Responsibility to society

As one of the world's leading technology enterprises, ThyssenKrupp has a particular responsibility for the people affected by our actions. We take responsibility every day – for our products, our employees, our stockholders' capital, our environment, and the society in which we live.

To us corporate responsibility means the responsibility we bear through our actions towards our economic, ecological and social environment. We meet this responsibility by taking into account the interests of all stakeholder groups – employees, stockholders, customers, suppliers, neighbors and society in general – in our decisions. An open dialogue and respect towards others form the basis for this.

ThyssenKrupp and its predecessor companies have a long and successful tradition of corporate responsibility. As well as taking responsibility for what goes on in our subsidiaries, we also make an active contribution to solving social problems and foster the positive development of the regions in which we operate. To this end we support a number of non-profit projects, organizations and initiatives in culture, science, education and sport as well as other social, charitable and humanitarian activities.

Corporate responsibility concerns all areas of the Group

In practice corporate responsibility permeates all areas of the Group - our corporate governance, our ethical values, the way we manage our daily work, and our efforts to protect the environment and develop forward-looking innovations.

Responsible corporate governance focused on sustainable value enhancement is a high priority for us. Efficient cooperation between Executive Board and Supervisory Board, respect for stockholder interests, and openness and transparency of corporate communications are key aspects of this. ThyssenKrupp constantly monitors its corporate governance standards and complies with all recommendations and suggestions of the German Corporate Governance Code. We attach great importance to fair and lawful conduct in dealings with business partners and competitors. With our compliance program we have taken far-reaching measures to ensure compliance with the anticorruption and anti-trust laws and the Group's policies based on them. More information on this can be found in our Corporate Governance Report.

The competence and commitment of our employees are essential for the sustainability of our success. We therefore feel particularly responsible for creating a positive working environment and offering a wide range of training and development programs and a performance-related compensation system. This allows our employees to make the best possible use of their skills. In addition, ThyssenKrupp signed German industry's "Diversity Charter" in the reporting year. In it we expressly commit to promoting a culture based on respect for all, regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, physical ability and age. These principles have been part of our corporate culture for decades and were most recently set out in the Groupwide "Code of Conduct" agreed in January 2007.

ThyssenKrupp is committed to the principle of sustainability and justice between generations. We take into account the needs of the current generation and at the same time are aware of our responsibility to future generations. For this reason the protection of people and nature is particularly important to us. Climate protection and conserving resources are key priorities in everything we do. We aim to do more than just develop innovative products and services offering top quality and reliability to meet the requirements of our customers. To promote sustainability we use highly efficient and resource-saving processes and strive to develop environmentally friendly products tailored to our customers' needs. More information on environmental protection at ThyssenKrupp can be found in chapter Commitment, sustainability and environment protection; we report on innovations in the following chapter.

We can only meet our responsibility as a global enterprise today and in the future if we achieve long-term business success. We are convinced that responsible management engenders trust among our stockholders, other investors, customers, suppliers and employees and thus contributes to this long-term business success. For this reason corporate responsibility is not just a major component of our corporate culture but also key to achieving our long-term go

Involvement in national and international initiatives

ThyssenKrupp is involved in various networks and initiatives which affirm German industry's broad commitment to society and promote the idea of sustainable development. At national level, for example, we are a member of "econsense – Forum Nachhaltige Entwicklung der Deutschen Wirtschaft e.V." (German industry forum for sustainable development), a grouping of 25 globally active German enterprises and organizations set up to address the issues of corporate responsibility and sustainability. At European level we support the "European Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility", which now brings together over 230 enterprises and organizations from all parts of Europe. The alliance was launched by the EU Commission in 2006 to promote corporate social responsibility.

Commitment as a corporate citizen

We are expanding the Group's activities worldwide and meeting the economic challenges of the future with innovative and flexible solutions. Wherever we have business activities, we see ourselves as a responsible member of society. Ultimately our activities are part of the social environment in which we operate. This places increasing responsibility on our Company. Where it is expedient, where there are links with our traditions or our business, we support non-profit institutions, projects and initiatives. As a good corporate citizen, we aim to make a positive contribution to society. The Company expressly welcomes the voluntary work carried out by our employees as it is a further important factor in a properly functioning social environment.

Discovering future technology

ThyssenKrupp launched the "Discovering future technology" initiative to ensure that Germany remains a land of innovation in the future. It is an open platform for partners from academia, research, politics, administration, associations, industry and the media. The initiative promotes dialogue on technology across all sectors of society and across all age groups. It is directed primarily at young people, the thinkers and engineers of tomorrow, because they have the chance now to shape their own and our future. Together with over 120 partners in the initiative, we aim to prove that technology can be fun and offer food for thought.

