Siemens 2012 Annual Report Download - page 201

135 D. Consolidated Financial Statements
239 E. Additional Information
130 C. Siemens AG (Discussion on basis of
German Commercial Code)
134 C. Notes and forward-looking statements
129 C. Compensation Report, Corporate Governance
statement pursuant to Section a of the
German Commercial Code, Takeover-relevant
information and explanatory report

These compliance priorities will also determine our goals for
fiscal . Our ongoing aim is to encourage sound business
judgment that is based upon management responsibility for
compliance and backed by robust assurance provided by the
compliance organization.
.. Corporate citizenship
Siemens is committed to providing long-term benefits to the
societies in which we operate, through corporate citizenship
activities that extend beyond our actual business operations.
We deploy many different resources to act on this commit-
ment, with a particular emphasis on company competencies
and employee volunteering. Fundamental to corporate citizen-
ship at Siemens is our commitment to the U.N. Global Com-
pact, a principle-based framework for businesses, and to the
U.N. Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight interna-
tional development goals that member states have agreed to
achieve by . We also maintain an ongoing dialogue with
key opinion-makers around the world.
We apply high management standards and strategically focus
our corporate citizenship activities in areas where our resourc-
es and expertise can make a meaningful difference:
> Education and Science: Our goal is to maintain a continu-
ous dialogue with young people and to identify and foster
talent from an early age on. We support educational and re-
search activities particularly in natural sciences, engineer-
ing and healthcare.
> Social: Projects in this area aim to bring about a systematic
and lasting improvement in people’s living conditions. In ad-
dition we provide urgent humanitarian relief, including fi-
nancial and technical assistance after natural disasters.
> Environment: We want to make an effective contribution to-
wards protecting the environment, particularly through our
core competencies, and raise environmental awareness
among younger generations.
> Arts and Culture: We support Arts and Culture because a so-
ciety ’s cultural heritage is a key aspect of its identity.
The Siemens Stiftung – The Siemens Stiftung is dedicated to
the values of Werner von Siemens and wants to empower peo-
ple to actively contribute towards social development. It focus-
es on holistic, non-business-related, transferable projects and
models in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Europe, with
a particular emphasis on Germany.
Established in  with a capital of € million, Siemens
Stiftung is a nonprofit foundation under German civil law. It
complements Siemens’ corporate citizenship activities and
cooperates with the other five corporate foundations estab-
lished by the Company in Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, the
United States and France.
.    
     
.. Report on expected developments
...  
According to predictions of IHS Global Insight, global GDP
growth is expected to stabilize in , but at .% it would re-
main below its long-term trend rate of around .%. The eco-
nomic outlook is dampened mainly by the unstable situation
in Europe, as the continuing stagnation of growth and finan-
cial uncertainty in this region cause headwinds for global de-
mand and the global economy in general. Furthermore, auto-
matic spending cuts and tax increases that could take effect in
the U.S. at the beginning of  (“fiscal cliff”) could have a
major negative impact on the U.S. and the global economy.
Moreover, geopolitical tensions in North Africa and the Middle
East may lead to a surge in oil prices, which could further ham-
per global economic activity. On the upside, the global econo-
my could gain support from expansive monetary measures in
emerging markets and developed economies, especially the
long-term bond-buying program (Quantitative Easing , or
QE) in the U.S. and the government bond purchase program
(Outright Monetary Transactions, OMT) of the European Cen-
tral Bank, and an increase in fiscal spending in China. Overall,
GDP growth is expected to continue to be markedly higher in
emerging markets than in industrialized countries.