Clariant Culture

A World of Possibilities

Clariant’s unique role as an innovative specialty chemical company and its contribution to society are enhanced by a clear company purpose. Striving to achieve this purpose, Clariant is led by a guiding vision and a well-defined mission. Actions are derived from a culture that encourages every employee to earn the trust of Clariant’s key stakeholders and to continuously explore opportu­nities for value creation.

Clariant’s purpose, »Greater chemistry – between people and planet,« puts customers, employees, and the planet at the center of every business activity. The statement was defined by the Clariant leadership team together with colleagues from all over the world and with key customers. It comprises several themes in a crisp and differentiated way: it stands for Clariant’s

• distinct customer focus;
• strong innovation capability;
• profound commitment to sustainability in its operations and products;
• uniquely talented people in a culture of empowerment and inclusiveness.

As the chemical industry touches on more than 90 % of all the products that society uses in its daily life, it has the opportunity and the responsibility to create a truly meaningful impact. Clariant has an attractive innovation pipeline that is strongly linked to customer requirements. Interactions between uniquely talented and highly motivated employees with an entrepreneurial spirit drive a high-performance culture. This enables Clariant to deliver products and solutions with an outstanding technical and sustainable performance. Innovative and customer-driven chemistry, paired with people empowerment and leadership in sustainability, serves the interests of Clariant’s key stakeholders. It leads to greater chemistry – between people and planet – and thus provides for a long-term approach to sustained value creation.

003GUIDED BY THE CORPORATE PURPOSE

Vision and Mission

Clariant aspires to be the globally leading company for specialty chemicals, achieving above-average value creation for its stakeholders. To fulfill this vision, the company builds and maintains leading positions in all its businesses, while defining its corporate culture through functional excellence in innovation, commercialization, and operations.

004CORPORATE VALUES FOR SUSTAINABLE VALUE CREATION

Clariant’s vision is underpinned by its mission to create value by appreciating the needs of

• customers, by providing competitive and innovative solutions;
• employees, by adhering to corporate values;
• shareholders, by achieving above-average returns; and
• the environment, by acting sustainably.

Key Driver: Appreciation

AppreciationAppreciationAppreciation is embedded in the company’s culture, defining the expectations for employee behavior and building the company’s reputation and brand. The culture of appreciation commits to corporate values and puts them at the center of everything the company does in each area where it has an influence.View entire glossary is embedded in the company’s culture, defining the expectations for employee behavior and building the company’s reputation and brand. The culture of appreciation commits to corporate values and puts them at the center of everything the company does in each area where it has an influence. Read more in our Review on Performance, People, and Planet

In addition, Clariant’s corporate values recognize critical inter­dependencies and align the company culture with business partners’ and stakeholders’ expectations. The corporate values include

• Drive for Excellence: Clariant applies the highest standards to profitably meet customer needs while aspiring to achieve even more.
• Disciplined Performance Management: People at Clariant seek challenging and achievable targets. Employees give and invite open feedback on measured progress.
• Deliver to Promise: Clariant cultivates motivated employees who fully leverage their capabilities while avoiding over­promising or underdelivering.
• Courageous and Decisive Leadership: Clariant selects the right people for the right jobs and is committed to support risk-taking, accepting failure, and learning from results.
• Lived AppreciationAppreciationAppreciation is embedded in the company’s culture, defining the expectations for employee behavior and building the company’s reputation and brand. The culture of appreciation commits to corporate values and puts them at the center of everything the company does in each area where it has an influence.View entire glossary : People at Clariant acknowledge strength, seek improvement, acknowledge outstanding contributions, and celebrate success.
• Corporate Responsibility: People at Clariant support the welfare of all stakeholders, protect the environment, and respect communities where they work. They live Clariant’s Code of EthicsCode of EthicsThe Code of Ethics is laying down Clariant’s commitments and is intended to be a guide with ethical principles and examples to enable all personnel and associated parties to act with the highest standards of integrity.View entire glossary and uphold all safety procedures.

Q&A

Tatiana Berardinelli

Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of Group HR

Clariant is changing: The company has become smaller and is still transforming. From your view, what is the role of HR in this process and what are the opportunities you see?

Due to the ongoing transformation process of the company, there are certain areas we need to focus on to enable growth and increase value. We will work on a stronger performance driven culture, on enhancing talent management to deliver business results. We will support Clariant’s transformation and we will lead engagement and DE&I initiatives in alignment with our purpose. I have started working with my team on these opportunities and am excited about taking this work forward along the line of the company strategy and the company purpose.

Referring to the company purpose »Greater chemistry – between people and planet«: Are you going to bring that purpose to life within the existing Clariant culture, or does it define a new culture?

I think the purpose is the starting point for a changing culture. What changes is the behavior of people as it defines the culture. I see the future Clariant culture as entrepreneurial, embedded in a nimble organization – less hierarchical, less bureaucratic, more agile, where people feel included. There is innovation driven by the desire to contribute to society. I see a lot of trust as well, based on the corporate ethics and values. Another essential cultural component results from diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will cover all three dimensions: diversity, which is about the differences within our team, equity referring to the company’s processes and policies, and inclusion, reflecting a sense of belonging.

Clariant stands for courageous and decisive leadership. From your point of view, what are the most important next steps to further and strengthen leadership skills?

Strong leaders create effective teams, deliver results and demonstrate the right behaviours. At Clariant, we believe we need to invest in our leaders to help us drive the transformation, culture change, execute on our strategy and engage our people. We plan to continue developing our leaders through relevant and challenging experiences in the job, leadership training and learning through others. We will focus on the capabilities and skills needed not just for today but for the future of Clariant in alignment to our purpose.