News | 06/28/2018

The Corporate Responsibility Report 2017 is out

Each year, Bertelsmann publishes a Corporate Responsibility Report detailing how the Group lives up to its corporate responsibility across its value chain. The key reporting topics were identified in extensive surveys. They include fair working conditions, creative independence, learning and health.

Compliance, data protection, diversity and paper – in the opinion of its employees and external stakeholders, Bertelsmann bears responsibility for these and other issues. The new Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, published today, shows how the company meets these expectations.

The report, published annually, shows how Bertelsmann fulfills its corporate responsibility across its value chain, and gives an overview of the many social and environmental projects implemented by Bertelsmann employees throughout the Group. The reporting focuses on 13 relevant corporate responsibility topics, which were identified last year in a comprehensive relevance analysis with over 150 respondents – managers as well as external stakeholders. The topics identified include fair working conditions, creative independence, learning and health.

“A living, breathing corporate culture”

“Everyone in the company bears responsibility for putting corporate responsibility into action and for the continued development of our corporate culture – managers as well as employees,” says Bertelsmann Chief Human Resources Officer Immanuel Hermreck. “Corporate responsibility only becomes a corporate culture that is put into action through the many initiatives of our 119,000 employees worldwide. I’d like to thank our colleagues for their impressive dedication and commitment.”

Since 2011, Bertelsmann’s CR reporting has followed the international guidelines of the Glob-al Reporting Initiative (GRI), which are accepted worldwide as the leading framework for sustainability reporting by businesses and organizations. The new report was drawn up in line with the GRI Standards, and simultaneously serves as a Communication on Progress for the United Nations Global Compact, which Bertelsmann joined ten years ago.

The Bertelsmann Corporate Responsibility Report 2017 is available in German and English. It may be downloaded at www.bertelsmann.com/corporate-responsibility. If you have any questions about corporate responsibility at Bertelsmann, please send an email to Send email .