Values and Guidelines

The Schaeffler Group is a listed company and a family business with a strong foundation in its values: sustainable, innovative, excellent, and passionate. These values form the basis for the lasting success of the Schaeffler Group and guide how to work together with customers, business partners, and each other.

Fairness, mutual respect, and integrity are the cornerstones in the Schaeffler Group on which the manner of conducting business is based. Through this form of sustainable business conduct, Schaeffler hopes to secure its own viability – and thus create shareholder value. The Code of Conduct of the Schaeffler Group describes the basic principles and practices that should be followed by Schaeffler employees, managers, and the Executive Board, and which Schaeffler also expects of its business partners. This code, which was approved by the entire Executive Board with the support of the Schaeffler family, underscores the importance that Schaeffler attaches to responsible corporate conduct.

In addition to internal guidelines, the Schaeffler Group also turns to national, international, and industry-specific norms and frameworks and coordinates the orientation of the corporate management with national and international sustainability efforts.

Relevant Frameworks and Norms (selection):

Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations
UN Global Compact
German National Action Plan for Human Rights
UK Modern Slavery Act
German Sustainable Development Strategy
International Climate Goal Targets

Schaeffler Sustainability Strategy “Responsibility for tomorrow”

As guidelines for this sustainable orientation, Schaeffler has chosen, among other things, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which the international community of states adopted in the framework of the “Agenda 2030 for sustainable development” to meet global challenges by the year 2030. Schaeffler aspires to have a positive influence outside of the company on global economic, social, and ecological development. In 2017, the company’s responsible entrepreneurship contributed to meeting 10 of the 17 UN goals.

The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations at Schaeffler

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Through its activities in the areas of health management and occupational safety, the Schaeffler Group is committed to enabling all of its employees to have a healthy life. In the context of its social commitment in the core area of “Health and Social Issues,” the Schaeffler Group also makes contributions on this issue.

Goal 4: Quality Education

Through its commitment in the areas of training and education, the Schaeffler Group also contributes to making education possible for everyone. The company is also active in the context of its social commitment in the core area of “Education and Science.”

Goal 5: Gender Equality

As early as 2008, the Schaeffler Group signed the German Diversity Charter and thus committed to actively advancing diversity and equal opportunity in the company. With its structured diversity concept, Schaeffler is setting the foundation for gender equality.

Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

The goal of CO₂-neutral mobility can only be achieved through the increased use of renewable energy sources, which is why the Schaeffler Group develops products and solutions for the entire energy chain – focusing technologically on the renewable energy sector – with its clients worldwide.

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

The implementation of sustainability-related reviews for potential suppliers in what are called initial assessments shows the ongoing orientation toward a transparent and sustainable value chain. The company also follows a due diligence process in relation to questions of human rights that is based on international norms and guidelines.

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Schaeffler contributes with its activities in the area of digitalization and “Industry 4.0” through its expansion of resilient infrastructure and sustainable industrialization.

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Many of the Schaeffler Group’s products in the focus areas of urban mobility, interurban mobility, E-Mobility, and the energy chain directly contribute to the creation of sustainable cities and communities.

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

With ideas like the “Factory of the Future” and the continual expansion of its environmental management systems, the Schaeffler Group contributes directly to implementing sustainable forms of consumption and production.

Goal 13: Climate Action

Schaeffler acts to fight climate change and its effects with measures such as the use of renewable energy and thoroughly exhausting the energy potential of energy generation and use. This also includes measures to support the education of its employees on the fight against climate change and its effects. Moreover, bundling of supply streams and traffic streams, developing new, more efficient concepts for logistics, and establishing sustainable mobility for its employees are all areas on which Schaeffler’s sustainability engagement is focused.

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The long-term cooperation and exchange of knowledge with customers and suppliers – among other things, in the context of the Premium Supplier Circle and Premium Supplier Day – creates the basis on a global level for common, positive economic development.

CoC

Code of Conduct;code that defines rules for employees and typically includes directives and prohibitions that companies – in this case the Schaeffler Group – impose on themselves or accept.

Sustainability

Sustainability means utilizing natural resources in a way that observes the particular economic, environmental and social conditions without neglecting the interests of future generations.

United Nations; organization of states founded in 1945 with 193 members (as of March 2018) that are committed to maintaining peace through international cooperation and collective security.

SDGs

Sustainable Development Goals; 17 goals for sustainable development of the United Nations that are intended to help secure sustainable development on the economic, social, and ecological level.

Charta der Vielfalt (Diversity Charter)

Corporate initiative to support diversity in companies and institutions. Organizations should create a working environment that is free of prejudice. All employees should feel valued – independent of their sex, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or world view, disability, age, or sexual orientation and identity.

Diversity

Diversity can relate to many things, including sex, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, lifestyle.