Siemens 2008 Annual Report Download - page 110

Company reorganization – Increasing personal responsibility
For us, responsibility and transparency are inseparable. Over the past 18 months, we’ve made our man-
agement and organizational structure less complex and more transparent, bringing us closer to our cus-
tomers. The resulting clear, direct lines of responsibility, coupled with a portfolio geared to the needs
of our customers, are accelerating our decision-making processes. We’re putting our new management
principle, the so-called CEO principle, into practice at all levels of our operations – in our Sectors, Divi-
sions and Business Units – as well as in the 20 Regional Clusters.
Compliance – Making substantial progress
We made further major strides in the area of compliance – streamlining, rening and standardizing our
processes worldwide. The related personnel and organizational changes have been largely completed.
Our compliance organization has grown from 80 to over 600 employees worldwide. More than 120,000
employees throughout all levels of the Company have successfully completed face-to-face or online com-
pliance training courses. Over 100,000 documents, some 127 million transactions and at least 40 million
bank statements were examined by the Company last year.
Based on our appraisal of the status of negotiations with the authorities in Germany and the U.S., we set
aside a provision of approximately €1 billion at the beginning of November 2008.
Not only have the authorities recognized the magnitude of our efforts; the steps we’ve taken are also
affecting public perceptions. For example, on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 2008, we received
nearly the highest ratings possible for risk management, compliance and the protection of shareholder
interests. We now hold one of the year’s top rankings, after occupying last place in 2007. While this is
another major accomplishment, it’s not enough. Our goal remains to be a world leader in compliance.
Ethical conduct at all times and in all places: this is the guiding principle that governs our activities and
our corporate culture – and we tolerate no misconduct. Siemens – our name stands for the highest
performance with the highest ethics.
Our Environmental Portfolio – Benefiting our customers, society and our Company
The world faces massive challenges: climate change, soaring energy costs and dwindling supplies of nat-
ural resources, to name just a few. The fast-growing market for green solutions offers tremendous oppor-
tunities – and we’re ideally positioned to seize them. Encompassing systems and components for exploit-
ing renewable energies as well as environmental technologies, the outstanding products and solutions
in our Environmental Portfolio are making a direct, veriable contribution to environmental and climate
protection. More energy-efcient than most comparable offerings, our solutions are generating major
benets on three fronts: greater cost efciency for our customers, a higher quality of life for the societies
in which we’re active, and – last but not least – above-average growth for Siemens.
The unique range of our Environmental Portfolio is showcased in a separate section of this Report. No
other company in the world boasts a wider array of technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
And no other company sells more environmental technologies than we do. Our target is to increase the
revenue from our Environmental Portfolio to roughly €25 billion by scal 2011. In scal 2008, sales
attributable to the Portfolio already totaled some €19 billion.
14 Letter to our Shareholders