Page 14 - RAFI_ESG_20230919_eng

14 GOVERNANCE

to the Supervisory Board at regular intervals. The Su-
pervisory Board is the highest governance body and
includes two representatives of the owner, US invest-
ment company Oaktree Capital Management L.P., as
well as two other industry experts.
The Board of Directors maintains regular contact with
employees and uses videos and other media to inform
them about strategic decisions and prospects for the
future. Other important communication channels are
the RAFI Group Intranet and the staff magazine “RAFI
News,” which is published three times per year. To en-
sure the Board of Management’s requirements and
goals are firmly anchored at all levels, all managers in
the RAFI Group receive systematic further training in
their own areas of expertise and in personnel manage-
ment.

2.1.2 Corporate policy and strategy
[GRI 102-26, -27 ] The innovative capacity and eco- That is why we drafted an overall concept and set
nomic success of our company are based on the the course for our local strategies in 2021.
commitment of our employees. [GRI 102-16 ] To Our new Corporate Strategy 2026 defines our first
achieve optimal results, we strive for and encourage group strategy as well as a new strategy for RAFI
personal initiative, creativity, and a dedicated quest GmbH & Co. KG. A key principle behind it is that all
for quality. We collaborate with our employees to es- RAFI employees can actively take part and see their
tablish individual target agreements. These agree- own interests represented. Only if it is fully em-
ments are evaluated in employee appraisals held at braced in practice can a strategy be successful. We
least once a year as part of a program that identifies decided on the agile Objectives and Key Results
opportunities for optimizing the working environ- (OKR) method and adapted it to fit RAFI perfectly.
ment. Across all hierarchical levels, our corporate cul- For every cycle, we set new goals that
ture is characterized by personal commitment as are challenging but achievable. The com-
well as openness, straightforwardness, and honesty bination of measurable results, demand-
in our dealings with one another. The relevance of ing goals, and short implementation cy-
these values is reflected in the consistency of our cles ensures that all RAFI employees act in line
Mission Statement, which has remained virtually un- with our strategic orientation. Our goals are based
changed since it was created in 2007 ( Appendix on the measures defined in the Strategy 2026 for
8.1). RAFI GmbH & Co. KG. These measures guarantee
continuous implementation, taking into account ex-
[GRI 102-15 ] Our Board of Directors launched the ternal factors.
ONE RAFI initiative in 2019 to embed our corporate
culture even more deeply at all locations. By making 2.1.3 Business ethics
our organizational structure homogenous, standardiz- [GRI 102-16, -17, 205, 206 ] We have defined our
ing our processes, and intensifying cooperation with business ethics standards in codes of conduct that
our corporate subsidiaries in this way, we aim to con- are applicable throughout the group ( see 8.2).
solidate our strengths and exploit newly identified These ethical guidelines govern our work together
synergy effects. Closer integration of all companies in within the Group as well as our relationships with
the RAFI Group creates a growing need for a com- suppliers, customers, and competitors. [GRI 205-2 ]
mon Group strategy. This strategy has to meet the In the event of any ambiguity regarding validity and
needs of the individual business units for indepen- application or to report any potential violations, all
dence and flexibility while allowing us to present our- RAFI employees are encouraged to contact their di-
selves as a unified corporate group. [GRI 102-19 ] rect supervisors or trusted third parties. In serious