Our positive criteria

Our health is our most valuable asset. We are convinced that all people should have access to high-quality medical care. It is important to us that mental illnesses are taken just as seriously. We value insurances and companies offering special products for undersupplied people (for example new insurance models, production of generic drugs, and gender-based medicine) and thus make medical prevention available and fitting for everyone.

This especially includes investments in hospitals and medical infrastructure as well as funding of innovations in medical technologies (for example in the field of digital health).

We consider companies facilitating illness prevention and holistic healing to be very future-oriented. We see big potential in the development of alternative and complementary medicine as well as in the promotion of physical activity and data-driven individual prevention.

In the world we envision everyone has access to clean water and sanitary facilities. Therefore, we value companies promoting access to water and hygiene. The same applies to companies protecting oceans and solving plastic pollution. We support companies whose management has signed the United Nations’ CEO Water Mandate.

The key to good health and wellbeing is a healthy, balanced diet. Therefore, we demand food production to be nutritious and organic. We consider it particularly positive if food is produced, distributed and sold in line with the EU Eco regulations. We demand from companies to not unnecessarily waste and pollute water and to use antibiotics, pesticides and fungicides responsibly.

Producing food locally and repurposing land raises awareness for diet and wellbeing. Additionally, it promotes healthy eating in informal living areas. In the world we envision urban farming is normal. Therefore, we value companies contributing to this challenge.

Adequate housing (meaning living in security, peace and dignity) is a human right. We want to see companies that support socially disadvantaged groups to live in security and promote measures to make houses and important infrastructure weather resilient. 

The housing of the future saves resources and is adapted to the needs of its inhabitants. We consider positive companies promoting environmental-friendly and healthy concepts. This includes energy efficient design, use of sustainable materials, and protection from unhealthy environmental impacts (for example through natural insulation and air filters). 

With a growing world population cities are becoming bigger and bigger. We wish for companies which contribute to solving challenges resulting from growing cities, for example by facilitating smart cities or promoting urban manufacturing.

In a digital world data has become a tradable asset. The security of our supply systems relies heavily on technologies. We wish for companies which fight and prevent cyber crime, make our supply systems more secure by using Artificial Intelligence,  and take technical risks into account when doing business. Only this way can we protect the functionality of system-relevant infrastructure. Other positive criteria are data protection and the prevention of digital industry espionage and identity theft.

High-quality education is the basis for sustainable development and an improved quality of life. Therefore, we wish for companies which promote an extensive and inclusive access to education. 

Therefore, we fund the interdisciplinary transfer of knowledge (politics, NGOs, society, and business) and especially crowdsourcing.

We support companies if they teach people self-sufficiency as well as basic knowledge and skills, for example in the fields of digital technologies, money, and health.

We especially value concepts which promote lifelong learning and digital education and optimize learning environments and methods.

The work of the future is, in our eyes, humane and accessible for everyone. We see the basis for this mainly in responsible working and hiring conditions as defined by the ILO Fair Recruitment Guidelines (2019) and employee satisfaction. An essential aspect in the evaluation are fair living wages: the living wage should provide for some discretionary income. This we define as the wage earned in a standard working week, sufficient to cover one’s own and one's family basic needs. We consider it positive when companies promote professional training for employees (through individual programs adapted to one’s particular needs). We endorse flexible working time models and a maximum average work week of 48 hours for a better work-life balance.

We like to see companies commit to international principles and guidelines, such as Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights or  UN Global Compact, to show that they take these topics seriously and help to raise awareness with a greater public. 

In the future, health is no longer a private issue. We consider positive companies which support their employees’ health strategically and create and secure jobs for the long term, especially for socially disadvantaged people.

We value it when companies include labor laws and the possibility to complain in their compliance systems. This is, in our eyes, a sign that they consistently promote employee satisfaction. Those systems should include guidelines for handling complaints and violations as well as methods for resolving conflicts. We demand from companies to treat temporary staff equally and, therewith, ensure equal working conditions.

We especially wish for the future that companies will explore new possibilities for (digital) collaboration, such as remote work, co-working, coopetition, and open innovation.

We want to live in a world without any (structural) discrimination. Therefore, we want companies to actively promote diversity in their workforce and make a binding commitment to protect their employees against discrimination. This is best achieved through a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of discrimination, for example based on ethnicity, nationality, gender, religion, age, and sexual orientation. Ideally, this policy includes efforts to prevent psychological damage as well as verbal, physical, and sexual harrasment. 

