: Representatives of our occupationalsafety, production, product safety and research anddevelopment units jointly draw up the proceduresfor the handling, labeling, storage and transport ofhazardous substances. Employees who work withhazardous substances undergo regular mandatory

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

health check-ups. In addition, the relevant technicalunits of our company regularly monitor the safety offacilities and workplaces as well as related emission
sources. The procedure in case of an accident is governed by site-specific emergency plans.

Regular Training
Risks can only be reduced if our employees act in a
responsible and proactive manner. Our Occupational Safety Guidelines therefore require employees toreceive regular information on how to handle safety
risks and possible risk sources, for example via trainings and specific instruction courses.

“Sicher mit System”:
tesa Awarded Seal of
Approval
The award of the “Sicher mit System” seal of approval represents
an important occupational safety milestone at tesa.
Germany’s professional association of raw materials
and chemical industry (Berufsgenossenschaft Rohstoffe & chemische Industrie) awarded this seal for occupational safety at tesa’s headquarters, its Technology & Product Development department and its tesa
Converting Center in Hamburg. This certification confirms that we have systematically integrated the issueof occupational safety in our management approachand organizational structure.

Identifying Hidden Dangers
In 2020, we continued to pursue the “Double Prevention Program,” which we introduced at our Chineseplant in Suzhou in 2019. This program is intended toraise awareness among our workforce that hazards
are not always obvious. For this purpose, we initially analyze health and safety risks in the workplace.
Afterwards we subsequently determine hidden risks
and take corresponding corrective measures. In addition, the plant has a risk map that indicates the riskfor each department. We updated this map in thepast year. In workplaces, we point out risks as wellas means for our employees to protect themselves
against these risks.

P – 30Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Responsibility
for Personal Safety
Back in 2019, we implemented the “It’s in your hands!
Always wear your safety gear” global campaign toencourage our employees to wear their personal
protective equipment. We continued this campaign
in 2020 with further events at our plants, coveringvarious issues such as hand protection and respiratory protection. In addition, in June we held a “safetymonth” at our tesa plant in Suzhou, China, in order toraise awareness of the issue of occupational healthand safety.

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

In 2020, the frequency of accidents leading to morethan three lost days was 1.8 per million hours worked
globally. This was slightly higher than the previous
year’s figure (1.6 in 2019) and well below the German
industry average (BG RCI) of 12.3. For us, this demonstrates that our occupational safety measures arepaying off.

vention instruction concept. The plant’s firefighters offer a monthly theoretical fire prevention course, which
includes practical training on how to extinguish fires.

Reducing Accidents to theMaximum Extent Possible
We would like to keep the number of accidents as
low as possible. This particularly applies to accidents
resulting in a prolonged incapacity for work, when theemployee is absent for more than three days.

Safely Through the Pandemic

Emergency Preparedness
In the year under review, we continued our fire protection concept 2020 and implemented measures
focusing on prevention. At our tesa plant Offenburg,
the shutdown plans for facilities were reviewed within
the scope of inspections. A particular area of focus
was the issue of whether fire loads are present after
facilities have been shut down and whether hazardous materials are appropriately stored. To ensure thatnew employees receive timely instruction in the areaof fire prevention, we also introduced a new fire pre-Occupational Safety Figures

2018

2019

2020

Work accidents ≥ 1 day (Number)

21

22

18

Accident frequency rate ≥ 1 day(Number / million hours worked)

4.1

4.3

3.6

Work accidents > 3 days (Number)

10

8

9

Accident frequency rate > 3 days
(Number / million hours worked)

1.9

1.6

1.8

The COVID-19 pandemic has also challenged us in
relation to occupational safety. Our paramount goalis the optimal protection of the health of our employees worldwide. At the start of 2020, we establishedcrisis teams and developed our own pandemic plans
at all of our sites. We also established a global task
force as well as a local task force at our Norderstedt
site, chaired by our management and whose members initially held daily meetings. By means of various
measures, we have minimized the level of risk for our
employees and avoided chains of infection. That includes strict operating procedures, strict compliancewith social distancing rules, provision of masks, regular disinfection of surfaces, changes to work procedures in response to the pandemic and, finally, rules
and channels of communication in the event of an
infection.

P – 31

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Focusing on Employees
Our customers’ needs are changing ever more
frequently. And the demands on our products are
likewise increasing due to new tech­nologies andtrends as well as global challenges, such as climatechange and resource scarcity. We will only be able tomeet our customers’ expectations – and repeatedly
surpass them – with ded­icated employees.
Our company’s success depends to a significant extent on the skills of our workforce and their willingness to undergo further development. Our humanresources strategy aims to recruit and retain welltrained and committed employees for our company.
By means of specific measures, this strategy will
steadily increase our high level of attractiveness as
an employer. We focus on our employees’ diversityand development and ensure that they all have thesame opportunities. In addition, our declared aim is
to promote a corporate culture that strengthens performance, teamwork as well as cross-functional andinternational collaboration.

Our People Values form part of our corporate strategy
which is continuing to transform our culture. In our
day-to-day activities, we shape our corporate cultureon the basis of our People Values. We thus integrate
more modern, more flexible and more agile work
methods. We encourage inter-departmental cooperation across borders. As an employer, we encourage
our employees to shape this process of change themselves and offer them further training opportunities.
In 2021, we will hold various communication courses
and events within the scope of our accompanying
HR project “Our People – Our Values” in order topublicize these new values and anchor them in our
everyday work.

