Corporate governance
Stakeholder dialogue
We are in continuous dialogue with key stakeholder groups. Our dialogue takes the form of knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration. Together with our partners, we are working on future-oriented solutions for more sustainable aviation.
Knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration are more important than ever in view of the complex challenges currently facing society, the economy, and companies like MTU. That is why we are in active dialogue with our global stakeholders. Our stakeholder engagement is characterized by a continuous and open exchange that addresses our business activities and their impact on the environment and society. This lets us identify suggestions, expectations, or new topics with a potential impact on our value creation and incorporate them into our business activities. The results and findings of our stakeholder engagement are primarily incorporated into the materiality process for determining the key topics of MTU’s sustainability strategy. → Materiality analysis
The Executive Board and Supervisory Board as well as MTU’s Corporate Sustainability Board are involved in the materiality process for determining the impacts, risks, and opportunities of sustainability aspects. In addition, the Executive Board receives information on stakeholder feedback and positions via various channels, for example at Executive Board meetings, in collaboration with the Corporate Sustainability Board, or through direct communication with stakeholder groups such as investors or policymakers.
Stakeholder groups and forms of dialogue
We take a cross-media approach to our sustainability communication, regularly communicating with our stakeholders via various different channels and platforms. This dialogue is mostly tailored to the target group or a specific topic. The choice of format and frequency depends on the communication and information requirements or the respective platform. Stakeholder dialogue allows us to include relevant interests and take on board feedback. It also gives us the opportunity for a direct exchange with company representatives—for example, for local communities, the neighborhood, or other interest groups that could be affected by the potential impact of our business activities on the immediate environment. How we involve our employees with the opportunity for feedback and participation is presented under Collaboration & leadership.
We use stakeholder mapping to identify relevant stakeholder groups whose interests we affect directly or indirectly. We will expand on this mapping in 2024 as part of our preparations for the new reporting obligation under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
Key topics
In 2023, the decarbonization of aviation was once again a central topic in our stakeholder dialogue, through which MTU provides information on challenges, developments, and technologies relating to more sustainable aviation. It focuses on our vision of achieving zero-emission aviation in the long term. As sustainable aviation fuels play an important role in reducing carbon emissions, we are continuously driving this topic forward with relevant stakeholders. Our climate strategy for production and maintenance at our plants, such as our geothermal energy project at the Munich site, are also topics in the climate dialogue. We also provide information on social issues, with a focus on aspects of corporate culture and diversity.
Reliable information for the capital market
We aim to provide comprehensive and reliable information about MTU as an investment opportunity. 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. ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues play a major role in this exchange as well. 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.
Two leading rating agencies confirmed MTU’s above-average sustainability performance in January 2024: ISS ESG Corporate Rating awarded MTU the prime label for industry leaders in the Aerospace & Defense industry sector, while EcoVadis awarded MTU the silver medal.
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. 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 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 also follow this approach at the European level and can be found in the European Union’s Transparency Register with all relevant information.
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
