Case study: How Brembo creates economic value for its stakeholders
The Brembo Group is a global leader and recognised innovator in brake disc technology for vehicles, operating in 15 countries on 3 continents, with a staff of over 12,000. The creation of economic value sustainable in the long term for all its stakeholders, is a top priority for Brembo. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2021 Annual Sustainability Report by Brembo, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
In 2021, the economic value distributed by Brembo reached € 2,539 million. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Brembo took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for suppliers
- create economic value for investors and lenders
- create economic value for the public administration
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Brembo has identified;
- How Brembo proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Brembo to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021 Annual Sustainability Report Brembo identified a range of material issues, such as climate change, product quality and safety, continuous innovation, sustainable and responsible supply chain, carbon neutral mobility. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Brembo.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Brembo engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Investors
| · General Shareholders’ Meeting · Feedback and support channels offered by the Investor Relations area · Shareholder Engagement Policy that defines the themes and methods of implementation of the dialogue between Brembo and the shareholders, inspired by the principles of propriety, transparency and symmetry of information, in compliance with European and Italian regulations on market abuse · Meetings, roadshows (in 2021 as well, due to the health emergency all meetings were held virtually) and quarterly conference calls with analysts · Corporate website and dedicated e-mail accounts · Events for financial analysts · Engagement Survey on the relevance of material topics for Brembo |
| Customers
| · Daily activities and reports of the Global Business Units: Car and Commercial Vehicle Systems Division, Brake Discs Division, Motorbikes, Aftermarket and Performance Group · Joint development programmes · Supplier assessment questionnaires and qualification processes · Customer support channels · Support and training network for Brembo Expert repair professionals · Surveys to identify customers’ needs and expectations for the development of new products · Engagement Survey on the relevance of material topics for Brembo · Live events with customers and through the Brembo Next platform, the new virtual space created for all Group’s events |
| End User
| · Customer support channels · Monitoring and interaction on social networks · Feedback from vehicle and motorbike manufacturers |
| Brembo People
| · Global engagement surveys to measure the Group’s internal climate (every three years) · Pulse / Quick survey on specific topics (e.g., Brembo Purpose Pulse Survey) or on certain geographical areas (e.g., Czech Republic) · Trade union roundtables · Daily activities and reports of the Human Resources and Organisation function · Channels for receiving reports of violations of the Code of Ethics, Code of Basic Working Conditions and Policy on Non-discrimination and Diversity |
| Suppliers | · Daily activities and reports of the Purchasing function · Engagement Survey on the relevance of material topics for Brembo · Conflict Minerals Engagement Survey for the annual Supplier Survey in relation with their use of conflict minerals · Cobalt Engagement Survey and Mica Engagement Survey · Corporate Social Responsibility-related training provided to the Purchasing GCF personnel, with an in-depth analysis of the supply chain · Brembo Supplier Portal |
| Local Communities | · Orientation and involvement of secondary school and university students and related recruiting programmes · Roundtables and discussions with the Public Administration · Initiatives involving the opening of Brembo’s facilities to visits from workers’ families (“open door” days) in various countries where the Group is present (they were temporarily suspended due to the ongoing pandemic) · Initiatives in support of the social and cultural development of local communities promoted by the Group · Whistleblowing mechanism for alleged violations of the Code of Ethics · Monitoring through the media (press, specialist publications, TV, Web and social networks) |
| Institutions | · Roundtables and initiatives involving discussion with institutions, at national and international level · Hearings before parliamentary committees |
| Future Generations
| · Focus on the awareness campaigns of environmental associations and on analyses of the scientific community · Awareness raising with regard to sustainability-related issues · Orientation and involvement of secondary school and university students and related recruiting programmes · Launch of targeted engagement projects |
| Industry Companies and Competitors
| · Participation in the proceedings and themed committees of trade associations · Participation in events and special roundtables on the reference market · Benchmark analysis of the main players (primary and secondary players operating in the automotive component supply industry) by market, product, target customer |
| Insurance companies
| · Engagement Survey on the relevance of material topics for Brembo · Visits to the Group’s plants by the insurer for property risk assessment · Periodic audits by the insurer regarding liability risks |
| Trade associations
| · Roundtables and initiatives involving discussion with institutions, at national and international level · Hearings before parliamentary committees · Engagement Survey on the relevance of material topics for Brembo |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Brembo engaged with its stakeholders through a survey and interviews.
What actions were taken by Brembo to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 Annual Sustainability Report Brembo reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, Brembo paid € 506,617 thousand for employee salaries, variable remuneration and social security contributions.
- Creating economic value for suppliers
- In 2021, Brembo paid € 1,828,581 thousand to suppliers.
- Creating economic value for investors and lenders
- In 2021, Brembo paid € 138,229 thousand to investors and lenders.
- Creating economic value for the public administration
- In 2021, Brembo paid € 64,312 thousand to the public administration, plus € 1,713 thousand in gifts and sponsorships.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by Brembo, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
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