People Values:
Our Teamwork Values
They are intended to inspire, guide and motivate us
to strive for and achieve ambitious goals as a global
team: our new People Values. As an essential component of our culture, our People Values underpin all of
our employees’ self-commitment. We embody thesevalues through our teamwork. Our People Values also
reflect another important aspect of tesa’s DNA: conserving resources and protecting the environment.
This self-commitment defines our company’s focus
just as much as it does our appreciation for our colleagues, our customers and our social environment.

We team up
We challenge ourselves			We set the pace					We focus on our customers							 We act responsibly									 We achieve and improveP – 32

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

Learning and Further Development

Diversity for Trainees

The level of competition for employees in the science and engineering field is constantly increasing
within our industry. In addition, the ongoing processof digitalization and internationalization is resulting inchanging work requirements and methods. We areresponding to this trend with comprehensive initialand advanced training programs. Highly qualified,committed and performance-oriented employees area key 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 period of time.

In order to respond to the challenges of the labormarket and the competitive environment, we havedeveloped a tesa-specific training program. This helps
young people to start out in their careers. It also offers us the opportunity to provide employees withtargeted training in the areas that are relevant for ourbusiness.

To ensure long-term success, we offer our employees
attractive development opportunities. Our further
training programs include basic qualifications for new
employees as well as special formats tailored to therequirements of individual business units. As well as
in-person training courses, tesa also offers its workforce a broad range of online training courses. We
significantly expanded this range of courses in 2020.
We thus were able to offer various further training
opportunities for our employees who increasingly
worked from home due to COVID-19.

In the field of engineering, trainees can choose fromfive different apprenticeships: chemical technician,electronics technician for operating technology, industrial mechanic, machine and system operator andmechatronics technician. In late 2020, our tesa plant
Hamburg-Hausbruch had 37 trainees and one student completing a cooperative university educationand vocational training program. Machine and system
operators account for the largest group, with 14 trainees. Our tesa plant Offenburg employed 36 trainees,
six of whom are completing a cooperative university education and vocational training program. As
well as “traditional” courses of study in mechatronics,
mechanical engineering and industrial engineering,courses are also offered in security as well as plastic
and elastomer technology.
Our hiring rate demonstrates that we aim to employ
our trainees on a long-term basis: In 2020, we hired
11 out of a total of 17 trainees on a permanent basis

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

at Hamburg-Hausbruch. We also offered a further
trainee a cooperative university education and vocational training program. That corresponds to a hiring
rate of 71 percent. At 50 percent, the rate in Offenburg
was lower in 2020 than in previous years. This reflects
the economic situation due to the pandemic.
At our tesa plant Offenburg, we have focused in recent years on providing further training for originallyunqualified temporary workers: In cooperation with
the German Federal Employment Agency, over the
past three years we have provided training for a totalof ten employees through a one-year machine andsystem operator course. All ten of them passed their
examination, and roughly half of them were subsequently hired permanently.
The recruitment of new trainees and cooperative university education and vocational training program
students in the field of science and engineering isincreasingly challenging – due to the demographic
trend as well as the associated level of competition for
up-and-coming talent. For this reason, our tesa plant
Offenburg has, among other things, sponsored the“Jugend forscht” competition in Germany’s Southern
Baden region for many years now.

P – 33

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Lifelong Learning
In 2020, we further expanded our range of further
training courses. For our sales employees in particular, we developed new training courses that employees can take worldwide, anytime and anywhere.
Sales employees on every continent made use of the
training courses offered in 2020. Overall, these wereaccessed more than 1,300 times.
Our open course program is open to all employees,
subject to consultation with their managers, and includes subjects such as language classes and IT training sessions. In 2020, eleven such open courses took
place as classroom training courses in the period up
to March. From April onwards, we adopted virtual formats for these training courses due to the pandemic.
In 2020, we offered further online language courses
as part of our open course program and made theseavailable in our Western Europe region.
Modern Learning – Digital and Home-Based
From March 2020 onwards, many of our employees(with the exception of our production and Product &Technology departments) switched over to working
from home due to COVID-19. To offer these employees suitable further training opportunities even whileworking from home, we established our “Home-OfficeSociety

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

16,000
Courses
Our employees are able to s­ electfrom an offering of more than
16,000 courses via the learning
platform LinkedIn Learning.