For this purpose, we demand from companies that they implement appropriate guidelines to minimize violations of human rights which people might experience based on their gender.

We can address existing inequalities by structurally supporting individuals with diverse needs, including those who are disadvantaged due to factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age, and disability. To achieve this, companies must implement measures that promote equal opportunities for all, including equal access to leadership positions. We encourage and promote, for ourselves and our partners, respect for the general principles stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This includes companies to have measures in place which give men and women equal access to leadership positions with measures such as quotas with a target of 40% or training for women specifically designed to increase their representation in leadership positions. We highly value companies which are committed to the Women Empowerment Principles.

In our view, equality goes beyond employees and includes all important stakeholder groups and especially clients. Therefore, we want companies to promote equal and inclusive access to their products and prevent customers from experiencing discrimination. This for example by designing products which cater to specific needs of minorities and with accessibility in mind.

We are strongly convinced that innovative, sustainable business models are the key to a sustainable transformation. Therefore, we want companies to design their products in such a way that they contribute to solving social and ecological challenges.

We see high potential in products which promote equality and empower people to live an autonomous life (for example through financial products for women and microcredits).

We support companies which give everyone access to the internet. The same applies to products which are accessible for everyone by design and can be used intuitively, especially by socially disadvantaged groups (Universal Design).

We already need to start designing our sustainable future today. Therefore, we support companies which promote responsible consumerism (such as natural cosmetics, organic textiles, or alternatives to single-use plastics) as well as social solidarity within societies (such as the sharing and purpose economy). We as well support companies which produce locally, sustainably and/or under fair conditions (such as Fair trade and direct trade).

We as well see high potential in brand new business models, such as Peer to Peer Lending and Pay As You Drive insurances.

In the future, energy needs to be emission-free, ecological, decentralized, and tailored to individual needs. Therefore, we support companies driving the energy transformation through innovations in production, storage, efficiency and distribution of renewable energies. This includes so-called Power to V models, which can store surplus energy for a short period of time, and clean hydrogen. 

Other positive measures include efficient resource management systems as well as company-specific reductions of resource and energy use.

In our eyes, digitization can be a big driver for sustainability. Therefore, we especially appreciate it when new technologies such as Blockchain, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things are used to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. We explicitly want to invest in Innovative business ideas combining climate protection and digitization.  

We find it very important that ideas are checked in terms of possible rebound effects, as in whether an improved product animates users to use it more often, thereby undoing initial reductions. An example: Someone buys a new car which uses a lot less fuel than the previous one. Therefore, the person uses the car more often. The reduction in CO₂ emissions are canceled out through the higher usage.

To overcome our current challenges we need companies which rethink mobility. They create systems which provide everyone with the possibility to travel in an environmentally-friendly and resource- efficient way. These companies promote collective transport, for example through car sharing, autonomous driving, seamless mobility concepts, emission-free public transport, and alternative means of transport such as bikes. Additionally, we hope for a shift for freight traffic from fossil-based airplanes and trucks to trains or emission-free alternatives.

We value companies which contribute to this transformation.

Fighting global warming is our major goal. We want to push measures and projects enabling a fossil-free, post-carbon economy. We have set ourselves the goal that all our investments need to comply with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Climate Accord as soon as possible. Therefore, we especially invest in companies acting in line with the 1.5°C goal or with concrete reduction targets. This includes that companies either already use renewable energies or will switch to renewables. We demand companies to take responsibility for the ecological footprint of their entire organization and especially their products. This for example by offsetting emissions through Verified Carbon Standard or Certified Emissions Reduction Standards certified measures. Or by developing technologies and products which fight emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

Additionally, we consider it positively if companies implement and develop extensive environmental management systems or include environmental impacts as criterion in their project assessment (for example in line with GRI Standard).

We deeply care about the wellbeing of all living beings. Therefore, we support companies protecting animal welfare. This explicitly includes companies which provide solutions to replace animal components with alternatives (such as meat substitutes and vegan wool and leather).

Saving resources is a key requirement for a sustainable future and therefore an important task for companies and organizations.

Therefore, we expect companies to assess the environmental impact of big projects. Companies should analyse the overall social and environmental impact, such as on water, biodiversity and supply security for citizens (for example according to GRI Standards such as GRI-412 Human Rights Assessment oder GRI-304 Biodiversity), to act in accordance with the results and provide relief if necessary.

