Sustainability represents a commitment to sustainable development of the economy, society and the environment. MLP makes its contribution as a company through its system of strategic sustainability management. This involves remaining economically successful in the long term, while at the same time acting with ecological and social responsibility.
The topic of sustainability has already been systematically established at MLP since 2016. In 2019 we set ourselves the target of making the entire Group CO2 neutral from 2022 onwards. We have already been able to implement this in an intermediate step in the financial year 2020. This means that we will compensate for the emissions recorded within the MLP Group up to that point in time through certified, international climate protection projects.
In adopting this approach, we are particularly keen to account for the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the United Nations. The MLP Group is committed to the 17 SDGs of the UN. Four of these goals are especially relevant for us as a company – with a view to our core business:
Education represents a key value for MLP. As a knowledge-based service provider, great emphasis is placed on both the qualification and development of our client consultants and employees. A high-quality range of training courses therefore represents an indispensable prerequisite for high-quality client consulting. A significant amount of this training is performed at our MLP Corporate University. This is flanked by the focus of our private client business on a client group with academic degrees, for whom education is also an important factor.
We are committed to responsible use of resources. An efficient system of environmental and resource management is therefore anchored in MLP's sustainability management strategy. There is a close connection between affordable, clean energy and climate protection. MLP uses electricity from renewable energy sources throughout the Group and also actively supports this goal with its objective of achieving carbon neutrality.
As a financial services provider, sustainable and profitable growth is a key objective and represents the basis for supporting all other SDGs. As a responsible employer, our task is to set the conditions for responsible conduct and for displaying mutual respect.
Although MLP is a non-manufacturing company, we consider it extremely important to use resources responsibly. To this end, efficient environmental and resource management is anchored in MLP's sustainability management strategy. In conjunction with the objective of achieving climate neutrality for the Group, we are developing measures, which are aimed at reducing or even avoiding climate-impacting emissions altogether. Our climate protection strategy sets out the course of actions required to achieve and ensure climate neutrality by the year 2022 and beyond.
The sustainability aspects of the MLP Group can be found in the MLP sustainability report, which has been published every year since 2017 via the Group website, as well as in the database of the German Sustainability Code (GSC). Since its first edition, the entire report has been based on the structure of the German Sustainability Code (GSC), which ensures not only consistency of the data, but also its comparability. Alongside the German Sustainability Code criteria, as well as the accompanying performance indicators, individual indicators of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) that are important for MLP and originate from our materiality analysis are also reported.
We consider sustainability an integral part of our corporate policy. The MLP Group is the partner for all financial matters – for private clients, companies and institutional investors. Going beyond our responsibility towards our clients, our sustainability management is testimony of our responsibility towards all peer groups.
Alongside our economic and social responsibility, in particular, as a financial adviser and reliable employer, we also assume responsibility for the ecological impact of our actions. Not only is this becoming more and more embedded within the MLP Group through our system of sustainability management, but it is also reflected in our mission statements at both MLP Finanzberatung SE and MLP Banking AG.
Successful entrepreneurship combined with social commitment is embedded in our corporate identity. In addition to this, FERI supports the aims of sustainable development through its FERI SDG Office. For this reason, FERI is also a member and promoter of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative (UN PRI).
Further, systematic mainstreaming of sustainability into the core business fields of the MLP Group will be a key focus over the next few years.
We are currently also formulating a superordinate Group-wide Sustainability Policy. Building on the steps undertaken in the last few years, the Sustainability Policy aims to bring together the sustainability strategy and the measures introduced in all parts of the Group. Sustainable actions are to become even more visible in our core business. In terms of content, we will in particular base our efforts on the format of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations.