Learning Journey” in March 2020. This comprises
constantly changing digital learning courses in thefields of sales, virtual leadership and management
as well as technical training. This offering met with astrong response: A total of 1,109 employees took partin our 25 courses during the year under review.
This offering was supplemented with the digital learning platform LinkedIn Learning. Subject to consultation with human resources and their managers, ouremployees have been able to take additional digital courses, which are taught by recognized industry
experts, authors and scientists, since 2020. Overall,more than 16,000 courses are available, covering awide variety of topics and accessible in seven different languages. With around 850 active licenses worldwide and an average learning period of nearly threehours per user (in the period from January to October2020), our employees were enthusiastic users of thisplatform. In 2019, we had announced the possible

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

introduction of a “Learn Experience Platform.” We did
not implement this project and decided to introduce
LinkedIn Learning instead.
We further expanded our existing e-learning offeringin 2020, for example, through podcasts and online
training courses for sales employees, an e-learning
series covering the topic of product safety and a redesigned online training course on our code of conduct.
Further online training courses are planned for early
2021, for example in the area of occupational safety.
Overall in 2020, tesa’s e-learning courses were taken
5,670 times worldwide.
Since 2018, our employees have been able to find out
more about all of our training opportunities at tesa
and sign up for them via a learning management system (“Learning Hub”). At the same time, our Learning
Hub automates and standardizes the administrationand organization process for training courses. This
covers every area of in-person training, e-learning
programs and blended learning at an international
level. We successfully introduced this learning platform in all of tesa’s regions in 2020 and are continuously making further changes to it. New employees
receive an invitation to get to know the system as wellas initial training courses. We also invite employees
on a targeted basis to take part in training courses
covering suitable subject areas for them.

5,670
Courses Taken
In 2020, our e-learning courses
were taken 5,670 times.

P – 34

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Feedback and Dialogue
A modern corporate and management culture includes regular feedback and open dialogue between
managers and employees. A strong feedback culture
is a decisive factor in winning the loyalty of employees to tesa and enhancing our attractiveness as an
employer.
Being able to discuss questions, ideas, expectations,
goals and also problems, creates a relationship basedon trust between employees and managers. Dialogue
also strengthens team spirit and promotes our company’s development.
Since 2018, we have used a digital feedback tool thatenables employees to regularly evaluate their managers as well as different aspects of their management.
Our managers subsequently receive an anonymized
report that provides them with feedback. The goal isto establish transparency and to identify areas of improvement in relation to management and teamwork.
We further optimized this tool and made it more user-friendly in 2020. Since its introduction, to date 62
managers worldwide have used this feedback tool.

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

As part of our 360° feedback process, employees
receive feedback on their work from their managers,
colleagues and internal customers. In consultation
with HR and the respective managers, in principle
every employee can participate in this process. Since
its introduction in 2018, around 70 employees worldwide have used this service.

A Strong Management Culture
Good management plays a key role in a pleasantwork­place environment and working conditions thatencourage performance. We are convinced that goodmanagement is significant in winning the loyalty ofengaged and well-trained employees to the company
and keeping turnover low. This enables us to retain
our employees’ knowledge and experience for thecompany for as long as possible – an important competitive factor for us.

95
Managers
In 2020, 95 managers took
part in an online training course­covering the subject of virtual­leadership.

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

A three-stage Leadership Development Program liesat the heart of tesa’s approach to executive development. This program is gradually being introduced
in all tesa regions. The focus here is on building anddeveloping leadership skills.
•	The first step, the “Matrix Leadership Module,” isopen to all employees who have no direct authority
to issue directives but do have responsibility in thecontext of projects, for instance. This module consists of three training units and is offered in German
and English. The Group’s employees from other regions are thus also able to participate in this further
training.
•	The Essential Leadership module is designed forexecutives assuming personnel management responsibility at tesa for the first time. Above all, thismodule is intended to sharpen participants’ understanding of their role as managers.
•	With our “Advanced Leadership module,” we giveexperienced executives the opportunity to deal
with challenging leadership situations under professional guidance.

Since these training courses are designed to takeplace in person, in the year under review we were
only able to provide them on a small number of occasions, with 40 participants overall. In addition to ourin-person events, in 2020 we established a modular
online training course in the area of virtual leadership.
To date, 95 managers worldwide have taken part inthis course.

P – 35

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Matrix Leadership & Project Management
In 2020, Matrix Leadership training courses were offered in the Asia Pacific and Greater China regions
for the first time and took place with external trainers from these regions. Overall, 102 employees fromacross our Group took place in these training units.
Due to the pandemic, we postponed further planned
training courses for the time being.

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

52Participants
A total of 52 (potential) managers
completed one of the two componentsof our Management Development
Program in 2020.

We also rolled out our PRO@tesa project management
training course on a Group-wide basis in the past year.
This is designed for project managers. Twelve virtual
PRO@tesa training courses took part with a total of
134 participants.
Eight participants successfully completed our Essential Leadership program in 2020. In addition, six further
participants began our “Leadership Essential for Operations” program in Italy, which covers plant-specificchallenges. No further training courses took place on
account of COVID-19.
tesa X-perience Career Model
In 2020, we continued to pursue our “X-perience” career model, which we introduced at all of our sites in
2019. This is intended to create a uniform understanding of promising development and career trajectories
throughout the company. Internal job postings werean area of focus in 2020, which explicitly included arequest to apply for the positions in question at aninternational level and moving beyond applicants’current roles.
Management Development Program
Our Management Development Program (MDP), which
we launched in 2019, is intended to help executives
and managers to expand their abilities and skill sets.

