INTEGRATED COMPANY REPORT 2014 - GIZ. Solutions that work.

GIZ. Solutions that work.

For more than fifty years GIZ has been working worldwide to identify solutions to the issues that

will determine our future – climate change, dwindling resources, migration, and the need for peace

and security. No nation can master these challenges alone. Social responsibility must go hand in

hand with ecological balance, and economic performance must dovetail with political participation

if the generations to come are to live in dignity and safety. This is our guiding vision and our under-

standing of sustainability, with which we help our commissioning parties and partners to build

sustainable political and societal change.

International cooperation ‘Made in Germany’

GIZ is a public-benefit, federal enterprise. As such we support the German Government as a whole

and in particular our principal commissioning party, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooper-

ation and Development (BMZ), in achieving their goals in the field of international cooperation for

sustainable development. We offer a uniquely wide range of services that stands up to international

comparison. German expertise is very much in demand in many areas, especially those with which

Germany is closely associated at international level, such as the social market economy, the move

toward sustainable energy (the ‘energy shift’ as it is known in Germany) and vocational training.

GIZ International Services, our taxable business area, also enhances Germany’s visibility and reputation

abroad. With funding from the EU, the governments of other countries, multilateral and bilateral

organisations, private companies and foundations, GIZ International Services is able to implement

approaches that are ‘Made in Germany’ without using German taxpayers’ money.

Global agreements, such as the sustainable development goals, that will be discussed by the inter-

national community and adopted as the successors to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at

a special UN summit in New York in September 2015, provide the global framework for GIZ’s work.

This applies equally to international agreements such as the United Nations human rights covenants

and conventions, and the European Convention on Human Rights. Also at the top of the agenda are

global processes such as the climate negotiations and the International Aid Transparency Initiative

(IATI). We at GIZ have translated IATI requirements into our own internal transparency policy. As a

federal enterprise, transparency is a particular concern of ours.

Breathing life into global partnerships

Many questions crucial to our global future can only be resolved through global partnerships. Our

extensive regional experience, our proven technical expertise and our tried-and-tested management

skills enable us to bring different partners on board. One example is the German Food Partnership.

This is a joint initiative that brings together politicians and the business community. On behalf of

BMZ and other financiers, GIZ is supporting partners with a view to improving food supplies for very

many people. GIZ’s proven expertise in helping establish networks and providing the secretariats for

these is also mirrored in the Alliance for Financial Inclusion and the Renewable Energy Policy Network

for the 21st Century (REN21). Increasingly, GIZ is also enabling specialists around the globe to net-

work using digital platforms. One such platform focuses on soil protection.

Profitable partnerships involving Germany, Europe and other countries also make it possible to

offer training programmes and fact-finding trips for experts and managers from Eastern European,

African, Asian and Latin American companies. GIZ designs and organises these measures on behalf

of individual German federal states. German companies are given the opportunity to firm up business

cooperation arrangements and hone their international marketing strategies.

Alongside the German Government, other clients are becoming increasingly involved in German

projects and programmes implemented by GIZ. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for instance,

the World Bank and the Congolese Government are financing the development of primary health care,

while the European Commission has commissioned GIZ to develop standards and training programmes

for election observers. Depending on the specific needs, the region and the context, GIZ puts together

customised service packages that can embrace policy advisory services, know-how transfer or the

establishment of state institutions.

Sustainability begins at home

The goal we pursue with our partners – initiating sustainable development processes - is also our

goal within the company. The challenges we set ourselves in our projects and in the services we

provide are the same challenges we set ourselves within GIZ through our work on environmental

issues, interaction with commissioning parties and above all with our staff. After all it is their com-

mitment, their expertise and their experience that are key to achieving top performance and quality,

and this is what makes GIZ such a sought after partner in international cooperation. Corporate sus-

tainability is firmly anchored within GIZ at the top echelons of management. The Director Corporate

Sustainability works with the Sustainability Office to consistently improve sustainability management

within the company. He reports directly to the Chair of the Management Board. The Sustainability Board,

which also includes top executives, discusses sustainability objectives and monitors and supports the

implementation and further development of the sustainability programme. In 2015 a new Compliance

and Integrity Unit is to be set up, which will be responsible for ensuring compliance with all legal

provisions, corporate regulations and ethical standards. GIZ has also launched a reorganisation

project entitled bauhaus15. Effective cooperation within the company, clearly defined roles and

streamlined procedures are designed to prevent overlaps, enhance efficiency and pave the way for

innovative projects.

Integrated action and reporting

This Integrated Company Report links GIZ’s external services, financial information and key figures

with information on corporate responsibility and sustainability inside the company. It highlights prog-

ress and achievements and indicates areas where there is still scope for improvement, thus meeting

the requirements of international transparency standards as adopted in 2011 at the High Level Forum

on Aid Effectiveness in Busan (South Korea). The annual statement of accounts contains more detailed

financial information. On our website you will find more information on sustainability at GIZ and on

data recorded in line with the Global Reporting Initiative’s G4 sustainability reporting guidelines.

www.giz.de/sustainability

GIZ Integrated Company Report 2014

GIZ. Solutions that work.