"Discovering future technology" centers on popular major events designed to provide an entertaining insight into technology. The main event is the Ideas Park, a technology experience aimed in particular at young people, families and students. To date over 550,000 visitors have accepted our invitation to look behind the scenes of research and development, carry out their own experiments and make their own discoveries. The last Ideas Park took place at the Neue Messe exhibition center in Stuttgart in May 2008. With admission free, over 280,000 people came to explore a fascinating exhibition of technology, put their questions to the experts, and research and learn for themselves. Some 500 engineers, researchers and students presented their ideas and state-of-the-art technologies in an exhibition area of around 40,000 square meters in Stuttgart. Many of the 200 exhibits on display were interactive. In SchlauLoPolis, the city of education, children and young people found out that learning about science and technology can be fun. In one entire exhibition hall, over 6,300 workshop places gave people of all ages the chance to carry out experiments and try their hand at designing and inventing. In the Ideas Workshop young people collected their ideas for the future and then discussed them on the Ideas Park stage with experts from business and politics. The Ideas Park will continue to be held every two to three years at different venues in the future; the next event is planned for 2011.

As an international technology enterprise, ThyssenKrupp wants to demonstrate how key challenges of the future can be mastered not just in Germany but throughout the world. For this reason in October 2007 we organized the ThyssenKrupp Technology Days in China, following on from a similar event held two years previously in Tokyo. At the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, we presented innovative products and solutions which are helping shape the future in a technologically appropriate and ecologically responsible way. For example, we presented new materials that allow modern seawater desalination plants to operate more efficiently and more sustainably. We also showed how pollutants can be filtered out of the air using the EnviNOX® process, and how steel is helping make the cars of the future safer and lighter.

New projects are constantly being developed under the "Discovering future technology" initiative. This allows our partners to contribute their own ideas. As an example, the nationwide support program "Idea Makers", initiated by ThyssenKrupp AG in association with the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper in 2006, was held for the third time in the reporting year. We aim to give educators, school classes, initiatives, and non-school educational institutions the chance to extend and enhance their technology projects and develop new ideas. Annual support funds of up to €55,000 are allocated for this. Under the motto "building bridges – connecting people" a joint campaign by ThyssenKrupp, WAZ Mediengruppe and Stiftung Partner für Schule NRW provided elementary schools in North Rhine- Westphalia with 100 free boxes of educational materials and teaching courses on bridge building. Developed by the didactics of science department of Münster University, the "bridge-building box" contains everything teachers and students need to make science lessons exciting as well as educational.

Cooperation with universities and support for young graduates

In particular in innovation and education, areas of decisive importance for the future, the Group's extensive activities have a far-reaching effect on society. We are firmly convinced that education is the key to making the next generation fit for the global market.

To open up future prospects for young people, we work together with numerous universities in Germany and abroad to help promote the dialogue between education, research and industry. We are currently collaborating particularly closely with seven partner universities in Germany. In extensive partnership programs with Aachen Technical University, Ruhr University Bochum, Dortmund Technical University, Dresden Technical University, Freiberg Technical University, Hamburg-Harburg Technical University and Berlin Technical University, scientific findings are exchanged and other joint subjects pursued such as education and teaching, international cooperation and support for gifted students. Activities at the individual universities include fellowships and prizes such as the "ThyssenKrupp Student Award", workshops, study trips and joint projects.

In addition, we award fellowships to students at the ESMT European School of Management and Technology, of which ThyssenKrupp is a founding member. We also provide ongoing support through our long-standing membership of the academic funding association Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.

Of course we also cooperate with universities outside Germany. We have links with over 80 universities throughout the world. For example, ThyssenKrupp AG has financed three endowed chairs at Tongji University in Shanghai for many years. In addition to an intensive exchange of specialist and intercultural knowledge, we offer students at Tongji University the opportunity to work as interns at our Group subsidiaries and take part in business game competitions. A relatively new cooperation partner is Waseda University in Tokyo. Under a long-term cooperative venture with the University's School of Engineering & Science, we conduct a regular exchange of technical and scientific information and allow students to spend several weeks working as interns at our Group subsidiaries.

Key skills for children and young people

Learning is a basic human need and a prerequisite for individual and social development. Since state education systems cannot fully cover all areas of knowledge, we support individual projects designed to teach children and young people key skills for their future while they are still at school.

We support the "KITZ" technology center for children and young people in Dortmund, opened in 2008. One of the winners of the "Ideas in Practice" competition run under the state of North Rhine- Westphalia's "Future through Innovation.NRW" initiative, the center systematically promotes the teaching of science and technology to early learners. The idea is to attract children to these subjects when they are naturally highly inquisitive about the world around them – i.e. at kindergarten and primary school age. All the youngsters are encouraged to carry out experiments and research for themselves, with older children additionally receiving individual support. The center therefore offers a resource for children throughout their schooling.