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

In the year under review, 30 participants took partin the “Essential” MDP e-learning component, whichconveys fundamental knowledge regarding responsibilities, processes and tasks in all of the company’sbusiness units.
We also launched our “Advanced” MDP component
in 2020. This segment of the program was developed in cooperation with the Ashridge Hult Business
School. It covers all of the various areas of management: strategic development, finance & controlling,
B2B and B2C strategies and, finally, supply chain andHR management. In 2020, we were forced to adapt
the program, which had originally been designed withseven in-person modules, and instead implemented
it in a digital format due to the travel restrictions. The
first digital modules took place in September; 22 executives and managers from all over the world took
part. Further modules are set to follow in April 2021.
Our further training strategy helps us to fill key positions with our own employees to the maximum extent
possible. They are able to profitably contribute theirvaluable experience and market knowledge, enhancetheir expertise and skills and thus safeguard our longterm success as a company. They gain broad knowledge in a range of different areas and benefit fromattractive promotion and development opportunities.

Diversity and Equal Opportunity
As an international company, we value a highly diverse
workforce. Diversity is a key factor in our competitiveness, since different perspectives help us to achievea better understanding of our customers’ needs aswell as strengthening our capacity for innovation.
We aim for all of our employees to have the same
opportunities – irrespective of their gender, age, origin, sexual orientation or religion. We are therefore
building a working environment in which every employee is respected and their individual contribution
acknowledged. We emphasize two priorities in particular: creating an international work environment
and promoting women to management positions. In
addition, our human resources departments and ourmanagers worldwide are made aware of the need toprevent any form of discrimination.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was
not possible to hold many events and projects in thisarea in the normal format in 2020. All of these initiatives
and projects will restart in 2021 – as soon as possible.
Encouraging an International Focus
When filling new positions, we emphasize hiring new
employees from different countries. We aim to encourage an international workforce at our Norderstedt

P – 36

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Encouraging the Next Generation
headquarters in particular. We are therefore increasingly filling positions with employees who have previously worked for us at our foreign sites – mostly in our
growth markets in Asia. We are also encouraging aninternational, cross-functional process of exchange –and thus also our employees’ mobility – through ourglobal career path model “X-perience the tesa world.”
Preparing Women for Management Positions
We aim to foster a culture of equal opportunity.
That includes appointing an increasing number ofwomen to management positions. In early 2020,
Angela Cackovich joined tesa’s Executive Board as its
first female member in the company’s history – thisis an initial sign of the process of change. Over the
next few years, we will work even harder on achieving
gender equality in our workforce and in management
positions.
In Germany we have already offer a special training
course intended to encourage young female employees to aim for management positions.
With the tesa Women’s Network, our female employees have established an initiative intended to promote
networking and mutual support. This network aims toenhance the visibility of talented female employees inour company and encourage them to pursue career
opportunities. Since its foundation in 2018, a wide

variety of podium discussions and conversations havetaken place with the goal of female managers sharing
their experiences within the tesa Group.
Encouraging Girls’ Interest in Technology
We aim to promote equal opportunity from an earlyage. The science initiative “mint:pink”, which is orga­
nized by our partner “Initiative Naturwissenschaft &Technik” (Science & Technology Initiative – abbreviated NAT), is a support program for girls. Througha series of excursions, female students at the juniorhigh stage learn more about the work of scientists at
our Norderstedt site and receive a range of different
insights into various careers in the field of science.

STEM skills (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) are important for preserving livelihoods
and for social progress. They also help to deal withcurrent challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a technology company, we aim to support young
people in these subjects and, in the future, to recruit
qualified up-and-coming talent. We incorporated
this goal into our sustainability agenda in 2020.
At tesa, we see ourselves as a companion for the next
generation and aim to enable it to access STEM subjects as well as important future technologies. That
is why we already began to launch projects in thisarea in Germany in 2014. In 2020, we incorporated
in our sustainability agenda a further area of focus:“For the next generation of innovators.” We are thusincreasingly widening our commitment to educationworldwide: We initially began to expand our programin China in 2020; in the period from 2021 to 2024 itwill be introduced in the USA and we will also further
develop the program in Germany.
We develop our age-appropriate learning opportunities in close cooperation with partner schools, universities, STEM companies and other partners. tesa
experts from different fields provide an insight into
their everyday working lives. For instance, students
in the 11th to 13th grades will receive a playful introduction to STEM careers through summer workshops.
Our program also particularly focuses on students

1,000
Young People
We aim to inspire 1,000 children
and young people every year to
pursue STEM subjects.

between the age of 14 and 18 who are on the pointof choosing a career. We intend to provide them withinsights into STEM careers through experiment workshops and competitions. Students between the agesof 19 and 25 likewise face the decision of which career
they should pursue. We aim to assist them in theirdecision-making through working student activities
and internships.

Increased Opportunities for
Elementary School Children
Whether it’s the grant of annual scholarships or donations to cover school fees: The tesa plant in Suzhou,
China, has been involved in the “tesa Sunshine Ed­u­cation Assistance” program since 2008. It aims to
improve the level of elementary school education forchildren of migrant workers. A total of 710 children

P – 37

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

have already been awarded an annual scholarship(“tesa Sunshine Scholarship”). Over the past few
years, more than 120 employees have volunteeredin support of this initiative and donated books, toys or
sports equipment and taken part in events such as theannual “tesa Sunshine Day” when children visit ourplant. In 2020, employees at the plant developed six
STEM courses, which have been included in weekly
tuition at the Sunshine School since October. Withvarious experiments, these courses are intended tostimulate the interest of the roughly 30 sixth gradersin scientific topics such as noise transmission, surface
energy and light.

