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Process and relevant areas of action

Process and relevant areas of action

Materiality analysis – the process

Over the reporting year 2018, our method to determine key areas for action was refined into a quantitative procedure. Based on the results obtained thus far, the conducted survey format meets both HGB and GRI standards. For the first time, we were able to survey all relevant stakeholder groups within one year, which in turn made it possible to draw concrete comparisons, including Deutsche Börse Group’s opportunity and risk profile in terms of non-financial aspects. The aim was to increase the quality and comparability of the data and thus enhance the informative value of the results.  

In the 2018 survey, stakeholders had the opportunity to rate the issues identified in previous materiality analyses in terms of a) their significance for Deutsche Börse Group’s business performance, b) the impact of Deutsche Börse Group’s business activities on these aspects, and c) their significance for the respondents personally. Stakeholders were asked to rate these aspects on a scale of -5 to +5.The results were validated in 2019 through various tools and internal as well as external stakeholder exchange platforms:

  • Information from Deutsche Börse Group’s committees and working groups, which are staffed with international capital market representatives (for an overview of the committees and working groups, please see Customer Governance)
  • Evaluations of customer satisfaction surveys, customer visits and Deutsche Börse Group innovation portal input
  • In-house analyses and assessments of trends and developments in the financial services industry (e.g. regulatory framework changes)
  • Findings from investor conferences, roadshows and meetings as well as from topics addressed in the Annual General Meeting
  • Feedback from staff meetings, staff events and review meetings, as well as from the 2019 staff surveys
  • Results from the two 2019 Group Sustainability Board meetings
  • Evaluation of internal management-level discussions on the strategic development of group-wide ESG management
  • Prioritisation of issues within the meetings of the Executive Board, the Supervisory Board and the respective individual Supervisory Board Committees
  • Participation in various national and international sustainability ratings and rankings
  • Client-side evaluation of Deutsche Börse Group’s sustainability management

An internal revalidation of the previous areas for action was carried out in 2020, confirming the results from 2018. Compared to the previous survey, the only area for action with a materiality rated higher by the internal stakeholders was “Human Capital Development”. The topic “taxes”, by contrast, ranked lower in the analysis. Deutsche Börse Group is, however, aware of its responsibility in this regard and therefore voluntarily reports on its tax strategy and handling of tax legal issues.

Areas for action at Deutsche Börse Group

The key criterion in identifying relevant areas for action at Deutsche Börse Group is their materiality, both in terms of their influence on the company’s business success and, conversely, the influence of Deutsche Börse Group’s business activities on the respective field of action. 

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The materiality matrix shows the most important areas for action, which were determined by a quantitative survey of the relevant internal and external stakeholders:

Stakeholder engagement

Deutsche Börse Group maintains a regular exchange of knowledge and interests with all relevant stakeholders to fulfil its role as a neutral platform for dialogue, firmly anchored in the middle of the capital market. Deutsche Börse Group’s involvement in this field has an impact on the entire value chain of our business operations.

Transparent, stable and fair markets

As a market infrastructure provider for international capital markets, Deutsche Börse Group sees its central responsibility in ensuring transparency and integrity within the framework of the market structures it provides, thereby promoting their stability and economic success. Its efforts are led by the interests and needs of the various market participants.

Among the core economic functions of a stock exchange is the maintenance of economic prosperity and the fostering of an environment for growth. As a global market infrastructure provider, Deutsche Börse Group operates markets that serve companies of all sizes to raise equity and debt capital, with the aim of growing, creating and securing jobs, and contributing to higher value added.

Deutsche Börse Group’s stakeholders express high expectations when it comes to enforcing transparency and standardisation on the international capital markets. The aspect of data security has emerged as a transparency topic that also requires consideration to counter stakeholders’ reservations. The commitment of Deutsche Börse Group in this area for action affects the entire corporate value chain. 

For more information, please see key figures on corporate management.

Economic performance

The company’s successful business activities are ensured through profitable growth, a robust market position and long-term value added, with the ability to innovate as an important accompanying factor. Deutsche Börse Group’s involvement in this area for action affects the entire corporate value chain. 

For more information, please see value added.

Human capital development

The commitment and performance of our employees are the most important foundations for the success of Deutsche Börse Group. It is the company’s goal to ensure that employees with these qualities continue to seek out – and remain with – Deutsche Börse Group. The company is therefore working to inspire, promote and retain the best talents for the long term by implementing a responsible and sustainable human resources policy, which comprises important factors such as employee satisfaction, job security, remuneration, diversity and equal opportunities as well as occupational health and safety.

Deutsche Börse Group’s involvement in this area for action has an impact on the entire corporate value chain. 

Good governance

For Deutsche Börse Group, corporate governance means responsible corporate management and control geared towards sustainable value added. Robust corporate governance structures, adequate risk management and compliance systems and consistent disclosure of regulatory and tax strategies ensure responsible corporate governance.

Deutsche Börse Group’s involvement in this area for action has an impact on the entire corporate value chain. 

For more information, please see key figures on corporate management and procurement management.

Brand management

As an international market infrastructure provider, Deutsche Börse Group organises capital markets characterised by integrity, transparency and security. A responsible member of society, the company endeavours to use its competencies, successfully applied in its core business, to tackle social challenges. In keeping with its stated goal of good corporate citizenship, it is committed to dealing with socially relevant issues with a view to the needs of the various company locations.

Internal stakeholders focus on the existence of informative marketing structures. Deutsche Börse Group’s commitment in this area for action primarily affects customer concerns and internal Group processes.

For more information, please see Deutsche Börse Group – company profile.

Sustainable product and service portfolio

Deutsche Börse Group’s products and services provide investors, issuers and other market participants with a marketplace, infrastructure and support to conduct financial transactions or offer financial instruments. In recent years, a comprehensive portfolio of sustainable products and services has emerged. Above all, Deutsche Börse offers a broad range of sustainability indices which can be used by investors as a basis for their sustainable investment decisions. Deutsche Börse Group’s involvement in this area for action primarily affects customer concerns, internal Group processes and, last but not least, the sustainable infrastructure of the markets organised by the company.

For more information, please see sustainable products and services and www.stoxx.com.

Environmental management

In addition to initiating an increasingly careful use of resources, a growing awareness for climate change and its general consequences on the one hand and the effects of core business activities on the other has moved greenhouse gas emissions to the centre of our environmental commitment – on a political and legal level as well as on the part of the company. At Deutsche Börse Group, the environment is an integral part of our sustainability activities. To this effect, one of the measures introduced by Deutsche Börse Group was the development and publishing of a climate strategy based on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). 

For more information, please see environmental management.

 

Generally speaking, the expectations and interests expressed by the stakeholder groups can be assigned to the strategic leitmotifs of sustainability management at Deutsche Börse Group. In other words, the key areas for action correspond either to the Group’s goal of strengthening trust in the markets it organises as an organiser of the international capital markets, of leading by example as a company listed on the stock exchange, and/or of improving the way the company and its business operations are perceived by the outside world in its role as a member of society.

© Deutsche Börse Group