General Disclosures

Organizational Profile

102-1 Name of the organization

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102-2 Activities, brands, products, and services

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In addition to the information described in the Financial Report and Corporate Website, Clariant also deals with goods that are subject to different trade control regimes, such as chemical weapons conventions or the dual-use goods regulation. All of the respective national and international trade control provisions, as well as embargo regulations, are monitored by a global trade control network within the Clariant organization. With the help of IT systems, along with organizational controls, all deliveries are reviewed to ensure trade compliance. Thus, for example, controlled goods can only be delivered if the necessary permits are obtained from the relevant authorities as well as end-user statements from the customer. Clariant guarantees that all trade control requirements are fulfilled.

102-3 Location of headquarters

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102-4 Location of operations

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102-5 Ownership and legal form

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102-6 Markets served

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102-7 Scale of the organization

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102-8 Information on employees and other workers

  

2017

  

2018

 

  

permanent

  

temporary

  

permanent

  

temporary

Employees by employment contract and gender (in FTE)

  

17 687

  

448

  

17 382

  

519

male

  

13 986

  

344

  

13 613

  

392

female

  

3 701

  

105

  

3 769

  

127

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

  

2017

  

2018

 

  

full-time

  

part-time

  

full-time

  

part-time

Employees by employment type (in FTE)

  

17 794

  

341

  

17 567

  

334

male

  

14 265

  

65

  

13 941

  

64

female

  

3 529

  

276

  

3 626

  

270

We do not have knowledge of any substantial portion of Clariant's work being performed by workers who are not employees. Furthermore, there are no significant seasonal variations in Clariant’s employment numbers.

102-9 Supply chain

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102-10 Significant changes to the organization and its supply chain

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102-11 Precautionary Principle or approach

With the final declaration of its 1992 conference on the environment and development in Rio de Janeiro, the United Nations requires member states to take precautionary measures within their capabilities to protect the environment. This declaration is known as Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration. Accordingly, remedial actions may only be postponed if no serious or lasting damages to the environment are looming, or if the states would be financially overburdened by implementing these measures. This principle connects environmental protection with a cost-benefit analysis and attempts to achieve a balance between ecology and economy.

Clariant has not only adopted this principle in the company, it has expanded the environmental considerations with social aspects—the entire foundation of sustainability. Clariant has been investing in safe products and both efficient and environmentally compatible processes for years. The company continuously initiates measures to completely live up to its responsibilities toward employees, customers, shareholders, and other stakeholder groups. The ongoing pursuit of trends and pertinent developments ensures the timeliness and appropriateness of all these activities.

102-12 External initiatives

Clariant supports a large number of externally developed initiatives, for example:

Clariant expressly supports the UN Global Compact and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), also known as the UN Human Rights Charter. The charter comprises general human rights principles that serve as a joint ideal for all people and nations to ensure that each individual and all bodies of the company constantly strive to promote respect for corresponding rights and freedoms through education and training. National and international measures must thereby guarantee the formal as well as the actual recognition of, and compliance with, human rights. This applies to Clariant too.

Clariant has signed the »Responsible Care® Global Charter« developed by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), which monitors compliance with this charter. The charter is a self-commitment by the chemical industry worldwide to pursue continual improvements in the fields of environmental protection, product responsibility, work safety, transportation safety, and dialog.

Clariant is committed to the Global Product Strategy (GPS), which was developed in 2006 by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) as part of its commitment to the United Nations Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). This approach promotes the safe use of chemical products through the entire life cycle and enhances product stewardship throughout the value chain.

102-13 Membership of associations

Clariant is a member of numerous interest groups and trade associations at international (International Council of Chemical Associations [ICCA]), regional (Cefic), and national levels (business federations or national chemical industry associations, such as ABIQUIM in Brazil, CPCIF in China, Verband der Chemischen Industrie [VCI] in Germany, or the American Chemistry Council [ACC] in the USA).

Clariant is also active in sectorial associations at both a regional and national level, such as in the bio-economy sector (Leaders of Sustainable Biofuels, ePure, EuropaBio, Bio-Based Industries Consortium, BioDeutschland, etc.). Other important memberships include the Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative of the chemical industry.

Clariant is proud to be a member and supporter of scientific and research organizations such as SUSCHEM, the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry, confirming its strong commitment to develop the next generation of sustainable chemistry solutions.

Clariant’s top three contributions to policy memberships are:

  1. German Association of the Chemical Industry (Verband der Chemischen Industrie e. V. [VCI])
  2. Chamber of Commerce Basel (Handelskammer beider Basel
  3. Scienceindustries, the Swiss business association for the chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotech industries

Strategy

102-14 Statement from senior decision-maker

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102-15 Key impacts, risks, and opportunities

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Ethics and Integrity

102-16 Values, principles, standards, and norms of behavior

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As a leading specialty chemicals company, Clariant not only ensures adherence to legal regulations, but also commits itself to important global initiatives. All of Clariant’s actions comply with the principles laid down in the Responsible Care® Global Charter, the Global Product Strategy, the UN Global Compact, and the company’s internal Code of Conduct and Code of Conduct for Suppliers.

