Responsibility without any frontiers

The "German Economic Forum" claims that according to Reinhard Clemens, education is one of the main responsibilities of globally active companies.

Top names attended the "German Economic Forum," which was hosted for the first time by the German weekly “Die Zeit”, at the Hamburger Michel. The who-is-who among the top executives of small, medium-sized and large enterprises met to discuss company responsibility, naturally given the current global economic crisis. A panel discussion with Telekom Board Member and T-Systems CEO Reinhard Clemens and representatives from BMW and Siemens focused on the responsibility of globally active companies. Mr. Clemens made clear that ethical conduct could not be forced by passing laws. Instead "you need to have an effective corporate culture." He continued that the responsibility of international companies was steadily growing. "As Deutsche Telekom, we currently generate around 60 percent of our turnover outside of Germany. Which means our responsibility does not stop at the frontier." He went on to say the group had an obligation to assume international responsibility – for customers, employees and society as a whole.

Germany as a place for innovation

Aside from sustainability efforts, Mr. Clemens emphasized education as being a focal point. He said that Germany needed to grow from a production site to one of innovation while guaranteeing knowledge transfer to other countries. "Knowledge is our most important resource in the 21st century," said the T-Systems CEO. He added that Telekom was already making concrete contributions in this area, such as by training 11,600 young people (as of 2009). He also said that the group spent 1,350 euros each year on continuing education for employees, far above the global average of 818 euros (source: American Society for Training & Development).