We want companies to commit to international initiatives and principles promoting the responsible use of resources . In their products, we want them to use materials certified according to applicable standards, such as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas or the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA).

Companies are expected to ensure that neither their own nor their suppliers' production causes any harm to areas requiring protection. This includes High Conservation Value Areas (HCVA), High Carbon Stock (HCS) areas, such as moors and forests, and other protected areas (for example through the Ramsar Convention). 

Therefore, we demand from companies to take responsibility for the entire value chain and use phase as well as continuously improve the product life cycle and use efficiency of their products. In the mining industry as well as gas and oil production, we require companies to store their (mineral) waste in a responsible way, implement a risk management system and have zero-error targets in place for final storage.

We especially value circular companies or companies promoting a circular economy (for example through technological innovation and recycling infrastructure).

In particular, we value measures to dematerialize the economy, to develop new materials, and to increase resource efficiency. For example by improving reparability and recyclability of products and reducing single-use plastic. Consequently, we specifically want to support companies promoting a zero waste mindset.

A resource which requires special attention is wood. Forests store a significant amount of CO₂. That's why they are often called our planet’s ‘lungs'. Forestry can not only have a significant negative impact on biodiversity, it as well greatly contributes to global warming.

For this reason, we invest in companies which promote the conservation of forests and biodiversity and have their efforts certified by independent sustainable institutions such as the Forest Stewardship Council.

We consider it to be particularly positive if companies make transparent how their logging impacts global warming (for example by reporting according to the guidelines of the Carbon Disclosure Project) and take countermeasures to reduce or offset said impact. We expect woodbased companies (especially in papermaking) to use chemicals responsibly to reduce negative effects on water and soil.

Human rights are inviolable to us. Therefore, we expect companies to provide evidence that they do not violate human rights if they operate in conflict areas or areas with insufficient legal framework (for example in the fields of social and environmental standards).

The same applies when opening new sites. We expect companies to take impacts on health and environment during operation as well as after closing the facilities into account (for example through rehabilitation of ecosystems).

In addition, we expect companies to actively contribute to a sustainable, economic and social development on a local level. This especially to empower emerging countries and domestic production facilities and businesses.

Companies’ cooperation with domestic small businesses (especially in mining) is a plus as strategic cooperations can promote higher security and health standards. At the same time local structures need to be preserved. Managers should understand local sociocultural structures, for example because they are natives themselves. Additionally, we hope that companies engage in a dialogue with all stakeholder groups inside and outside the organization and give these groups a voice beyond (legal) standards.

We expect companies to have measures in place to prevent negative social or ecological consequences and take responsibility if they happen regardless (for example through whistleblower and reparation programs as well as the empowerment of unions). We especially watch out for the strict compliance with human and labor law, child protection, and nature conservation.

For manufacturing companies, we consider it positively if they promote accident prevention and waste reduction through state-of-the-art technologies and solid emergency guidelines.

Transparent and standardized reporting is crucial for us to come to a reasoned decision. Therefore, we demand from companies:

• to report in a transparent way (for example the business group’s structure, tax payments and strategies);

• to make their ecological and social impact transparent (for example according to Greenhouse Gas Protocol or GRI Standards);

• and to support other companies in their reporting if necessary (through trust technologies).

Reporting according to the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative or the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board is preferred. In addition, we encourage companies to act in line with existing norms and standards and to be certified accordingly (for example GRI, Fairtrade, The 2050 Criteria of the WWF, IUCN or UNESCO). The same applies to the use of raw materials which comply with respective standards or are certified accordingly (for example Sustainable Agriculture Network Standard, Fair trade or Rainforest Alliance).

Generally, we pay special attention to tax honesty and call upon companies to pay taxes in those countries where they mainly operate.

In our eyes, the foundation for a sustainable economy lies in responsible corporate leadership. With this we mean that the companies have, besides the board of directors, an independent  supervisory board as well as an independent audit committee. In addition, we expect executive compensations to be made public.

We find it important that companies have extensive management systems in place to deal with corruption, equal pay, legal compliance (especially labour rights), and especially tax evasion. These systems should include own operations as well as activities along the entire value chain.

In addition, we consider it to be positive if companies have incorporated ecological, social and ethical standards in their values and daily business (social business).