Interaction with society and politics

Stakeholder dialogue

Maintaining an open and constructive dialogue with our key stakeholders is an essential factor in the success of our company. We provide them with regular updates about MTU’s sustainability goals and our progress, and receive valuable feedback in return.

Executive Board member Lars Wagner at the ILA 2022 in Berlin talking about emissions-free flight with German Economics Minister Robert Habeck.

During these times of transformation and in light of the complex challenges facing us, we are keen to exchange knowledge and information, provide orientation and create transparency about our role in the sustainable development of society and the economy. To this end, we maintain an open and proactive dialogue with key stakeholder groups. This stakeholder dialogue increases confidence and trust in MTU, raising acceptance for our business activities. It also gives us the opportunity to respond to suggestions, expectations and feedback, act on new topics in good time and thus better assess how our business activities affect society and the environment → Materiality analysis.

MTU’s stakeholder groups

Topics and dialogue formats

We provide information about the challenges, developments and technologies relating to sustainable aviation. Our focus is on achieving zero-emission aviation in the long term. The central topic of stakeholder dialogue in 2022 was again climate action in aviation, especially the realignment of our Claire technology agenda with the long-term goal of zero emissions. We presented this new agenda to the public at the ILA air show in Berlin. The dialogue on climate will focus on our innovative Water-Enhanced Turbofan and Flying Fuel Cell propulsion concepts, the role of sustainable aviation fuels, and the reduction of CO₂ emissions in production. We have also provided information on social issues, with a focus on cultural topics such as New Work, hybrid working and diversity.

For our stakeholder dialogue, we use our own formats and platforms as well as public forums: (clockwise) Virtual Annual General Meeting in April. Peter Kameritsch speaks at MTU’s Capital Markets Day. The Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, Oliver Luksic, talking with Lars Wagner at the ILA. Chief Program Officer Michael Schreyögg received Dr. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the German Bundestag.

Communication with our stakeholders takes place over various channels and platforms so we can incorporate their interests and feedback. This dialogue is mostly tailored to the target group or a specific topic. We pursue this dialogue regularly, with the actual frequency determined by the need for communication and/or information.

We give our employees the opportunity to provide feedback and to participate. Surveys such as our regular PulseCheck allow us to obtain the latest views and opinions from the workforce. Special formats such as Ideation Challenges let us gather employee ideas about certain topics. → More information under Research & development We have established channels for specific sustainability topics on our social intranet, which offer an opportunity for interactive discussion.

We want to engage more closely with our customers on sustainability issues. For this, we will look to the existing Voice of the Customer tool, which Maintenance currently uses for regular customer feedback. Integration is planned for 2023.

Our social media posts increasingly feature sustainability topics. MTU channels have recorded increasing numbers of followers; at the end of 2022, there were 125,500. We posted regularly on all channels, using the hashtags #MTUFamily, #FutureOfAviation and #Sustainability. Overview of our social media channels

At our sites, we pursue a direct dialogue with the general public—for instance, with community representatives, neighbors and other interest groups—with a view to providing information about the potential effects of our business activities on our immediate environment. In the reporting year, we held an information event for the neighborhood about the geothermal project at our Munich site.

Reliable information for the capital market

We aim to provide comprehensive and reliable information about MTU as a sustainable investment. To this end, our investor relations team is in regular dialogue with investors and analysts, for example at the annual Capital Markets Day, roadshows and the Annual General Meeting. We also offer insight into our sustainability strategy and performance; for example, as these relate to climate action, via the CDP rating, or by means of regular holistic measurements of our performance, done via the ESG assessment tool EcoVadis.

Political dialogue: Centrally coordinated representation of interests

MTU takes no party political position as a matter of principle. We purposely cultivate relationships with parties and factions on certain topics, as aviation is affected to no small degree by political decision-making, especially at the national and European levels. MTU’s lobbying activities aim to provide political stakeholders with background information, views and concerns relating to core business issues, so that these can be taken into account in the political decision-making process.

Our key points of contact include elected representatives and decision-makers from ministries at the state, federal and EU levels as well as from subordinate authorities and the German Armed Forces. To ensure transparency and adherence to external and internal regulations, MTU’s political dialogue is managed centrally by the Group Representation Office of the Corporate Communications department. In 2022, the main topics of the dialogue were emissions-free flight, sustainable aviation fuels, sustainable production and infrastructure, and promoting innovation. We pursue our industry-specific interests through memberships in various professional associations. → Overview of our memberships in the GRI index under Organizational profile

We do not make any financial or in-kind donations to political parties. All interactions in the political arena are carried out in compliance with the applicable legal and regulatory requirements and with our Code of Conduct, and must be granted central approval. Donations to political parties or party-affiliated organizations are generally subject to approval by the Supervisory Board. Mandatory requirements are stipulated in our compliance management system and Code of Conduct, including those relating to donations, sponsorship, customer events, in-house events, hospitality and corporate gifts. Compliance with these rules and regulations is the responsibility of the relevant manager in each case and is ensured by means of an internal monitoring system.

We publish contacts with politicians on an ad hoc basis, e.g. on the occasion of site visits. These days, many politicians themselves also report on visits and contacts. MTU has instituted a self-imposed “quiet period” of six weeks prior to elections, during which visits from or events with elected representatives or candidates are prohibited so as not to offer them a public platform.

Germany’s Lobbying Register Act (LobbyRG) stipulates that, as of the beginning of 2022, all organizations and companies that lobby the German parliament and federal government for representation of interests must be registered in the Lobbying Register. We believe that transparency is a prerequisite for trust when it comes to representation for interests and the political process. MTU appears on the Register under entry number R02076.

We support our employees’ right to pursue voluntary or political causes as private citizens. However, our employees are bound by the rules relating to conflict of interest laid out in our Code of Conduct. When it comes to private voluntary or political causes, we in no way pursue MTU’s corporate interests. → Donations & sponsorship → Compliance

Services & tools

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