Pioneer of sustainable mobility
Porsche has managed to keep steering the company robustly through the coronavirus crisis. Despite the difficult global supply situation for semiconductors, the sports car manufacturer was able to deliver 301,915 vehicles worldwide and so set a new record.
Demand rose across all sales regions worldwide. There was again particularly strong growth in the U.S. An outstanding result was achieved with the young, attractive product range and the successful launch of the all-electric Porsche Taycan.
The three highlight projects 2021
Porsche’s Sustainability Strategy 2030 defines the systematic focus of the company’s commitment: the clear standards and mission it sets itself, the impact of its own business activities and the company’s expectations guide the actions of the sports car manufacturer. Porsche aims to shape the future and drive sustainable development – wherever the company operates and together.
Porsche shoulders responsibility for society
Porsche has long supported a wide range of not-for-profit initiatives. Solidarity and social commitment are deeply ingrained at the sports car manufacturer. During the coronavirus crisis, the company has mainly focused its efforts on its locations through diverse measures. The sports car manufacturer also took action to help in the wake of the disastrous floods in the summer. Porsche donated a total of €11.8 Mil. to around 175 individual projects in 2021. There were also extensive CSR and cultural sponsorship activities. Money was also donated to the non-profit Ferry Porsche Foundation.
The catastrophic floods in Western Germany also affected Porsche itself, since the region around the Nürburgring race track was severely hit. Porsche has nurtured a special relationship with the people there for decades. The sport of motor racing has helped forge friendships and partnerships. Consequently, Porsche Motorsport also dispatched an initial group of helpers, equipped with emergency power generators, tools and clothing, within just a few hours. In addition, the sports car manufacturer supported the “Aktion Deutschland Hilft e.V.” coalition with one million euros. The money went to provide emergency aid to the flood victims and helped strengthen the operations of the various rescue organizations in the affected regions, where the coalition helped search for missing people, arranged accommodation, supported clean-up work and secured hazardous areas. The relief workers also help supply medical care, buy food and feed members of the emergency teams. Porsche also called on employees to make private donations. Porsche Deutschland GmbH and its dealer organization donated €750,000. A further €50,000 came from MHP Management- und IT-Beratung GmbH.
Porsche maintained its efforts to combat coronavirus and its repercussions in 2021. For instance, the state sports associations of Baden-Württemberg and Saxony received a total of €339,000. They then passed that on to 113 selected clubs in individual donations of €3,000 each. The clubs in question are particularly committed to promoting youth work, integration or inclusion and provided their budding sports talents with alternative offerings during the pandemic. It was immaterial whether the clubs that obtained support were professional clubs or one that offer sport for all. A total of 38 sports were given assistance. This aid acknowledges the fact that sport plays a great role in social integration, in particular for children and youngsters.
The coronavirus crisis meant that the Porsche 6-hour run could not be staged. In the digital format of the first Virtual Run, 2,300 Porsche employees from 34 countries turned the local run into a global event. They covered a total of 67,559 kilometers for a good cause between September 17 and October 3, 2021. Porsche had pledged beforehand to donate 50 cents per kilometer to the international Make-A-Wish Foundation. Its mission is to fulfill the biggest wishes of children in difficult life situations, in the hope that this positive experience mobilizes unimagined powers among children and their families in the battle against illness. More than 500,000 children worldwide have benefited from its help to date. In view of the great participation in the Virtual Run, Porsche spontaneously topped up the sum to €200,000. Participants recorded their performance using the Pumatrac app and could freely choose their pace, frequency and route length. As a small incentive, the runners could tackle three legendary race tracks: Le Mans (13, 626 meters), the Nürburgring’s Northern Loop (20,830 meters) and the 72-kilometer Targa Florio, all of which were allowed to be completed in stages.
Sustainability Festival for all Porsche employees
Shaping the future together. That was the slogan of the first digital Porsche Sustainability Festival for all employees. The strategy fields of decarbonization, sustainable supply chains, diversity of perspectives, partner to society, and the circular economy were presented by the persons responsible for them over five days. A large number of further formats on an interactive platform complemented the changing daily program with talks from internal and experts. For example, various quizzes and an escape game enabled a simpler grasp of sustainability issues. A playlist created especially for the festival also provided the right sound for sustainability. The festival conveyed concrete ideas on what every single one of us can do to ensure a livable future. The employees were motivated in an entertaining way to become sustainability ambassadors for Porsche. The project has a model character and demonstrates that sustainability still has strategic priority for the company’s future, even during the coronavirus pandemic. That means it is also important to raise employees’ awareness of the issue.
Porsche and its long-standing partner Michelin commit to sustainable production of natural rubber
Under the project CASCADE (Committed Actions for Smallholders Capacity Development), the two companies are campaigning for transparency and better working conditions in raw material extraction on Sumatra in Indonesia. Local smallholder farmers receive training in cultivation practices, biodiversity and work safety. The aim is to help improve their living circumstances and economic situation long term. Indonesia is one of the world’s key rubber producers. On the basis of analyses – including with a specially developed app – and discussions on the ground, Porsche and Michelin have identified potential risks to supply chain sustainability in relation to rubber production. CASCADE is one of the world’s first projects to tackle this issue at the earliest stage of the natural rubber supply chain. More than 1,000 smallholder farmers will be trained in more environmentally-friendly and efficient production methods. Porsche and Michelin will invest around one million euros in the project, which will initially run until 2024.
