13
04
CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
OF DAX 30 COMPANIES 5
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
STRATEGY
The Corporate Citizenship strategy sets the scene for all
related activities and is essential for successful Corporate
Citizenship engagement. In our view, best-in-class Corporate
Citizenship strategies exhibit a distinct focus on a core
subject matter. This core topic and its related activities are
connected to the company’s core competencies to ensure
the best possible leverage of skills and resources, and are
embedded in an effective overall social value chain that
includes other members of society.
Some companies are hesitant to engage in areas close
to their core business as they fear that this engagement
could be interpreted as “greenwashing” or “whitewashing”.
Obviously, Corporate Citizenship may not be misused to
“whitewash” any misconduct. However, we encourage
companies to engage in areas they have the most expertise
in to improve people’s lives as effectively as possible.
We also suggest companies should show a high level of
transparency on their engagement to demonstrate that
their activities are legitimate.
Looking at the results of our analysis, it is apparent that
most companies have not yet strategically planned their
Corporate Citizenship approach. In general, they appear
to work in areas of engagement adopted over time, as opposed
to strategically choosing them.
Missing link between corporate expertise
and social engagement
Despite their potential to leverage knowledge and expertise
to foster social change, we see that two thirds of DAX
30 companies engage in activities that are unconnected to
the company’s strengths and characteristics. For instance,
an expert in technology solutions supports the installation
of musical objects, while another DAX 30 company active
in the mobility sector funds dancing classes. These activities
certainly represent positive societal contributions, yet
the bottom line is that they fail to draw on the company’s
core competencies and thereby fail to unlock the full potential
to achieve social impact.
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LINK OF CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP ACTIVITIES TO DAX 30 COMPANIES’ CORE BUSINESS 6
23% 33%
engage in activities
WITHOUT THEMATIC OR
GEOGRAPHIC LINK
to their core business
support activities
FULLY LINKED to their
core business
43%
support activities WITH A
THEMATIC OR GEOGRAPHIC LINK
to their core business
5 All information used in this analysis was derived from extensive research of publicly available data and information, namely corporate publications such as press releases,
annual reports and sustainability reports, and complemented by the results of an investor relations survey of all DAX 30 companies.
6 Rounding differences