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06strict corporate governance guidelines. What is new is thatwe have now compiled all of our commitments within ourdecentralised business organisation, which comprises morethan 450 locations worldwide, into one sustainability reportfor the very first time.As a company with ambitious goals, we will continue to developthe topic of sustainability within our company andsee this report as a strong foundation upon which we canbuild our future strategy. We used the internationally recognisedGlobal Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard as a basisfor writing this report.Dear readers,Brenntag stands for reliability, professional solutions, expertiseand customer focus – precisely the attributes thatour international customers and suppliers cherish, and thathave made us the global market leader in chemical distribution.We can look back on a successful history and are also lookingforward to a promising future. We have made it ouraim to continue developing the company further, adoptnew approaches and optimise our business processes. Forus, this also means that we have to address the followingquestion: How can we, as a globally active company, defineour role in the supply chain, in society and in our dealingswith our employees, customers and suppliers? The answerto this question can be found by taking a closer look at theconcept of sustainability.In addition, we have founded an internal global projectgroup that plays an organisational and analytical role.The group is tasked with expanding on the concept ofsustainability and ensuring that our strategy continuesto develop in a positive direction.As previously mentioned, our sustainability report adheresto our overarching aim of “Adding value”. For our businessactivities, this is both a requirement and a driving force. Inour company, we give sustainability structure by dividingit into four key terms: strategy, processes, people and solutions.The concept of safety is the focus for all four pointsbecause, for us, that represents the basis for a sustainableapproach.Our report will present a selection of projects that representour definition of sustainability in a particular way. The nextfew pages aim to define what we understand by sustainabilityand our efforts to fulfil this responsibility in our everydaywork as an international chemical distributor.Kind regards,The strategic significance of sustainability has continued toincrease over time. The challenge for Brenntag is to implementit and develop it further within our complex, internationalcorporate structure.For us, sustainability means thinking of future generationsby taking action today. A responsible approach that leadsto positive results in the long term is hardly a new idea forBrenntag. For many years, we have been committed to anambitious, global HSE programme with “safety” as its biggestaim. For years, we have been members of the voluntarychemicals initiatives Responsible Care and ResponsibleDistribution, also complying with high social standards andSteven HollandChief Executive Officer, Brenntag GroupMülheim an der Ruhr, August 2013