Materiality Analysis

We check our sustainability activities in regular dialog with our stakeholders and integrate current societal developments in our considerations. In this, we use materiality analysis as a strategic instrument to help us identify the sustainability topics that are especially relevant in the opinion of our stakeholders and us at Beiersdorf.

Within our stakeholder dialogue we have relied on materiality analyses since 2011 as a strategic instrument to identify key sustainability topics. This allows us to pinpoint where in our value chain our activities and products have the greatest impact on economy, society and the environment. For this purpose, topics and issues are identified that reflect global challenges with an impact on the long-term success of our company.

In 2017 we updated our third materiality matrix with regard to our company’s impacts on the economy, the environment and society to enable us to integrate their changing influences on our business activity as well as our stakeholders’ requirements. We began by gathering the viewpoints of colleagues from all company areas on the material topics and assessed these topics’ relevance. We then carried out an online survey of colleagues around the world as well as external stakeholders and checked the results of the workshops. All the results were integrated in the creation of our updated materiality matrix.

Our materiality matrix comprises 17 topics that our stakeholders and we view as material. 

We carry out materiality analyses at regular intervals to ensure they are up-to-date and to reassess our results. The materiality matrices of the past years (2011, 2014 and 2017) can be found in the download area under the corresponding year.
In 2019 we also revised our sustainability agenda. Within this framework, the topics “Regenerative Water Environments” and “Consumer Health and Wellbeing” were defined as new focus areas of our sustainability agenda. An update and adaptation of our materiality matrix is planned for next year. Further information on the new agenda can be found here.