General disclosures

The general disclosures provide a strategic overview of the company’s sustainable organisation and reporting and address corporate governance and stakeholder involvement. All information relates to GRI Standard 101: Foundation 2016.

The GRI Content Index of HHLA does not make use of the column
“omission” as to all disclosures information is given. 

Organisational profile

102-1 Name of the organisation

102-2 Activities, brands, products and services

102-3 Location of headquarters

102-9 Supply chain

As a port and transport logistics company, HHLA acts as a service provider within the transport chains of its clients. HHLA’s own supply chains are limited to procuring capital and consumption goods (e.g. locomotives, port handling equipment) which largely originate from countries within Europe.

102-13 Membership of associations

Zentralverband der deutschen Seehafenbetriebe (ZDS) / Hafen Hamburg Marketing (HHM) / Unternehmensverband Hafen Hamburg e. V. (UVHH) / Logistik-Initiative Hamburg / Industrieverband Hamburg (IVH)

Strategy

Ethics and integrity

102-17 Mechanisms for advice und concerns about ethics

A compliance hotline has been set up for questions and advice on the subject of compliance. There, employees can query reliable information about laws, internal guidelines and codes of conduct that are relevant to their daily work, and report violations of legal and internal regulations if necessary.

Governance

102-20 Executive-level responsibility for economic, environmental, and social topics

102-22 Composition of the highest governance body and its committees

102-26 Role of highest governance body in setting purpose, values, and strategy

102-27 Collective knowledge of highest governance body

102-29 Identifying and managing economic, environmental, and social impacts

102-30 Effectiveness of the risk management processes

102-31 Review of economic, environmental, and social topics

Sustainability risks are considered as an integral part of the risk and opportunity management HHLA.

102-32 Highest governance body's role in sustainability reporting

The Chairman of the Executive Board is responsible for sustainability. The organisational integration of sustainability in the company is led by a specialist sustainability team and a Sustainability Council, comprising members of the Group management and external experts.

102-33 Process for communicating critical concerns to the highest governance body

All of our shareholders have the opportunity to approach the Executive Board with critical concerns in the context of our Annual General Meeting. These concerns may be submitted in writing in advance of submitted at the meeting. Each shareholder has the right to obtain truthful information from the Executive Board within the meaning of the shareholders’ right to information. Around 110 concerns were submitted and addressed in 2020. Additionally, the IR department is available throughout the year to accommodate concerns that are of particular interest for institutional and or private investors.

102-34 Communicating critical concerns

All of our shareholders have the opportunity to approach the Executive Board with critical concerns in the context of our Annual General Meeting. These concerns may be submitted in writing in advance of submitted at the meeting. Each shareholder has the right to obtain truthful information from the Executive Board within the meaning of the shareholders’ right to information. Around 110 concerns were submitted and addressed in 2020. Additionally, the IR department is available throughout the year to accommodate concerns that are of particular interest for institutional and or private investors.

102-36 Process for determining remuneration

102-37 Stakeholders’ involvement in remuneration

All of our shareholders have the opportunity to approach the Executive Board with critical concerns in the context of our Annual General Meeting. The current compensation system for members of the Executive Board was approved by the General Annual Meeting on June 14, 2012. On June 10, 2020, a revised compensation system will be put to the vote again at the Annual General Meeting.

102-38 Annual total compensation ratio

No information available.

Due to the lack of standardised, internationally applicable calculation rules, for quality reasons no information can be provided that HHLA would consider to be conducive.

The compensation and benefits paid or received of all employees correspond at least to the respective national legal minimum requirements or those of the respective economic sectors. The remuneration of current members of the Executive Board complies with the requirements of the Aktiengesetz (AktG – German Stock Corporation Act) and the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code. The level of the Executive Board remuneration should be appropriate and attractive in the context of the Company’s national and international peer group. Criteria are both the result of average earnings as well as the achievement of certain sustainability components.

102-39 Percentage increase in annual total compensation ratio

No information available.

Due to the lack of standardised, internationally applicable calculation rules, for quality reasons no information can be provided that HHLA would consider to be conducive.

The compensation and benefits paid or received of all employees correspond at least to the respective national legal minimum requirements or those of the respective economic sectors. The remuneration of current members of the Executive Board complies with the requirements of the Aktiengesetz (AktG – German Stock Corporation Act) and the recommendations of the German Corporate Governance Code. The level of the Executive Board remuneration should be appropriate and attractive in the context of the Company’s national and international peer group. Criteria are both the result of average earnings as well as the achievement of certain sustainability components.

Stakeholder engagement

102-40 List of stakeholder groups

HHLA engages in regular dialogue with its stakeholders, who include customers (e. g. shipping companies), customers’ customers (e. g. forwarders), employees, suppliers, the media, potential and existing shareholders, associations and institutions, research institutes, political decision-makers, local residents close to the terminals and interested members of the public.

102-42 Identifying and selecting stakeholders

102-43 Approach to stakeholder engagement

The different stakeholders are engaged on a continual basis by means of numerous events and diverse communication channels, e. g. by means of regular meetings with residents on the subject of noise, events concerning the planned development of the company with customers and shareholders, or guided tours of HHLA terminals.

102-44 Key topics and concerns of stakeholders raised

In the course of dialogue with neighbouring residents of the port terminals, noise-reducing equipment was purchased, a hotline was set up and operating processes to minimise noise were introduced. At the suggestion of stakeholders, we report the CO2 emissions per container handled annually.

Identified material aspects and boundaries

102-45 Entities included in the consolidated financial statements

102-47 List of material topics

List of material topics:

  • Ecology: Area optimisation
  • Ecology: Climate protection and energy efficiency
  • Employees: Headcount
  • Society: Working world / Headcount
  • Society: Working world / Personnel development
  • Society: Health and occupational safety
  • Governance: Combating bribery and corruption

102-50 Reporting period

102-51 Date of most recent report

102-52 Reporting cycle

102-53 Contact point for questions regarding the report

102-54 Claims of reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards

102-55 GRI content index