All employees receive the Code of Conduct when they are hired and must agree to it when signing their contract of employment. So-called e-learning modules are mandatory for all employees. Participation in these training courses, which cover different topics or themes of the Code of Conduct, is registered, and employees not participating receive a warning. The Code is available in all relevant national languages.

102-17 Mechanisms for advice and concerns about ethics

With regard to seeking advice, compliance officers at both regional and local levels as well as at Group Headquarters are available to provide support on issues concerning ethically correct and legally compliant conduct of employees or business processes. In addition, employees as well as suppliers and other stakeholders have the opportunity to raise concerns or questions—anonymously if necessary—about ethical business conduct on the »Clariant Integrity Line« (an online portal introduced in 2014). The responsible compliance officer of the corresponding country then answers or forwards the concerns or questions to the competent colleague in the Compliance or HR Department.

Complaints pertaining to violations of the Clariant Code of Conduct can be made via line managers, through Group Compliance (i.e., reported to the local or regional HR department or compliance office, or directly to the Group compliance officer), or via the »Clariant Integrity Line.«

Governance

102-18 Governance structure

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102-20 Executive-level responsibility for economic, environmental, and social topics

Clariant’s Executive Committee, superior to the Sustainability Council, provides the guidelines for sustainable management and the corresponding control, while the relevant templates come from the respective departments. In order to be kept up to date about current trends and developments with regard to the aforementioned issues, their members collect information regularly from the responsible corporate functions and Business Units, or they participate in appropriate events.

Clariant steers sustainability activities on a strategic corporate level with a dedicated Sustainability Council. The council evaluates the global sustainability challenges and megatrends and sets long- and mid-term Group goals to initiate projects and activities in the field of sustainability. Chaired by the Chief Executive Officer, the council creates a direct link to the highest governance body. It is composed of relevant Heads of corporate functions/services and Business Units, such as Group Technology & Innovation, Corporate HR, Corporate Strategy & Planning, Corporate Legal, Group Procurement Services, Corporate Communications and Business Units ICS, Catalysts, and Additives. The Council delegates operational sustainability matters to the Corporate Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs (CSRA) Department, with the Head of CSRA reporting directly to the Executive Committee.

For more details on the process of communication to the highest governance body, please see section »Information and control instruments vis-à-vis the Executive Committee« of the Corporate Governance Report.

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102-21 Consulting stakeholders on economic, environmental, and social topics

Clariant revised its materiality matrix in 2017 in a sophisticated process that served as consultation between stakeholders and Clariant. Key stakeholders could voice their opinion regarding the topics on which Clariant should focus. The results of the survey were analyzed and broken down into both region- and function-specific perspectives. This allowed Business Unit and Regional Management Committees to follow up with their respective stakeholders.

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102-38 Annual total compensation ratio / 102-39 Percentage increase in annual total compensation ratio

Clariant's compensation philosophy is aimed at promoting and reinforcing the quality and commitment of employees. Clariant is generally committed to paying its employees fair and appropriate compensation in the form of wages and salaries, social components, and other perks. This compensation should meet minimum statutory standards and, in principle, exceeds them in each country in which Clariant is active.

The spread of salaries between Clariant employees varies from one country to another. This heavily depends on the relevant local managerial and employment structure and is frequently culturally influenced. For this reason, local salary structures cannot be used to address compensation issues. On a global level, the ratio between the average and the highest base salary is 1:13. In terms of the total compensation, including variable salary components, the spread is 1:25. The ratio tends to be higher in growth regions than, for example, in Europe. Part-time employees have been excluded from the calculation above.

Salary adjustments are negotiated in accordance with a fixed and unambiguous system and implemented through mutual agreement between the line manager and the HR Department. As a basic principle, a consistent »salary philosophy« ensures that adjustments are made in the context of the local markets and the individual performance.

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Stakeholder Engagement

102-40 List of stakeholder groups

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102-41 Collective bargaining agreements

  

2017

  

2018

Percentage of total employees covered by collective bargaining agreements

  

48%

  

47%

Clariant pays wages and salaries that are determined by relevant local competitive markets rather than by legally defined minimum wages. As of the end of December 2018, 47% of employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements with employee representatives. Managerial positions are generally not included in such agreements.

102-42 Identifying and selecting stakeholders

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102-43 Approach to stakeholder engagement

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102-44 Key topics and concerns raised

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Reporting Practice

102-45 Entities included in the consolidated financial statements

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102-46 Defining report content and topic Boundaries

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102-47 List of material topics

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102-48 Restatements of information

Any restatement of previously reported data is explained in a footnote under the respective disclosure.

102-49 Changes in reporting

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102-50 Reporting period / 102-52 Reporting cycle

The reporting period of Clariant’s GRI Report comprises 1 January through 31 December 2018 and is therefore identical to Clariant’s financial year.

102-51 Date of most recent report

The last GRI Report was published in March 2017 on Clariant’s website.

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102-53 Contact point for questions regarding the report

Questions about this report should be addressed to:

Corporate Sustainability & Regulatory Affairs
Anders Almtoft, Tel. +41 61 469 69 16

Investor Relations
Anja Pomrehn, Tel. +41 61 469 67 45

Inquiries via e-mail to

102-54 Claims of reporting in accordance with the Standards

This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option.

102-55 GRI content index

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102-56 External assurance

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