At WEPA, we are driven by one question in particular: how can we combine innovation and sustainability?

It is clear to us that innovation will help us to achieve our goal of becoming number one in sustainability in our industry.

We therefore conduct research daily on innovative solutions and additions to our portfolio that will accompany us on our path to the future. We are, above all, very proud of the dedication of our employees, who are working together on sustainable and forward-looking solutions.

One of these is Leonie Rösnick, who is responsible for the development of our ESG rating tool. When we asked her about her work, she explained: ‘ESG stands for Environment, Social and Governance, so it addresses sustainability comprehensively. Only through a focus on ecologically and socially sustainable innovations and business models can we be economically successful over the long term and make a positive contribution. That’s why we are committing ourselves fully to sustainability in the expansion of our portfolio.

‘ The tool we’ve developed makes it possible to evaluate innovations, for example in the development of new products or in venturing (“denotes various organisational approaches taken by larger companies to secure growth through innovation”). It also points out measures that must be taken to avoid risks and take maximum advantage of investment opportunities.

‘I’m especially proud of the acceptance and interest of the participating WEPA business units, such as New Business Areas, that integrate the ESG evaluation in their processes. This enables us to jointly and actively advance a portfolio expansion at WEPA that is profitable over the long term and thus sustainable.’

Parallel to implementing the ESG rating tool, we have set ourselves goals in this area. WEPA has committed itself to the creation of added societal value with the additions to its portfolio. Concretely, this means:

• 100% of investment decisions are evaluated by means of a sustainability assessment.

• 100% of investments* create a positive value for society and bear either no significant, or exclusively managed, ESG risks.

Sustainability has played a very important role at WEPA since its founding. With our 4+1 Sustainability Strategy, we are pursuing an ambitious course. You can learn more about this here.

* In M & A, joint ventures and venture activities, the achievement of goals takes into account the capital invested. In in-house developments concerning portfolio expansion, the achievement of goals takes into account the development budgets.