Cooperation with
Soochow University
In late 2020, the tesa plant in Suzhou, China, enteredinto a three-year research partnership with Soochow
University. Soochow University is a public university
with around 50,000 students and roughly 1,600 professors in Suzhou. A joint research group consistingof laboratory managers from tesa’s research and development center in Suzhou as well as professors andstudents from Soochow University will pursue joint
research and co-development projects. tesa signed
the related partnership agreement with the faculty ofchemistry, chemical engineering and materials science. This cooperation represents a valuable opportunity for tesa to strengthen academic research andSociety

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

networking, while supporting highly-qualified local
talent and recruiting them for the company.

Science & Technology
Initiative (NAT)
We have cooperated with the German “Initiative Naturwissenschaft & Technik” (Science & Technology Initiative – NAT) since 2014. We provide financial support
and our employees also volunteer with this initiative.
NAT connects schools with universities, colleges andtechnology-driven companies in Hamburg and thesurrounding metropolitan area. The objective is to
give young people a variety of insights into various
careers. In particular, we support the NAT programs“mint:pink” – a support program for girls – and “mint:match”, which provides career and university course
guidance through visits to local companies as well
as video conferences. Both are taster courses whichenable students to become familiar with the work ofscientists. Each year, up to 250 girls take part in the
NAT program mint:pink, while through mint:match theinitiative reaches roughly 300 students. In 2020, tesa
provided NAT with 10,000 euros of funding.
In 2020, tesa was thus also able to support “MatchDays” – a virtual conference for high school students
from Hamburg and Norderstedt that provides careerand university course guidance in the STEM field.
Current topics such as clean technologies, intelligent

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

mobility, research into infectious diseases and artificial intelligence were core areas of focus. The MatchDays were also a response to the coronavirus pandemic. High school students have been particularly
badly affected by the crisis: Due to the lockdown,
hardly any career or university course guidance wasavailable in 2020, and excursions were generally notpossible. Through the Match Days 2020, NAT wasable to reach more than 1,000 students and over 50
teachers and school administrators. It aims to repeat
its Match Days event in 2021. tesa employees willcontribute to this conference through presentations
and career guidance sessions.

P – 38

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Commitment© Giuliano Del Gatto/ Save the Children

The year 2020 will linger in our collective memory
for a long time. The coronavirus pandemic posed big
challenges for society and also for our company. In
this situation, it was important to remain level-headed
and to provide rapid and unbureaucratic assistance.
As a financially healthy company, we see that as our
responsibility.
For this reason, we quickly put together a donation
package amounting to five million euros. This money ishelping a large number of different initiatives to tackle
the coronavirus crisis all over the world – wherevertesa has a presence. The largest individual donations– each with a volume of one million euros – went to
Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders. We
will also continue to provide financial assistance forfurther projects through this package in 2021.

P – 39

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Keeping Society in Mind
In 2020, our social commitment and involvement
were dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In
this global crisis, we aimed to provide assistance
rapidly and in every region. For this purpose, tesa
provided a total of five million euros for social andhumanitarian causes in 2020 and 2021. It also madea large number of product donations in the year
under review. At the same time, the pandemic
meant that some of our volunteer projects were
not able to take place in the usual format due tothe hygiene rules.
The Corporate Citizenship department, which is aunit of Corporate Communications, is responsible forsocial commitment and involvement at tesa. It coordinates and decides on all of our headquarters’ support
activities. As a company that operates worldwide, it
is important to us to strengthen civic involvement in
the regions where we are active. Like all Beiersdorf
affiliates, tesa donates a portion of local sales to social
projects and demonstrates social commitment throughvolunteer work. In keeping with the “Global Reach,
Local Presence” approach, tesa’s regional companies
independently select the projects which they wish to
support. They notify the Corporate Citizenship department in an annual report of the projects which they
have assisted. Our Corporate Citizenship department
advises the regional companies as needed on suitablesupport projects. Our Corporate Giving Policy serves
as the framework for this.

A Socially Committed Responseto the Crisis
In 2020 and 2021, we are providing an overall amountof five million euros to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
In the year under review, Doctors Without Borders’global COVID-19 crisis fund and the Save the Children
initiative, both received a sum of one million euros.
We also made donations in seven regions – from Asia
to North and Latin America all the way to Europe –amounting to a total of 1.5 million euros to local organizations selected by our affiliates in these regions.
This program will continue in 2021. As a Beiersdorf
affiliate, we participate in our parent company’s largescale assistance program “Care Beyond Skin” throughthese activities.
Major Donation to Doctors Without Borders
In this difficult period of the COVID-19 pandemic, we
aim to assist in caring for sick people as well as enabling prevention. For this reason, we have madea donation of one million euros to Doctors Without
Borders. This money will go to its global COVID-19
crisis fund: Doctors Without Borders is currently supporting people in the fight against the coronavirus in
more than 70 countries worldwide. Local teams are
implementing infection control measures, carryingout testing, setting up isolation areas, training employees in clinics and care facilities and educating

local populations. This organization is also advising
government and public institutions and strengthening
their capacities.
Education Partnership With Save the Children
According to the United Nations Educational, Scien­tific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), at the heightof the pandemic 1.5 billion boys and girls worldwide
were affected by the closure of their schools, daycare
centers and leisure centers. Socially disadvantaged
children were hit particularly hard by this exceptionalsituation. In the period under review, we entered intoa partnership with Save the Children under the slogan “Education Brings Us Together. Worldwide.” witha donation of one million euros, we are supporting
selected projects in six different countries – China,
Germany, India, Italy, Mexico and Vietnam. The supported projects are all in regions where tesa has plants
or affiliates or where it plans to operate in the future.

