Hellmann and Sustainability

In the face of a changing world, we emphasize the importance of a culture that not only enables agile and focused action, but also drives it forward. This approach is deeply embedded in our “Hellmann Promise” and forms the foundation on which we realize our vision of a better future together.

The “Hellmann Promise” is based on our vision: “For the better. Together.” This guiding principle connects our employees around the world and addresses all dimensions of sustainability: the environment, social affairs, and governance.

In addition, we have defined a mission as part of the “Hellmann Promise”, which describes how we want to achieve our vision.

Our corporate values define what we stand for as the Hellmann FAMILY and how we act. “Relationship Matters” is our meta-value that stands above everything else. Because in a people business like logistics, it is the people and the relationships between them that make the difference. That is what drives us. Our 12,237 employees, customers and partners are the constants in this endlessly changing environment, and their resilience and adaptability are the key to our success alongside a partnership-based dialog on an equal footing – with a view to 2023, but also far beyond.

To bring the new corporate culture to the world and bring it to life, the “Hellmann Promise” was presented for the first time in February 2023 during an international management meeting. From here, the “Promise spark” was spread around the world by organizing Promise events with all employees in all 243 branches in 57 countries within just six months, where the new corporate culture was brought to life.

With the “Hellmann Promise”, we as a global family business are living up to our claim of not only providing first-class service for our customers, but also joining forces to make our contribution to overcoming the social and environmental challenges we all face worldwide. We have made a promise to ourselves with the “Hellmann Promise” and stand together for our vision by living our values – both internally and externally. For the better. Together.

For 2024, we have set ourselves the goal of further strengthening our corporate culture, the “Hellmann Promise”, and establishing it globally in our wide-ranging business processes. This also has a direct impact on our strategic direction. Our “Hellmann Promise” forms the foundation for corporate development that not only focuses on our economic performance, but also on our commitment to a sustainable and responsible approach.

In order to meet the specific logistics requirements of individual sectors, Hellmann also offers high quality, specialized Industry Solutions for the following sectors: Automotive & Agricultural, Consumer Goods, Fashion, Healthcare, Industrial, Marine & Cruise, Renewables, Perishables and Technology. In 2023, we were also able to build on the successes achieved in previous years and contribute to connecting value chains and people through 20 million shipments.

As a family business with over 150 years of tradition, Hellmann has always focused on the relationships between people who interact with each other. This awareness is also embedded in the overarching corporate value: “Relationship matters”. This is just as much about the relationships between employees from a total of 119 different countries around the world as it is about relationships with customers, suppliers, and other partners. Because cooperation based on trust and reliability makes the difference in logistics as a “people business”. At the same time, the continuous development of our processes, an open culture of innovation and sustainable business practices are at the heart of our strategic focus, both now and in the future. Accordingly, the topic of sustainability with its three dimensions of the environment, social affairs and governance has always been of central importance to Hellmann, both in the operational business and with regard to the company’s strategic positioning and is firmly anchored in our corporate culture.

Our aim is to play a leading role worldwide in the dimensions of the environment, social affairs, and governance in order to shape the industry and set new standards.

In 2023, we reached an important milestone with the development and initial implementation of our strategic direction, in which sustainability is a central pillar. On this basis, we will develop further far-reaching measures in 2024 to continuously improve our standards and anchor sustainability aspects in our daily operations even more firmly than before.

This sustainability report is also evidence of our continuous development. Hellmann has operated an environmental management system since 1998 and has reported regularly on sustainability issues since then. This makes the company a true industry pioneer. As part of the further development of our reporting, we are currently aligning ourselves with the Global Reporting Initiative Standards and the current guidelines of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

In the future, Hellmann will focus exclusively on the CSRD and ESRS as our main reporting standard to further increase the transparency and effectiveness of our sustainability reporting.

The results of our materiality analysis, which were developed in collaboration with various internal bodies such as the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board in 2021, contributed significantly to the formulation of our sustainability strategy. This indepth analysis forms the basis for this report and reflects the company‘s strategic priorities. The analysis process was repeated at the beginning of 2024 to be able to report in accordance with CSRD from the 2025 reporting year.

At Hellmann, we take a holistic and comprehensive approach to sustainability. We have set ourselves the goal of defining specific and measurable targets in all key areas to develop and implement measures on this basis. Our focus is on the continuous improvement and sustainable adaptation of our processes to meet our customers’ requirements and at the same time contribute to a sustainable world for everyone’s grandchildren.