Stakeholder Dialogue
Stakeholder communication and dialog
Porsche’s business activities impact on the interests of many people worldwide. The company is especially committed to proactive dialog with its stakeholder groups and expanding that continuously. Porsche believes that open and transparent sharing of information and arguments is the foundation for mutual understanding and acceptance. The holistic approach as part of Porsche’s stakeholder management aims to systematically identify the expectations of the individual stakeholder groups and use the feedback for a critical reflection on its strategic planning processes. Important social trends can be identified in a timely manner and integrated in commercial decisions if the interests and views of different stakeholder groups are taken into account. Vice versa, mutual dialog can give a transparent picture of what scope for action Porsche has in tackling current challenges and what requirements and conditions the company sees as important.
Stakeholder survey and materiality
Since 2013, Porsche has asked its stakeholders to formulate their assessments and expectations in relation to the issues of “sustainability” and “future challenges.” This dialog and the entire sustainability assessment process are conducted every two years and are a key pillar in reporting on, reviewing and further developing the company’s sustainability strategy. Various stakeholder groups were asked for the fifth time for their assessment of Porsche’s sustainability activities in an anonymous, international online survey held in the summer of 2021. A total of 1,440 persons gave their assessments. Around 84 percent of the responses came from European markets and approximately 14 percent from China. Two percent of the feedback came from other international markets and, because of the small number of responses, were included in the analysis for Europe. In addition to customers, business partners, analysts/investors, politicians and representatives from public authorities, the media, non-governmental organizations and academia/science, Porsche employees were also surveyed extensively once more. Due to the large feedback from employees, internal and external stakeholders were assessed with a 50:50 weighting. The responses from external stakeholder groups were additionally weighted equally among each other. The method and weighting were comparable to those used in the previous survey.
In consultation with internal and external experts, the choice of sustainability aspects was adapted before the online survey in order to take into account current developments. Relevant topics from Porsche’s sustainability strategy were incorporated in it. A total of 23 focal issues were looked at.
The members of Porsche’s Sustainability Council also spoke about sustainability issues at Porsche in individual expert interviews. The members of the Sustainability Council discussed the fresh and stimulating ideas together with Porsche’s Board of Management in the reporting period. All in all, they praised the fact that sustainability is entrenched in the company’s strategy and that the Board of Management sets an example, but also urged greater diversity and socially responsible transformation at the company.
The sustainability issues were assessed in detail from the company’s perspective in a multi-stage process in the late summer of 2021. Management-level representatives from all departments, the persons in charge responsible for the company’s strategy and a selection of relevant markets prioritized the 23 issues by their relevance to Porsche’s business in terms of the opportunities and risks for business development, the company’s strategy and its business results. The participants also assessed the impact of Porsche’s business activity on the economy, environment and society with regard to the defined issues. Porsche pooled the results together with the stakeholder assessment in a materiality matrix. The issue of “innovativeness” was included in the assessment for the first time in the reporting period and was regarded by stakeholders and the company alike as a key issue. Both likewise regarded the issue of “long-term customer relationships and satisfaction” as having great relevance. The aspect of “resource consumption and sustainable raw materials in the vehicle” was also accorded greater importance. The same applied to the issue of “digitalization and corporate digital responsibility,” which was included in the survey for the first time. The issue of “responsible corporate governance, compliance and integrity” is seen by stakeholders as having growing importance.
Awards in 2021
Awards for vehicles/customer satisfaction (excerpt)
- J.D. Power (US Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS)): “Best European automotive brand”
- Auto Express readers’ choice: “The top 29 new car makers” – 1st place
- Auto Express readers’ choice: “Best Car Dealers” – 1st place
Awards for products (excerpt)
- Road & Track: Porsche 911 GT3 “Performance Car of the Year 2021”
- Car and Driver: Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman “Winner of the 10Best Award”
- Motor1: Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo “Winner of the Editor’s Choice Award”
- Driving Electric: Porsche Taycan “Best Electrified Performance Car”
- Car Magazine: Porsche 911 GT3 “Sports Car of the Year 2021”
- Autocar: Porsche 911 GT3 “Britain’s Best Driver’s Car 2021 – Overall winner”
- The Golden Steering Wheel: Porsche Panamera: “Winner in the mid-range and luxury class”
- German Car of the Year: Porsche 911 GT3: “Performance Car of the Year 2021”
- Sport Auto: Porsche Taycan Turbo S “Best electric car”
- Sport Auto: Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupé “Best SUV”
- Auto Motor und Sport: Porsche Taycan “Best Cars 2021 – winner in category E (upper mid-range)”
- Auto Motor und Sport: Porsche 911 “Best Cars 2021 – winner in category G (sports cars)”
- Auto Motor und Sport: Porsche 911 Cabriolet “Best Cars 2021 – winner in category H (cabriolets)”
Awards as an employer (excerpt)
- Automotive Top Career Award: 1st place as the most attractive employer in the category “car makers”
- Student’s Choice Award: 1st place in the category “Most attractive employer for graduates”
- Trendence: “The ten most popular employers – 2nd place”
Awards for communication (excerpt)
- German Brand Award: Award for the 2020 Annual and Sustainability Report of Porsche AG in the category “Corporate Publishing”
- Media Relation Benchmark (Net Federation): 1st place for the Porsche Newsroom in the category “Media websites of 50 large German companies with a group structure”
- Best of Content Marketing Award (BCM): Gold award for the company magazine “Christophorus” for the third time. Inclusion of the magazine in the Hall of Fame of corporate publications.
- Cannes Corporate Media and TV Awards: Gold award for the film “The Perfect Line” in the category “Corporate Videos”
- ABC Award: Award for the book “Porsche Unseen” for “outstanding product and communication design in the category Corporate Publishing”
- German Brand Award: Award for the book “Porsche Unseen” in the category “Brand Communication – Print”