The compensation policy of blueplanet Investments AG is divided into two areas. On the one hand, we use a performance metric called “balanced scorecard” on the management side to enhance not only the profitability and efficacy of the company but also to provide an incentive for the achievement of sustainability goals. On the other hand, we have adopted the principle of “fair compensation” in order to ensure that the employees of blueplanet Investments AG and those of our participations are compensated in a manner that provides them with a living wage and reflects their abilities and experience.
Management (Balanced Scorecard)
In order to ensure the sustainable success of our company, the balanced scorecard used in the compensation of our executives includes a variety of success perspectives. These comprise not only mere business parameters, but also place emphasis on the areas of social responsibility and on the environmental impact of the company. In addition to a fixed compensation, the variable component is determined based on the scores of the balanced scorecard. The weighting of perspectives is always specified. The target values and individual parameters of the targets depend on the respective leadership position. An external consulting consortium decides on the specific design of these contracts.
Financial aspects (40%)
| Target | Measure |
|---|---|
| Increase in profitability | EBIT-to-sales ratio |
| Increase in contribution margin | Sales minus cost of production as compared to previous year |
| Increase in sales | Sales in comparison to previous year |
Customer aspects (20%)
| Target | Measure |
|---|---|
| Customer satisfaction | Number of customer complaints |
| Handling time | Days until a customer request is fulfilled, starting from contract conclusion |
| Customer loyalty | Number of returning customers compared to the previous year |
| Customer acquisition | Percentage of sales to new customers |
Process aspects (10%)
| Target | Measure |
|---|---|
| Lead utilization efficiency | Percentage of leads converted to customers |
| Organization of suppliers | Percentage of orders processed in good time |
| Complaint management | Number of positive feedback with regard to complaints handling |
| Certification | Number of certifications introduced at process level (e.g. ISO) |
Innovation and growth aspects (10%)
| Target | Measure |
|---|---|
| New products | Percentage of sales with new products |
| Staff training | Newly acquired skills through workshops x the number of employees |
| Cooperation partners | Size of the cooperation network compared to the previous year |
Sustainability aspects (20%)
| Target | Measure |
|---|---|
| Reduction of CO² emissions | Volume of CO² reduction in tons compared to the previous year |
| Social projects | Projects completed out in the field of social commitment |
| Occupational safety | Number of work-related accidents |
| Certification | Number of certifications introduced in the field of sustainable development |
Staff (Fair Compensation)
In order to ensure that employees of our company as well as those of our participations receive a compensation that is both fair and provides a living wage, blueplanet Investments AG has created framework conditions with specifications regarding compensation. They ensure that employees throughout the world are paid a living wage and receive regional adjusted equal pay for equal work.
The guidelines mentioned here do not only apply to internal employees of blueplanet Investments AG. blueplanet Investments AG and its affiliates require that external service providers and their subcontractors adhere to the guidelines of fair compensation and pay their employees appropriately when working with third parties. This will be confirmed upon conclusion of the contract.
Our fundamental principles are based on the guidelines of the Fair Wage Network, which defines the following dimensions as a prerequisite for a fair wage:
| Dimension | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Payment of wages | A wage which is regularly and formally paid in full to the employees. |
| Living wage | A wage that ensures minimum acceptable living standards. |
| Statutory minimum wage | A wage that respects the minimum wage regulations. |
| Comparable wage | A wage that is at least comparable to wages in similar companies in the same sector. |
| Working hours | A wage that does not generate excessive working hours and properly rewards normal working hours and overtime. |
| Pay system | A wage that leads to a balanced wage structure/composition between the basic wage and additional bonuses and benefits. A wage that reflects different levels of education, skills and professional experience, as well as rewarding individual and collective performance. A wage that complies with social security regulations, provides paid holidays and is not dominated by disciplinary wage sanctions. |
| Communication and social dialogue | A wage on which employees receive sufficient information in advance (through a proper employment contract), in the course of the production process (through regular communication channels) and at the time of the wage payment (through a detailed pay slip). A wage that is negotiated individually (with individual employees) and collectively—notably through collective bargaining—between the employer and the employees’ representatives who are accepted as negotiating partners by the company. |
| Pay discrimination and wage disparity | A system of equal wages for equal work that does not lead to wage discrimination and does not generate unjustified, excessive and rapidly growing wage differences in the company. |
| Real wages | A wage that increases at least in proportion to price increases. |
| Wage share | A wage that increases in proportion to the cost structure of the enterprise and does not result in a drop in the wage share relative to the performance growth of the enterprise. |
| Wage costs | A wage whose increase does not result in a dramatic drop in labor cost share of the total production costs and as a percentage of employment. |
| Work intensity, technology and up-skilling | A wage that increases along with changes in intensity at work, technological content and the evolving skills and tasks of the labor force. |
In addition to the mere implementation of the afore-mentioned dimensions, blueplanet Investments AG has made it its mission to shape these into explicit guidelines and to exceed them in part. The implementation of the guidelines in the parent company and in the main participation, ecabiotec® AG, has already been completed. The guidelines will be implemented in the subsidiaries of ecabiotec® AG. The framework conditions are as follows:
| Guideline | Content |
|---|---|
| Market-based compensation | ➢ The fixed wage components meet or exceed the legal requirements of the country. ➢ The compensation of staff is based on market conditions, education and skills as well as the skills required for the position. ➢ Salary ranges for positions are defined in advance. |
| Minimum standards and living wage | ➢ The fixed compensation for the full-time staff with the lowest qualifications is defined so that it does not only allow basic needs to be met, but also provides some disposable income. ➢ Payment of fixed wages does not require working overtime or using a variable component. ➢ Part-time employees are paid on the basis of the abovespecified fixed wages in proportion to their working hours. ➢ In the course of time, the fixed wages are adjusted to the cost of living in the respective country. |
| Performance-based compensation | ➢ In addition to fixed wages, employees are offered variable components based on pre-agreed targets. In the case of executives, this is done by applying the balanced scorecard to their area of responsibility. ➢ Extraordinary benefits are remunerated in the form of direct participations such as shares that are issued from an employee participation pool. ➢ In addition, employees are free to purchase shares in blueplanet Investments AG. |
| Open communication and transparency of compensation | ➢ Employees are provided with all the necessary information in an easy-to-understand form to be able to verify their compensation. ➢ Employees are provided with different compensation options to choose from and are therefore free to make their own decisions. ➢ Compensation-related queries are answered at any time. ➢ Trade unions are accepted and used as negotiators for wage negotiations. The results of these negotiations form the basis for the compensation of the staff represented by those trade unions. |
| Anti-discrimination | ➢ The principle of equal pay for equal work applies regardless of gender, age, ethnic origin, color of skin, religion, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, children, social class or political views. ➢ Anonymized benchmark data are published once a company exceeds a certain size in order to prevent discrimination. |