Responsibility

As a good owner, the RAG‐Stiftung actively uses its possibility to exert influence as part of existing strategic holdings. Depending on its stake, these include the assumption of seats on Supervisory Boards, dialogue with management and the exercise of voting rights at Annual General Meetings.

Sustainability is an important growth driver for many of the companies in which the RAG Stiftung has invested. Overall, investment management is geared towards tapping potential from relevant megatrends worldwide, in conjunction with creating prosperity, skilled jobs and public revenues for the region.

As a responsible investor, the RAG‐Stiftung is guided by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) of the UN Environment Programme and UN Global Compact. That specifically means the RAG‐Stiftung

• includes ESG issues in its analysis and decision-making processes,
• takes ESG aspects into account in its investment policy and in practice as an active shareholder,
• urges companies and corporations it invests in to ensure appropriate ESG reporting, and supports and promotes acceptance and implementation of the principles of responsible investing,
• cooperates with other responsible investors, and
• reports in this way about activities and progress.

In relation to its capital investments, the RAG‐Stiftung regularly requests relevant fund managers to provide information on their ESG activities and takes exclusion criteria into account when selecting assets. Where deviations from the underlying investment policy become visible, the foundation’s maxim is “engagement before divestment.” It aims to give preference to investments that pursue social or ecological objectives in addition to a reasonable return. The RAG‐Stiftung’s own disclosure and reporting practices go beyond the legally required level.  

Sustainable transformation and social change are particularly important in the former mining regions along the Ruhr and Saar rivers and in Ibbenbüren. The RAG-Stiftung helps to shape this process of change and boost their innovative force and sustainability. Much of that radiates an impact far beyond the region and serves as a model for Germany as an industrial location.

In its responsibility for the consequences of post-mining, the RAG‐Stiftung contributes to leaving an intact and liveable environment behind for future generations. Top priority among the perpetual obligations is to protect drinking water as part of pit water management, polder measures and ground water purification. Support activities and the RAG‐Stiftung’s own lighthouse projects in education, science and culture that arise from them flank the development of and change in the post-mining regions. In this way, the RAG‐Stiftung builds a bridge between valuable mining traditions and essential future requirements. A particular emphasis is on equality of opportunities, participation and access to education. In all its engagement in the field of education (with the exception of school projects or projects for a specific year’s intake), the RAG-Stiftung aims to promote the advancement of women by setting quotas of between 30 and 50 per cent.

With its support for science and research in the field of post-mining, the RAG-Stiftung makes a valuable contribution to further enhancing knowledge about environmental protection and water management at the cutting edge of research. Research results on topics such as sustainable water management, emissions control, circular value creation or environmental monitoring are shared with other institutions and transferred to diverse national and international applications.