Glossary

Measure used to compare the emissions from various types of greenhouse gas (GHG) based on their global warming potential (GWP). The CO2 equivalent for a gas is determined by multiplying the metric tons of the gas by the associated GWP.

The Carbon Disclosure Project is an independent non-profit organization that compiles companies’ climate-related information for analysts and investors. The CDP maintains what has become the world’s largest database of its kind.

The carbon footprint is the sum of a company’s greenhouse gas emissions, measured in CO2 equivalents, over a certain period.

Changes in the global and also regional climate. Mainly it is caused by the human influence on the environment.

Code that defines rules for employees and typically includes directives and prohibitions that companies impose on themselves or accept.

Compliance is part of corporate governance. It refers to compliance with laws, directives, and voluntary codes within the company.

A Compliance-Management-System refers to principles and measures based on defined goals from legal representatives which ensure a compliant behavior of the company. The German Standard on a proper assessment of the CMS (IDW PS 980) offers a detailed overview on the requirements of a CMS.

Legal and factual regulatory framework for the management and supervision of a company.

‘Abuse of entrusted power for private gain’, which can be instigated by individuals or organizations. In the GRI Standards, corruption includes practices such as bribery, facilitation payments, fraud, extortion, collusion, and money laundering. It also includes an offer or receipt of any gift, loan, fee, reward, or other advantage to or from any person as an inducement to do something that is dishonest, illegal, or a breach of trust in the conduct of the enterprise’s business. This can include cash or in-kind benefits, such as free goods, gifts, and holidays, or special personal services provided for the purpose of an improper advantage, or that can result in moral pressure to receive such an advantage.

CSR Guideline Implementation Law (German: Richtlinie-Umsetzungsgesetz); law on strengthening companies’ nonfinancial reporting in management reports and group management reports.

The Deutscher Corporate Governance Kodex (German Corporate Governance Code) presents essential statutory regulations for the management and supervision of German listed companies and contains, in the form of recommendations and suggestions, internationally and nationally acknowledged standards for good and responsible corporate governance.

Digitalization and digital technology have established themselves in people’s everyday lives and are changing the production, distribution and reception of content. The rapid spread of smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and other internet-connected entertainment devices, plus access to information anytime anywhere, are having a major impact on media use. The media convergence that digitalization allows — e.g. of television and Internet — has spawned even more interactivity. New media formats and distribution channels make inter media consumption possible and offer consumers, providers and the advertising industry many new opportunities. Fully digitizable content that can be distributed via online platforms is just one of the outcomes.

GHG emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by an organization. A GHG source is any physical unit or process that releases GHG into the atmosphere. Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions can include the CO2 emissions from fuel consumption.

Act and result of treating persons unequally by imposing unequal burdens or denying benefits instead of treating each person fairly on the basis of individual merit. Discrimination can also include harassment, defined as a course of comments or actions that are unwelcome, or should reasonably be known to be unwelcome, to the person towards whom they are addressed.

Thermal energy transported from generator to consumer via thermally insulated pipe systems over a long distance.

Diversity can relate to many things, including sex, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, lifestyle.

Corporate initiative to support diversity in companies and institutions. Organizations should create a working environment that is free of prejudice. All employees should feel valued – independent of their sex, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or world view, disability, age, or sexual orientation and identity.

Emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in the atmosphere. Also, refer to greenhouse gases.

Employer branding is defined by developing and maintaining a company’s reputation as employer.

GHG emissions that result from the generation of purchased or acquired electricity, heating, cooling, and steam consumed by an organization.

ESG stands for Environmental Social and Governance and refers to a set of criteria/indicators which investors apply to screen companies regarding their environmental, social and governance responsibility.

Geothermal is the heat, stored in the accessible parts of the earth’s crust. It is a renewable energy.

Among other things, the German Federal Data Protection Act (together with the states’ data protection laws) governs the treatment of personal data that is processed in information and communication systems or manually.

The German Teleservices Act regulates the conditions of all telemedia in Germany. Moreover, it is one of the key requirements of internet law.

The GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines offer Reporting Principles and Standard Disclosures for the preparation of sustainability reports by organizations, regardless of their size, sector or location. The Guidelines are developed through a global multi-stakeholder process involving representatives from business, labor, civil society, and financial markets, as well as auditors and experts in various fields. Most recent version of the guidelines are the GRI Standards which will be mandatory as of July 1, 2018.

Governance, or corporate governance, refers to the control of an organization.

Gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is a globally recognized standard regarding the quantification and management of greenhouse gas emissions. The reporting standards for the implementation of projects to reduce emissions are jointly developed by businesses, governments, and NGOs under the leadership of the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Topic that reflects a reporting organization’s significant economic, environmental and social impacts; or that substantively influences the assessments and decisions of stakeholders. For more information on identifying a material topic, see the Reporting Principles for defining report content in GRI 101: Foundation. To prepare a report in accordance with the GRI Standards, an organization is required to report on its material topics. Material topics can include, but are not limited to, the topics covered by the GRI Standards in the 200, 300, and 400 series.

Media literacy is the capability to understand the content of media and use media competent.

A company that enters partnerships with online platforms and offers support in areas such as product, programming, financing, cross-promotion, partner management, digital rights management, monetization/sale and establishing an audience. As a kind of record label, the multi-channel networks manage online video makers.

Non-financial group statement that capital market-oriented companies are required to publish according to EU Guideline 2014/95/EU or Sections 289b et seq. HGB and Sections 315b et seq. HGB. ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE fulfills its reporting obligations through a separate chapter in their annual report.

If personal data is collected, processed, or used by a commissioned third party, the commissioning company (client) must enter into an order processing agreement with the service provider (contractor) under Section 11 BDSG in which all the rights, obligations, and measures between the two parties are defined.

Basic salary plus additional amounts paid to a worker. Examples of additional amounts paid to a worker can include those based on years of service, bonuses including cash and equity such as stocks and shares, benefit payments, overtime, time owed, and any additional allowances, such as transportation, living and childcare allowances.

Energy source that is capable of being replenished in a short time through ecological cycles or agricultural processes. These include geothermal energy, wind energy, solar power, waterpower, and biomass.

In the public value reporting, scopes are categories that classify emissions regarding their type and their relation to the value chain. The scopes are distinguished in direct emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions (Scope 2) and emissions in the upstream and downstream value creation stages (Scope 3).

The full group of entities to be included in the consolidated financial statements.

Entity or individual that can reasonably be expected to be significantly affected by the reporting organization’s activities, products and services, or whose actions can reasonably be expected to affect the ability of the organization to successfully implement its strategies and achieve its objectives. Stakeholders include entities or individuals whose rights under law or international conventions provide them with legitimate claims vis-à-vis the organization. Stakeholders can include those who are invested in the organization (such as employees and shareholders), as well as those who have other relationships to the organization (such as other workers who are not employees, suppliers, vulnerable groups, local communities, and NGOs or other civil society organizations, among others).

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development encompasses three dimensions: economic, environmental and social. Sustainable development refers to broader environmental and societal interests, rather than to the interests of specific organizations. In the GRI Standards, the terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable development’ are used interchangeably.

17 goals for sustainable development of the United Nations that are intended to help secure sustainable development on the economic, social, and ecological level.

For the calculation of the turnover rate is the number of former employees who left in the reporting period divided by the number of employees at effective date. Reasons for leaving are cancellations or termination agreements. Resignations due to temporal limitations of employment contracts, end of apprenticeship, retirement or death are not considered.

Organization of states founded in 1945 with 193 members (as of March 2018) that are committed to maintaining peace through international cooperation and collective security.

An organization’s value chain encompasses the activities that convert input into output by adding value. It includes entities with which the organization has a direct or indirect business relationship and which either (a) supply products or services that contribute to the organization’s own products or services, or (b) receive products or services from the organization. This definition is based on United Nations (UN), The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: An Interpretive Guide, 2012. The value chain covers the full range of an organization’s upstream and downstream activities, which encompass the full life cycle of a product or service, from its conception to its end use.