Statement of the management on sustainable development and the UN Global Compact:
The UN Global Compact (UNGC) is the United Nations’ voluntary business initiative for sustainable and responsible corporate governance. Borussia Dortmund joined the United Nations Global Compact in the 2021 / 2022 season – the first Bundesliga club and only the second European football club to do so.
BVB supports and promotes the UN Global Compact’s ten principles on human rights, labour standards, protecting the environment and fighting corruption. We are committed to integrating the UN Global Compact and its principles into our corporate strategy, corporate culture and day-to-day operations and to participating in cooperation projects that serve to promote the general objectives of the United Nations, in particular the Sustainable development Goals (SDGs). Borussia Dortmund clearly communicates this commitment to its stakeholders and the general public. We aim to make the best use of current and future growth opportunities, taking a long-term and forward-looking approach in both sporting and financial terms. Borussia Dortmund pursues the strategic objective of positioning itself as a modern football company for the long term and remaining in the top flight of the Bundesliga. All of Borussia Dortmund’s actions are based on the objective of maximising sporting success without incurring new debt. We pursue this strategic objective through professional rights marketing to sustainably increase revenue and business results, and thus also the value of the company.
The current strategy includes sustainably adjusting athletic prospects and an increased focus on promoting youth football. It involves our fans, optimises use of the Borussia Dortmund brand, gradually improves the financial structures and fosters sustainable communication with the capital markets. We are well aware of the care required in implementing our strategy and realising our responsibility to our fans, shareholders, business partners and myriad other stakeholders – as well as towards society. This applies to both the development of the company and the procurement of goods and products as well as our services.
Our actions are primarily guided by the principles of the UN Global Compact. Respecting human rights, complying with labour standards and fighting corruption are of specific importance in our upstream value chains. We adopted a code of conduct for our staff in 2022 / 2023, which makes a practical contribution to increased security in our daily work. We likewise introduced a third party code of conduct for business partners during the reporting period.
Borussia Dortmund respects human rights and does not tolerate any discrimination, marginalisation or unfair treatment based on gender, disability, ethnic or cultural background, religion, belief system, age or sexual orientation. We comply with fundamental and international labour standards and promote freedom of association, elimination of forced and child labour, and a working environment that is free from discrimination.
Through our code of conduct, we and our employees commit to respecting human rights and the applicable laws, to not participating in human rights violations, and to actively promoting awareness of human rights issues. We have made considerable progress in structurally recording and evaluating reports of all forms of discrimination.
Conservation of natural resources, environmental protection and climate action are core social responsibility issues, and therefore also a key focal area of the BVB strategy. We are in dialogue with partners and sponsors on joint courses of action with the aim of reducing damage to the environment. In this way, we are attempting to make environmentally-friendly mindsets and behaviour more widespread in football and in society as a whole. The work of the Corporate Responsibility (CR) department is continually professionalised. One specific step was to implement an environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001, which was audited and certified by external partners. One of our next timely goals is to likewise implement an energy management system (ISO 50001). In addition, we worked on the BVB decarbonisation strategy and launched our first projects at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, the FanWelt and the training ground in Dortmund-Brackel.