P – 40Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Combating the Coronavirus
at a Regional Level
The impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic varies
in different regions. tesa’s regions have therefore decided at a local level which organizations and projects
to donate to. They are most familiar with the situationon the ground. They select suitable projects in consultation with the Corporate Citizenship department
and monitor the donation process. They were alsoable to choose between investing donations in onetime, immediate assistance or long-term support for
an organization.

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

Help Has Many Different Faces
Protective equipment for clinic personnel in Argentina, help for disadvantaged children in Japan, newultrasound devices for a hospital in Prague: Our donations benefited a wide variety of different causes.
In the Latin America region, they included 50,000
euros in support for the Brazilian organization ASID.
ASID helps disabled people who are affected by thecoronavirus crisis. Thanks to this donation, more than
1,000 families received a basket containing food andhygiene products.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the donations were mainly
used to provide protective equipment, materials andinstruments in hospitals. tesa’s site in Japan invested
some of its donations in supporting the schooling ofdisadvantaged children whose situation had further
deteriorated as a result of the pandemic: A contribution to the Kids Door Fund enabled scholarships for
500 schoolchildren. Children were also the beneficiaries of the donations in China. The main objective
here was to improve hygiene conditions in schools.
Families and children likewise play a key role for Family Promise, a local relief organization close to our sitein Sparta in the USA. Family Promise helps homelessfamilies in particular, e.g., by means of temporary accommodation or through preventive programs. tesa
donated 50,000 euros to this organization.

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Motol University Hospital in Prague, in the Czech Republic, received one of the largest donations in the
Eastern Europe region. This paid for three ultrasounddevices for cardiological, pulmonary and gastric examinations, which are now being used in this hospital’s intensive care unit.
In Austria, “Österreich hilft Österreich” – an allianceof the country’s leading relief organizations – was
the recipient of the donations, while the donationsin Switzerland went to the coronavirus fundraisingappeal of the Swiss organization “Die Glückskette.”
Some of the projects supported, focus on the psychological effects of the crisis – an aspect which is frequently overlooked. In the United Kingdom, 100,000
euros were contributed to the organization “Mind,”which helps people with mental health problems.
Since these people are particularly affected by thesocial distancing measures, Mind is supporting themby means of an information hotline and an online
community. The Galatea Foundation in Spain also
received 100,000 euros. This foundation provides
psychological support for health care and social service professionals.
tesa likewise sought to alleviate the effects of thepandemic in Germany in the reporting period – inparticular, through product donations and donations to charitable organizations and selected relief

projects. Social distancing tapes are one such example. In many places, these colored ground markings
help people to keep an appropriate distance. tesa
made these tapes available to various hospitals freeof charge. Overall, to date we have donated around3,000 rolls with a total length of 100 kilometers to 30
clinics. Further product donations and donations in
kind were made to the Hanseatic Help initiative aspart of the “Hamburg packt’s zusammen!” donation
campaign, to the street newspaper Hinz&Kunzt andto food banks.

P – 41

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Compliance
Existing legislation, rules and internal guidelines serveas the basis for our actions. Through our ComplianceManagement System (CMS), we aim to ensure compliance to the maximum extent possible. However, notonly do we expect our employees and managers tocomply with these minimum standards but also aim
to motivate them to act at all times with integrity anda sense of responsibility.

We revised our Code of Conduct in 2020. In order toestablish this new code, we have introduced a mandatory e-learning course. This course informs all of
our employees worldwide regarding the contents ofthe code and helps them to internalize it. We will only
achieve compliance if everyone is familiar with therules and incorporates them in their daily work.

P – 42

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Compliance Without Compromise

Our Compliance Management System (CMS) is intended to ensure, to the maximum extent possible,that our employees and managers adhere to legal
provisions and internal rules. In order to achieve thisgoal, we follow the three principles set out below:

The tesa CMS according to
the compliance audit s­ tandard
IDW 980mpro2.	Identification
	
We use risk assessment in order to identify andmanage key compliance risks Group-wide earlyon. Additional control mechanisms enable us torapidly identify irregular activities.

nt
e
m
ve

3.	Reaction and Improvement
	
We punish any violations of legislative or internal requirements on an appropriate case-by-casebasis. We also continuously identify improvement
measures for the entire CMS.
Our Group-wide CMS is based on the uniform standard 980 issued by the Institute of Public Auditors inGermany (IDW). The individual measures are basedon the seven elements of the IDW audit standard 980
pyramid (see graphic).

