Together with the Annual Report 2017, this Sustainability Report 2017 provides a comprehensive description of the performance of ProSiebenSat.1 Group on the basis of financial and non-financial information. This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option. [GRI 102-54]

When defining the report content, we observed the principles of “stakeholder inclusiveness,” “sustainability context,” “materiality” and “completeness.” To this end, we took general sustainability information and sector-specific disclosures according to the Sector Supplement for the media sector as a basis and prioritized them as part of a materiality analysis for ProSiebenSat.1’s business activities. The derived aspects and issues are divided into five pillars: Employees and Diversity, Social Responsibility (Public Value), Product Responsibility, Compliance, and Environment and Climate protection. The report was subjected to an independent audit with limited assurance by KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft. Such audits are based on the relevant ISAE 3000 standard. [GRI 102-46, GRI 102-56] Sustainability at ProSiebenSat.1

This Sustainability Report covers ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s scope of consolidation as of the end of financial year 2017 and was published on June 19, 2018. The reporting period covers financial year 2017 and, to remain up-to-date, some events from the first half of 2018: In most cases, the reference date for the key figures is December 31, 2017. The financial data were taken unchanged from the Annual Report 2017 published on March 15, 2018. The Sustainability Report also refers in particular to non-financial information already disclosed in the Non-Financial Group Statement according to section 289c and section 315c (1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB). The editorial deadline for the activities described in the report was June 1, 2018. The report is prepared annually. The previous ProSiebenSat.1 Sustainability Report was published on June 14, 2017; the report for 2018 is expected to appear in the first half of 2019. [GRI 102-50, GRI 102-51, GRI 102-52]

The report is available in German and English as a print and online version. ‎ In the interests of readability, the report uses the generic masculine form, but this should always be taken to refer to persons of both genders.

Scope of Reporting and Data Collection

The organizational reporting framework for the information on concepts and key figures for our sustainability performance as contained in the Sustainability Report essentially comprises all Group companies and corresponds to the financial scope of consolidation of ProSiebenSat.1 Group, which is managed centrally by ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE. Here, ProSiebenSat.1 follows the principle of operational control, which exists either if there is a majority interest of more than 50% or if ProSiebenSat.1 has full decision-making power over operating business by means of other contractual regulations.

Exceptions and restrictions with regard to the scope of reporting for the individual defined aspects and data collection for performance indicators are described below. Further specifications – particularly for key HR figures – are indicated accordingly in the information on the aspects.

  • Employees and Diversity
    In particular, the companies in the Digital Ventures & Commerce segment and international business in the Content Production & Global Sales segment are not included in the examination of the concepts for the “employees and diversity” aspect or in data collection for the key non-financial figures in some cases. Individual corporate functions or programs such as recruitment and employer branding are managed centrally or are not implemented in this form at some individual investments due to the relatively small number of employees. ProSiebenSat.1 also performs a dynamic portfolio management, meaning that changes in the scope of consolidation are continuously occurring. Due to contract manufacturing, the number of employees in the production sector is characterized by high volatility.
  • Social Responsibility (Public Value)
    The information on public value particularly relates to ProSiebenSat.1’s sustainability-related business activities in the TV program (Broadcasting German-speaking segment). The concepts described also include public value measures that are supported by the Advisory Board of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE as the governance body and implemented by employees at the Unterföhring site.
  • Product Responsibility / Compliance
    With the compliance management system (CMS), ProSiebenSat.1 largely covers the relevant legal areas throughout the Group and records the performance indicators across all companies. Some individual concepts, such as complying with advertising laws and ensuring journalistic independence, relate only to selected Group companies due to different legal regulations in foreign countries and a lack of relevance to many companies, for example in the production sector. These selected companies primarily include the holding company ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, ProSiebenSat.1 TV Deutschland GmbH, and the marketing companies SevenOne Media and SevenOne AdFactory. For key figures relating to aspects of product responsibility and compliance, companies acquired by ProSiebenSat.1 are included in data collection no later than in the reporting period in which they have been consolidated in financial reporting for a whole financial year.
  • Environment and Climate Protection
    The carbon footprint includes all of ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s own locations and employees. In determining the scope of reporting, ProSiebenSat.1 generally follows the principle of operational control. Operational control exists either if there is a majority interest of more than 50% or if ProSiebenSat.1 has full decision-making power with regard to operating business by means of other contractual regulations. Acquired or self-constructed locations are included in data collection no later than in the reporting period in which they have been consolidated in financial reporting for a whole financial year. This carbon footprint does not include the energy consumption and resulting CO2 emissions of our production studios and data centers outside the locations in Unterföhring and Berlin due to a lack of availability of data. Detailed information on the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions can be found in the "Explanatory Notes on ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s Carbon Footprint for the Financial Year 2017."