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Responsibility

Accountability within the company's management with regard to sustainability is disclosed.

05
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Effectively integrating the topic of sustainability into the various business divisions and processes calls not only for an overview of the entire business, but also for the appropriate authority to issue instructions, in order to also implement more far-reaching changes and to practise sustainable conduct. Sustainability must therefore also be backed at the managerial level. There should therefore be someone within the management and, if applicable, on the board who is responsible for the topic and ensures that sustainability is taken into consideration when strategic business decisions are made (see criterion 8).

What needs to be borne in mind?
Operational responsibility for the topic of sustainability may lie with specific departments (e.g. a department dedicated to corporate social responsibility) or may be handled by the divisions themselves or by persons assigned to do so. These support the management and the board in further developing the sustainability strategy, submit regular status reports, propose projects and activities, and coordinate implementation. Here, you should state who at the operational and the managerial levels is responsible for further developing your company’s sustainability. Bear in mind that sustainability comprises a wide array of topics and, if applicable, state how the responsibilities are divided up at the managerial level. Perhaps environmental matters such as resource management (see criterion 12) are assigned to a different management figure than social matters such as political influence (see criterion 19).
Aspect 1:
State how centralised responsibility for sustainability issues (strategy, monitoring, analysis) is assigned at the operational and managerial levels.

INPACS (Headquarters)

In 2018, the INPACS shareholders and members defined Sustainability as one of five strategic pillars (cf. criterion 1). This means first and foremost, that sustainability constitutes a guiding principle for all INPACS employees, processes and activities.

To further put this strategic pillar into concrete terms, a Strategic Working Committee Sustainability was established. Members of this committee are the Chairman of the Board and the CEO of INPACS, as well as owners and top managers of INPACS members from seven countries. The high-level composition of the committee illustrates the strategic relevance of sustainability for the entire network. The committee members currently convene four times per year.

In addition, a central sustainability management team has been formed at the INPACS head office in 2019, including the recruitment of two Sustainable Development Managers reporting to the Head of Sustainability. The Head of Sustainability is part of the general management team and directly reporting to the INPACS Supervisory Board and CEO. The sustainability department is responsible for supervising the implementation of the sustainability strategy within the network in the daily business, including the following primary responsibilities:
  • Coordination of the Working Committee Sustainability
  • Support and monitoring of the operational implementation of the strategic measures in various departments
  • Internal and external sustainability Stakeholder Dialogue
  • Performance and progress report to the Strategic Working Committee Sustainability, to the INPACS management as well as to the INPACS Supervisory Board 
Also, the Strategic Working Committee Sustainability has appointed one ambassador for each strategic goal, personified by an executive body of an INPACS member. The ambassadors are actively engaging for the pursuit of their respective UN Sustainable Development Goal within the network.

It is important to stress that the implementation of the sustainability strategy directly influences all activities and operational processes of the INPACS network as well as the entire stakeholder dialogue. Therefore, INPACS employees, members, customers and suppliers are actors in the design of the strategy and at the same time those affected.

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