CultureGoals
Organization
Risks
ProgramCommunication

Monitoring & Improvement

Identification

tion
en
ev
Pr

For us, compliance means that we adhere to legislation, rules and internal guidelines – and that we
do so without compromise. We aim to ensure, to the
maximum extent possible, that we observe thesestandards and act responsibly. That is why we havedeveloped our Code of Conduct (CoC). The CoC is
our binding value framework and helps our employees and managers to observe and apply key principles and guidelines. We revised our CoC in the year
under review and introduced it throughout our Groupin November. This included a new e-learning course.

1.	Prevention	
We set in place preventive measures, to avoid vio­
lations.

andI

Whether shareholders, employees, business partners, customers or other interest groups: We are
and will remain a trustworthy partner for all of them.
But we can only do so if we are familiar with andunderstand the existing legal framework and properly apply it.

ReactionContents

Clear Responsibilities
Our Corporate Compliance department is responsible for the CMS. It also helps tesa’s corporate management to identify compliance risks and prevent
violations. For this purpose, it regularly implements
a compliance risk assessment in order to identify key
compliance risk fields (see “Identification”). Executive and Supervisory Board members are regu­larly
informed about relevant compliance issues.
Our Corporate Compliance department advises andsupports local compliance officers and management
teams in relation to implementation. Our local compliance officers help to achieve our employees’ familiarity with our compliance programs. We thus aim
to ensure that every component of our compliancesystem is established at our affiliates and is continuously monitored and improved.

P – 43

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

1st Principle: Prevention
As in previous years, a key area of focus in our activities in 2020 was corruption prevention as well ascompliance with antitrust law and data protection.
The goal is to raise awareness among employees
regarding these issues and teach them how to act
appropriately and make reliable decisions.
To this end, we executed various programs and defined global minimum standards for implementation.
Besides practical training and advisory services, thefollowing guidelines are core elements of our compliance programs:•	Our Antitrust Law Guideline sets out clear guidanceon antitrust law-compliant activities. This includes
guidelines on contact and the exchange of information with competitors as well as information oncommunicating with customers – such as in relation
to selling prices.
•	In the compliance field of corruption prevention,
our personal gifts guideline provides instructions
on how to act in relation to gifts, product samples
or invitations received from or extended to representatives and employees of other companies oroffice holders. This guideline also provides practicalSociety

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

examples illustrating how our employees should act
in such situations. It includes information on how tohandle conflicts of interest.
•	Our data protection guidelines describe how weensure compliance with the principles of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
in processing data at our EU companies. They also
provide our employees with guidance and instructions on handling of data.
We develop our compliance programs on an ongoing basis. In doing so, we take into consideration our
corporate strategy as well as the prevailing legal conditions.
Through training, we raise awareness of complianceissues among our employees and let them know who
the relevant contact person is in case of any questions. This reflects a risk-based approach, which isembodied in our training concept and our definition oftarget groups. These training sessions are held every
two years as e-learning courses as well as in-person
events. This training cycle began with comprehensive
training in 2019 and continued with supplementary
courses in 2020. In 2020, we achieved a participation
rate of over 98 percent for our antitrust law training
courses.

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

As well as training, we also make regular use of communication activities in order to establish our compliance principles within our company: For instance,
our employees can find important information andguidance on the relevant compliance pages in our
intranet; we also keep them regularly informed byemail. We also maintain a process of dialogue with
our local affiliates.

probability of realization and a particularly high levelof potential damage or for which further critical factors
apply. We aim to ensure that appropriate measuresexist or will be executed in order to minimize theserisks. This analysis is implemented at a central level
as well as at our affiliates. We use the results in orderto make continuous adjustments and improvements
to our global and local compliance programs.

2nd Principle: Identification

We aim to practice compliance in a sustained manner.
Our employees’ personal commitment is necessary inorder to preserve and promote an open and trusting
compliance and communication culture: We therefore
appeal to our employees to report potential compliance violations – including anonymously. We regularly
let our employees know which office to contact incase of any compliance violations. Various channels
are available to them for this purpose: For instance,
there are external ombudsmen to whom confidential
information regarding potential compliance violations
can be forwarded. Our employees can also send an
email to the relevant compliance address in order toreport violations, or alternatively they can use otherinternal reporting options. We updated our whistleblowing guideline and rolled out the new version
worldwide during the year under review.

The analysis of compliance risks serves as the basis of
our CMS and our compliance programs. Here, we regularly identify current and future risk fields associatedwith our business models as well as the geographicallocations of our sites. We analyze in terms of the concrete risk fields that are subject to a particularly high98%
Participation Rate
In 2020, we achieved a­participation rate of 98% for our
antitrust law training courses.

P – 44

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

We have established a separate process for dealing
with incoming reports and investigating incidents. In
this way, we ensure that we take proportionate action.
The relevant specialist functions and also, as a rule,
the Corporate Auditing department participate in investigating incidents. The Corporate Auditing department serves as an independent monitoring body andis incorporated within Beiersdorf AG. This department
performs regular audits at tesa, and compliance-related issues are an integral component of these audits.
The Corporate Compliance department also monitors
whether the centrally prescribed minimum standards
are adhered to.

3rd Principle: Reaction and Improvement
We regularly review the effectiveness of our CMS –including by means of a Group-wide compliance reporting system. The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board are notified of our findings. We document
incidents and review the status of implementation of
our compliance programs centrally and at our affiliates
worldwide. We determine the necessary activities on
the basis of the results and implement appropriate
measures. Our affiliates are also requested to notify
the Central Compliance department without delay,
even outside of reporting cycles, in case of material
compliance incidents.