Competitions give young people the chance to measure themselves against others and on this basis develop individual goals. As a partner to the "Jugend forscht" youth science competition, ThyssenKrupp has promoted this important aspect of learning and helped motivate young people for many years. In early 2008 regional heats of "Jugend forscht" were again held at three ThyssenKrupp locations. In the competition, children and young people demonstrate their knowledge and their creative approach to science and technology in various scientific disciplines.

Lifetime opportunities are dependent on social, cultural, ethnic and not least economic conditions. Poor conditions can severely limit or even eliminate the scope for education and integration. ThyssenKrupp would therefore like to help give all children and young people the opportunity to grow up into independent, competent and responsible members of society. To this end we sponsored the 13th German Child & Youth Welfare Congress. The largest congress of its kind in Europe, it was held in Essen in June 2008 under the motto: "Growing up justly!" and attracted around 40,000 visitors.

Our youngest employees are also aware of the need to make a positive contribution to society. In view of the increasing number of young people in debt, in September 2008 the Group's young people and apprentice representative body called on all the young people and apprentice representative bodies at the Group subsidiaries to organize a "Young people in the debt trap" campaign. Young employees were warned of the dangers of excessive consumerism and shown ways out of the debt trap. Cash prizes were awarded to the best campaigns.

Networking and knowledge sharing

Public discussions and political decisions affect ThyssenKrupp in many different ways. We regard making an active contribution to the public opinion-forming process, taking a stand and defending what we believe as an important part of our social responsibility. For this reason ThyssenKrupp is a member of numerous organizations and associations which promote an exchange of views on economic, technical and other socially relevant issues. We contribute our expertise and experience as a globally active Group. We enter into this dialogue in the belief that the challenges of our time can only be solved by the concerted action of the business community, the government and society.

The rapid pace of technical development requires active participation in initiatives that act as catalysts between government, business and science. Here, too, we take our responsibility seriously and support for example the "Germany – Land of Ideas" initiative ("Deutschland – Land der Ideen e.V.") under the patronage of the German president, aimed at promoting Germany's image as a positive, innovative and future-oriented country. In addition, we contribute actively to the "Knowledge Factory" initiative. ThyssenKrupp was one of the founding members of the Knowledge Factory, which is involved in education projects as well as initiatives for business startups and young entrepreneurs throughout Germany on behalf of its member companies. We also support "acatech", the German Academy of Science and Engineering. The academy conducts an intensive dialogue on forwardlooking technologies and their significance for sustainable growth. We value this growing science and business network which provides the government and society with expert support in the search for the best concepts for the future.

Support for Initiativkreis Ruhrgebiet

We support initiatives and projects aimed at strengthening regions with which the Group has traditional links or where we have business operations. For instance, for many years we have been providing support for the Initiativkreis Ruhrgebiet, a body dedicated to promoting the image of the Ruhr which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2008. It carries out projects which provide important impetus for the now well-advanced process of structural transformation and enhance the region's reputation. We unconditionally support the goal of safeguarding and enriching the future of this key European region and its people over the long term – by generating new impetus, promoting investment and supporting science, sport and culture.

Commitment to sporting and cultural activities

A rich cultural program for the people who live in the Rhine-Ruhr region is a matter particularly close to our hearts. The Group is therefore involved in numerous projects and provides both financial and moral support. This helps bring attractive events to areas close to ThyssenKrupp's major locations. We are convinced that our commitment to the region's cultural life also has a positive effect on working life at ThyssenKrupp by promoting imagination, inquisitiveness and open-mindedness. For example, we support the philharmonic orchestras in Essen and Duisburg, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein opera company and the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus theater.

In addition, we initiated the Ideas Sounds project in the reporting year. The aim of the project is to show young people the link between technology and creativity, based on the example of music. Acting as mentors, well-known musicians and producers actively helped five young artists develop and professionally produce their own songs. The results and the different experiences of the artists and their mentors were presented in the gala closing ceremony at the Ideas Park.

In sport we mainly promote selected competitions and small sports clubs close to our locations. We have for many years supported the international rowing regatta and the annual Rhine-Ruhr Marathon in Duisburg. Over 6,000 runners took part in the 25th Rhine-Ruhr Marathon held in June 2008, 340 of them from ThyssenKrupp alone.

Help for people in need and victims of natural disasters

ThyssenKrupp is actively involved in improving people's quality of life and supports numerous nonprofit projects in social and humanitarian areas. This also means that we provide help when natural phenomena wipe out the livelihoods of entire towns and regions. Following the dramatic earthquake in the Chinese province of Sichuan in May 2008, we provided financial support for a sustainable rebuilding project. As on many other occasions, our employees again took the initiative and organized their own campaigns to collect donations. With our support, a school for disabled children can now be built in the city of Chengdu, which was particularly severely affected by the earthquake.

These examples show that corporate responsibility is lived out every day throughout the Group. Strong values and a clear frame of reference will remain as important as ever to master the challenges of the future. We will therefore continue to foster our employees' sense of responsibility and promote the exchange of experience in the Group.