Social affairs
Social engagement is a central component of our sustainability strategy. The focus is on people—in our teams, in our supply chains, and in the communities in which we operate. We promote diversity, equal opportunities, and safe working conditions, invest in training and further education, and cultivate an appreciative, transparent corporate culture. At the same time, we take responsibility beyond our own organization: through fair partnerships, social engagement, and consistent respect for human rights. Our goal is to create an environment in which everyone can develop their potential – today and for future generations.
Key Facts:
- As of December 31, 2024, the Brand Group employs a total of 969 people, 822 of whom are based in Germany. Women make up 45% of the workforce, while men account for 55%.
- In 2024, 89% of all employees were on permanent contracts.
- The Values Team was established in 2023 and comprises employees from various divisions of the Brand Group (DE).
Corporate culture
Respect and appreciation for our employees are a natural part of our lived values. In order to give our shared understanding of values as broad a basis as possible, workshops and discussion rounds were held in all companies of the Brand Group (DE). Together with our employees, we developed and defined the following values for the Brand Group:
- Appreciative communication
- Mutual trust
- Promoting cooperation
- Lively diversity
- Holistic responsibility
- Forward-looking development
Our global team
On December 31, 2024, the Brand Group employed 969 people worldwide, of whom 822 were based in Germany, two in the Netherlands, one in Belgium, five each in France and the UK, 57 in the US, 50 in China, and 27 in India. Our global team consisted of 45% women and 55% men.
At BRAND KG and VACUUBRAND KG, elected works councils are available to represent the interests of employees and serve as points of contact. Numerous works agreements regulate key issues, which are adopted by BRAND INT and VITLAB in the form of company regulations. In Germany, 40–59% of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. The remaining employees are employees of VACUUBRAND KG, BRAND INT, VITLAB, BRANDTECH, BRAND (Shanghai), as well as executives and managing directors, who are not covered by collective bargaining agreements. 80–100% of our German locations have employee representation in the workplace.
A strong social foundation is the basis for sustainable success—for our employees, our partners, and society. That is why we are working to improve the work-life balance by introducing new working models and locations by 2030.
In order to strengthen our employees in a targeted manner and develop their skills in the long term, we are continuously increasing the number of training hours per employee to 10 hours per year by 2030, whereby one training hour is defined as the sum of SAM training and other training courses.
Customers
In order to achieve the desired level of customer satisfaction, our goal is to introduce a new system for measuring and continuously improving customer satisfaction. In the reporting year, we made progress by formulating initial definitions that will form the framework for the system.
Further information can be found in our sustainability report.