Our company’s performance as reflected by external assessments

Our performance in terms of sustainability was once again monitored by rating agencies in 2008. Sustainable Asset Management gave us a rating of 65/100 (previous year: 74/100). This drop is primarily due to a change in the rating method. The average score for transport and logistics companies was 50 points. The FTSE 4 Good Index confirmed our company’s membership. We also remain in the Advanced Sustainability Performance Index Eurozone maintained by the French rating agency Vigeo and in the KLD Global Climate 100 Index. The Carbon Disclosure Project gave us – the only logistics company included in its Leadership Index of the foremost 67 companies – a rating of 66/100 (previous year: 60/100).

Sustainability Report meets international guidelines

Supplementary sustainability information on initiatives and key performance indicators, which are not part of the Group Management Report, are described in our second Sustainability Report, which was published in June 2008. It was prepared for the first time on the basis of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, with the additional GRI Sector Supplement for the Logistics and Transport Sector. Based on our own assessment, it achieved the GRI level B +. The next report to be published in the second quarter of 2009 will include key performance indicators for 2008.

Humanitarian aid in the event of crises and as a preventative measure

Our partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) still forms one of the cornerstones of our socio-political commitment. We have extended this partnership until 31 December 2010. Our disaster relief organisation comprises three well-trained teams in Singapore, Panama and Dubai, covering the Asia Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa, and thus the areas of the world most frequently visited by catastrophe. These disaster response teams co-ordinate logistics for incoming aid at local airports in order to help avoid supply bottlenecks. In 2008, we once again demonstrated our logistical capabilities in a crisis during a three-week operation in Myanmar. Together with the UNDP, we launched the GARD (Get Airports Ready for Disasters) programme in Indonesia in 2008. This training programme prepares airport managers and employees for emergencies.

Since 2006, we have been supporting the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the global struggle against infant mortality by providing financial aid and logistical support as well as through our employees’ personal commitment. In three focal countries – India, Peru and Kenya – we are helping UNICEF to improve healthcare for children and mothers living in rural areas. In India, we sponsor a programme to combat malnutrition and infant mortality. In Peru, we are helping to set up primary healthcare for pregnant women and children in the indigenous population. In Kenya, we are involved in educating the population about health risks and prevention. A volunteer programme is also run in Kenya. For the third year in a row, we invited 13 company employees to volunteer to spend two weeks there, gathering information and providing assistance. They also support our partnership as UNICEF ambassadors on their return home.

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