Siemens 2014 Annual Report Download - page 217

247 D. Consolidated Financial Statements
337 E. Additional Information
213 C. Overall assessment of the economic position
214 C. Subsequent events
215 C. Sustainability and citizenship
225 C. Report on expected developments and
associated material opportunities and risks
242 C. Compensation Report and legal disclosures
242 C. Siemens AG (Discussion on basis
of German Commercial Code)

employees – which already apply worldwide and are firmly
anchored in our Business Conduct Guidelines. Underscoring
this commitment, Siemens, the Siemens Central Works Coun-
cil, the German trade union IG Metall and the global industrial
union IndustriAll have signed an international framework
agreement on the principles of corporate responsibility.
C... OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND
HEALTH MANAGEMENT
Occupational safety and health management are key elements
of our Company’s sustainable strategy and an integral part of
our business processes. We therefore develop central programs
and processes that are applied locally and adapted to the respec-
tive business needs. Occupational safety and health manage-
ment are an integral part of our Business Conduct Guidelines,
our internal monitoring systems, and our risk management and
internal controls. In addition, occupational safety is part of an
international framework agreement between Siemens AG, the
Central Works Council of Siemens AG, IG Metall and the global
union IndustriAll.
Promote a culture of safety – In the past, occupational safety
was often characterized by a focus on technical protective
measures, an approach which achieved considerable success.
We are convinced, however, that further improvement can be
achieved only through an actively practiced occupational
safety culture and optimal working conditions – in every coun-
try and for all Siemens employees as well as those of our con-
tractors. Both, as a company and as individuals, we are respon-
sible for ensuring that the working environment at Siemens is
safe at all times and for every employee. At present, local man-
agement systems and best practices exist which we can build
on. We will achieve sustainability, however, only through a
global and consistent approach.
Our customers, suppliers and regulatory authorities expect
high safety standards from us. Safe behavior is governed not
only by complying with laws, regulations and procedures,
but also by the personal values of managers and employees.
Our “Zero Harm Culture @ Siemens” program, which has been
launched in fiscal  is having an increasingly positive
impact. It contains three principles:
> Zero incidents – it is achievable.
> Health and safety – no compromises!
> We take care of each other!
In addition to this global approach of “Zero Harm Culture @
Siemens,” our businesses and countries themselves improve
safety locally through various activities depending on the cur-
rent safety performance and the business needs. Management
attention is of utmost importance to foster and improve safety.
C... LEARNING AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
We encourage our employees at all locations to develop their
qualifications and expertise. In fiscal , we invested around
€  million for continuing education (without travel ex-
penses), which equals about €  per employee. The expenses
include courses and training programs both for individual em-
ployees and for entire company units.
Siemens Learning Campus and Siemens Leadership Excellence,
two corporate-level organizations, are responsible for imple-
menting the global learning portfolio: Siemens Learning
Campus offers regional learning opportunities to employees in
all countries, ranging from courses for employees and manag-
ers, through tailored training programs and services for groups,
to solutions for entire organizations. Additionally Siemens
Leadership Excellence (SLE) is addressing our current and
future senior and top leaders. Siemens continues to be one of
Germany’s largest providers of professional education for sec-
ondary school graduates (, places for Siemens trainees and
, places for trainees from other companies). As in previous
years, we again made  % of our trainee positions available to
disadvantaged youths.
C... SIEMENS EQUITY CULTURE
Siemens established its first employee share program in
Germany as early as . Building on this successful program
in Germany, Siemens decided in  to extend employee and
management participation. Today, Siemens offers approxi-
mately  % of its employees in  countries the opportunity to
acquire Siemens shares with the Company’s financial support.
The Share Matching Plan is based on a simple principle: Em-
ployees participating in the plan will receive one Siemens share
without payment of consideration (matching share) for every
three Siemens shares bought and continuously held over a
period of three years. Only condition: The employee still needs
to be employed by Siemens. The main idea of the plan has
always been to make stock ownership available to employees at
all income levels.
We are convinced that empowering employees with shares
motivates them to assume greater responsibilities and helps
them identify more closely with the company they work for – a
fundamental prerequisite for the sustainable development of
Siemens.
C... EMPLOYEE RIGHTS AND RELATIONS
TO EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES
Fair-minded collaboration among Company management, em-
ployees and employee representatives plays a central role at
Siemens. As one of the largest corporate employers in Germany
and worldwide, we are committed to our social responsibil-
ity and respect and uphold the fundamental rights of our