TÜV Rheinland^®

The entrepreneur Dr. Michael Otto is the recipient of this year's International TÜV Rheinland Global Compact Award. The Chairman of the Otto Group Supervisory Board receives the International Sustainability Award for his broad commitment to social and ecological issues, which he has demonstrated over the decades into the present day, setting an example both within his own company and beyond.

The International TÜV Rheinland Global Compact Award has a value of EUR 25,000 and is awarded to outstanding individuals who support the goals of the Global Compact of the United Nations through their work. Dr. Otto received the award at a ceremony in Cologne in the presence of 400 guests from the worlds of science, society, business and politics. In his congratulatory speech, Dr. Theo Sommer, former editor-in-chief and publisher of the weekly newspaper, Die Zeit, paid tribute to the award recipient.

Prof. Bruno O. Braun, Chairman of the TÜV Rheinland Foundation, which awards the prize, stated, “The goals of the Global Compact for increased sustainability in society and business have lost none of their relevance and urgency. Outstanding individuals and diverse initiatives are needed in order to raise awareness of these principles in social, business and political dealings”. It was to this end, he stated, that TÜV Rheinland wished to contribute by awarding the international prize.

Dr. Michael Otto is the second recipient of the International TÜV Rheinland Global Compact Award. In 2008, former Federal Minister, Dr. Volker Hauff, received the award in recognition of his achievements in the field of sustainable strategy. In awarding the prize to Dr. Michael Otto, the jury of the International TÜV Rheinland Global Compact Award pays tribute to one of the best-known personalities in German business. As Chairman of the Executive Board of the Otto Group, he was a defining influence on the mail order company for over 25 years. His activities have always been linked to a clear concept of corporate responsibility not only with regard to his own employees but also in the wider context of society. One of the actions demonstrating his commitment to corporate environmental protection was the 1993 establishment of the Michael Otto Foundation for Environmental Protection, for which he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Dr. Otto has received numerous accolades for his endeavours, including the Grand Cross of Merit with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2006.

"In my opinion, aspirations for economic success must always be based on social and ecological criteria. For this reason, the principle of sustainability is today anchored in the core processes of the Otto Group. In my company, we live up to this principle," said Dr Michael Otto at the award ceremony. “I would like to donate the prize money to further a development project started by the Otto Group and the renowned NGO, terre des hommes, in India in March 2008. The goal of this project is to make it possible for children from the poorest sections of the population to obtain a school education, enabling them to lead a self-determined life.”

The International TÜV Rheinland Global Compact Award enjoys the support of the office of the Secretary General of the United Nations. The prize arose out of the International Rheinland Prize for Environmental Protection, which the TÜV Rheinland Group has been awarding since 1974. The initiative to found the Global Compact was taken by the then Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, at the 1999 World Economic Forum in Davos. He called for the creation of a global compact by key representatives of the leading commercial enterprises in order to anchor principles from the fields of human rights, working standards and environmental protection as minimum standards in their companies, and to promote such standards across the world. The field of anti-corruption was added in 2004. The international network is not only supported by companies but also by numerous organisations concerned with social issues and the environment. It currently has around 8,000 members in over 130 countries worldwide, of whom more than 200 are based in Germany. TÜV Rheinland joined the network in 2006.