ALTANA’s Understanding of Sustainability
ALTANA consistently gears its activities to sustained profitable
growth. But we can only achieve economic success in
the long run if we also bear in mind ecological and social
aspects and anchor them firmly in our company.
Our understanding of sustainability as a triad of econ-
omy, ecology, and corporate social responsibility is also
reflected in ALTANA’s mission:
We provide innovative solutions based on integrated chemi-
cal, formulation, and application expertise that make products of
daily life better and more sustainable.
Our solutions open up growth or savings potential for our
customers and can change entire markets.
As a result, we create value for our customers, employees,
shareholder, and society as a whole.
The View of Our Stakeholders
As a globally manufacturing specialty chemicals company,
ALTANA has diverse stakeholders with whom the Group
and its different companies maintain regular contact and
exchange. The content and results of these dialogs are
among the factors that inform ALTANA’s understanding of
sustainability.
Among ALTANA’s most important stakeholders are
its customers, employees, owner, suppliers, other business
partners, authorities, associations, and nongovernmental or-
ganizations (NGOs), and our neighbors at the different sites.
In the year under review, we updated the stakeholder anal-
ysis we performed in the previous year in order to define the
important sustainability issues for the Corporate Report
2017. ALTANA’s Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) depart-
ment and Corporate Communications drafted a materiality
matrix with 13 criteria. In doing so, all topics relating to the
GRI Standards, existing stakeholder analyses, ALTANA’s
Keep Changing Agenda for the future, as well as selected
best-practice examples in the form of reports and studies
were considered.
Within the framework of interviews with 15 national
and international external and internal experts, the participants
subsequently discussed the draft matrix. They also
talked about areas of the value chain where the topics are
especially important. In addition, expectations of sustainability
management and ALTANA’s stakeholder engagement
were addressed.
Over the entire process of the materiality matrix, top-
ics were prioritized based on their relevance to stakeholder
decisions and the consequences for the ALTANA Group.
Within the framework of a prioritization workshop, the
topics and positions were consolidated into a final mate-
riality matrix and the matrix was checked for completeness
with regard to the reporting period (see graphic on the
following page). The most important arguments, positions,
and sources were documented in a materiality analysis.
The stakeholders incorporated in the materiality matrix,
which were identified based on high relevance, came from
the areas of customers, suppliers, NGOs, foundations, poli-
tics, and institutions. Internally, EH&S, Corporate Commu-
nications, Strategy, Procurement, Research and Development,
Finances and Controlling, Engineering, and Sales were incorporated.
The materiality matrix in 2017 essentially confirms the
2016 materiality matrix.
Changes and additions are mainly due to a more pro-
found understanding of sustainability. ALTANA will continue
to update the materiality matrix on a regular basis.
Sustainability Management
Sustainability Management 7