Annual Press Conference - Responsibility at tesa SE

Mar 20, 2013

Milestones for 2012:Positive overall outcome after ten years of the tesa environmental program tesa plant in Offenburg named a “Great Place to Work”

One of the guiding principles of tesa SE has traditionally been the accep-tance of responsibility for its own employees and society at large, and for passing on a clean and healthy environment to later generations.

By developing an integrated environmental management system once tesa was established as an independent affiliate within the Beiersdorf Group, in 2001, tesa seamlessly continued the high environmental standards inherited from its parent company. A look back at ten years of the environmental program shows a positive overall outcome. Measures both large and small at the international locations have helped meet and even exceed goals. There has been continuous improvement in the key indicators of energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, solvent use, waste, and emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The 420 employees who work at the tesa plant in Offenburg now have offi-cial confirmation that their employer is one of Germany’s best: The plant was named a Great Place to Work in early March 2012. The evaluation was based on an employee survey and a culture audit performed by the Great Place to Work Institute. The Institute, an independent international research and consulting firm based in the U.S., was founded in 1991 and has earned worldwide recognition for its activities. The initiative’s partners in Germany include the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The tesa plant in Offenburg also received a special award for its work to promote safety and health in the workplace.

With its “Kleben Sie ein Zeichen” (“Tape Up a Sign”) contest, which is open to the public, tesa supported regional sustainability projects in Germany in 2012, for the second time in a row. The program focused on resource con-servation and on protecting the natural world and the environment. In all, 122 associations, initiatives, and private individuals submitted their entries. About 30,000 environmentally conscious individuals participated in the on-line public voting process, selecting the best suggestions. In the end, eleven winners were thrilled to receive financial support. The company provided a total of 54,000 euros for the program.

The extensive social commitment and involvement of tesa SE and its affili-ates was also evident in numerous projects in 2012, as in past years. These activities are in accordance with the tesa Corporate Giving Policy established all over the world, which particularly focuses on supporting dis-advantaged children and youth. Alongside fostering creativity and support-ing educational opportunities, community assistance and volunteerism are major emphases at all locations. For example, tesa is brightening the future prospects of children of migrant laborers in China, and helping hearing-impaired children in Poland. In Germany, the company also continued its partnership, launched in 2011, with the Niedersächsische Elbtalaue UNESCO biosphere reserve, in the German state of Lower Saxony. In 2012, employees’ activities as part of the initiative included planting 2,500 seedlings and doing landscape maintenance work. By engaging in this nat-ural restoration project, tesa is helping to improve environmental quality and quality of life in the region while also contributing to long-term CO₂ se-questration.

All of tesa’s activities are documented in an annual report, which is available in electronic form and posted online at www.tesa.com/company/responsibility.