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

We are also making continuous changes to our CMS
in line with internal developments as well as new legal
and business requirements. In addition to our whistleblowing guideline and our CoC, we also updated
our personal gifts guideline and introduced it globallyin the year under review.

An Up-To-Date Code of Conduct
It is clear for us that we will only achieve long-term success if we are a trustworthy
partner on the market and are seen as such. To achieve this status, we must comply
with all legislation, rules and internal guidelines and act responsibly. To ensure that
we do so to the maximum extent possible, we have developed our Code of Conduct(CoC), which is applicable throughout our company. This code was extensively revised in 2020 and a new version was introduced in November.
We have thus responded to new internal and external requirements. In this revised
version, we have naturally also taken into consideration the values and guidelines ofour parent company, Beiersdorf, whose CoC was updated in 2019. In order to establish our updated CoC in our company, we have introduced a new e-learning course,which is mandatory for all of our employees worldwide. This course is available inGerman, English, Spanish and Mandarin. Through our new CoC and our accompanying e-learning course, we aim to ensure that we continue to comply effectively
and successfully with all compliance requirements in the future.

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

P – 45

Contents

Introduction

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

Sustainable Development Goals Index
We contribute to the following SDGs and their corresponding targets:

SDG

SDG Targets

Our Contribution

In This Report

4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who haverelevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent
jobs and entrepreneurship

Skills in the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) are important for preserving livelihoods and forsocial progress. As a technology company, we aim to help young people in these subjects. We also incorporated this goal
into our sustainability agenda in 2020.

Pages 37, 38

5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities forleadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life

tesa has been a member of the UN Global Compact since 2006. The ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor­standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption represent the overarching guidelines for all actions at tesa. With ourmembership, we have also 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.

Pages 36, 37

7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global
energy mix

Since the end of 2020, renewable energy sources provide 100 percent of the electricity purchased for all tesa sites worldwide. We are supporting the development of renewable energy by purchasing green electricity. We also pay attention to theinternationally recognized EKOenergy quality label in our electricity purchasing activities.

Pages 12, 13

7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency

Two production facilities and our headquarters have an ISO 50001-certified energy management system. The introduction of
the energy management systems paved the way for further increasing the energy 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.

8.4: Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavor to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programson sustainable consumption and production, with developed countries taking
the leadOur products should be as harmless as possible to the environment over their entire lifecycle. During development and manufacturing we take care to ensure resource efficiency and to avoid production waste as much as possible. Measures to thisend are an integral part of our environmental protection activities as a company. Wherever possible and sensible, we use
renewable and recycled raw materials. The reduction and avoidance of packaging materials also help to minimize waste andthereby the negative impact on the environment.

8.8: Protect labor rights and promote safe and secure working environments for
all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and thosein precarious employment

As a responsible employer, we see it as our duty to protect our employees from risks and hazards in the exercise of theiractivities. With a wide range of measures, we contribute to preventing accidents and occupational illnesses. In mid-2020, we
also established a supplier program in order to increase the level of transparency in our supply chain. We ask direct suppliers
to share their sustainability performance with us.

Pages 16, 17, 28, 30

P – 46

Contents

Introduction

SDG

Environment

Customers

Society

Commitment

Compliance

SDG Index

tesa – Sustainability Report 2020

SDG Targets

Our Contribution

In This Report

12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural
resources

tesa develops ecofriendly, solvent-free production methods, and uses renewable and recycled raw materials wherever possible and sensible. We take care 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 of our environmental protection activities as a company.

Pages 16, 20

12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals
and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil inorder to minimize their adverse impacts on human health 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 productionrelated losses in the raw materials we use. tesa recycles almost all non-hazardous waste and hazardous waste containing
solvents.

13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards andnatural disasters in all countries

We have set ourselves the target of reducing our energy-related CO2 emissions by 30 percent in absolute terms by 2025
compared to 2018. This goal is consistent with the scientific consensus (Science Based Targets Initiative) that global warming
should not exceed 1.5°C. We are aiming to achieve a completely climate-neutral business model by 2050.

Pages 13, 14

15.1: By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests,
wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international
agreements

We aim to use water responsibly. Efficient use is a prime concern. Every year, we keep track at our production facilities of water data such as water consumption and effluent quantities and also perform a regular water risk assessment. We also report
the results through CDP. We tightened up our environmental guidelines relating to water in the reporting year.

Page 18

16.5: Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms

We reject any form of corruption, bribery or other forms of unlawful conduct. Corruption prevention is one of tesa’s Core
Compliance Fields and plays a central role in the Compliance Management System. The main goal is to avoid possible casesof corruption before they arise. In the compliance field of corruption prevention, our Group-wide anti-corruption guidelines instruct our employees on proper conduct and explain how employees should conduct themselves in corresponding situations.

Page 43

P – 47

Imprint

PUBLISHER
tesa SE
Hugo-Kirchberg-Straße 122848 Norderstedt, Germany
CONTACTtesa SE
Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0) 40 888 99 0
responsibility@tesa.com
www.tesa.com/en/sustainability

www.tesa.com